We'll be heading to Paris for New Year's this year and will have about a week and a half in the area. We are planning a week in Paris, but thought it would be nice to go somewhere else for the extra 2-3 days we'll have there. This would be after New Year's, so early January.

We'd love to have recs for an area that will still have things open. Also, please let us know if we would need a car with whatever you're recommending. Thanks!

Consider taking the TGV to Dijon and spending a few days in and around that lovely city.

Hi,
Last year in January we had a huge amount of snow, it was so nice! You can see some of the snow pics on my Dijon album :
http://tinyurl.com/okerl
I was also surprised (and delighted) to see so many Australians in Dijon in winter!

Dijon is only 1h40 from Paris with TGV.
Happy travels!
coco

This is one of the places I was looking at...will attractions be open and will we need a car?

I'm glad you like it
Chrismas market will be over of course and everything should be back to normal.
You don't need a car in Dijon, the historic center is not that big and anyway there is good transport network if you want to go to Beaune or elsewhere (trains and buses)
coco

Go to Dijon and stay at Coco's lovely apartment there; it is just perfect! And she could not be more helpful--a wonderful "host"!

I will write more about it after I get over jet lag!

www.myhomeindijon.com

Welcome back home grandmère!
Take care
coco

We are doing a similar trip for that time period and we decided on Lyon. Because of its size, we feel confident we'll find a lot open to choose from. Plus, we can take the TGV and be there in 2 hours, which seemed ideal for a 3-night stay.

We considered several regions before deciding on Lyon, but now that the plans are set, I'm very excited about our choice. We're staying at the Villa Florentine. Now, we just need to nail down dining options.

Good luck with your search!