My 17yr old daughter and I are going to Paris for 7 days. We want to take a train somewhere for one night two days and feel as if we went to a small village or city...big cities can be overwhelming. We know that seeing Paris could easily take 7 full days, but taking the train to the countryside sounds interesting. We have looked at Chartres, Reims, and Rouen. We hope for three things, a place that is easy to walk around, charming, a little shopping, and not so big that we get lost just finding a hotel.

Here's one suggestion, note that I have not been there myself

Troyes (pronounced ?trwah? sort of, is in the part of the Champagne area that few tourists go to. It is the former capital of the Champagne region and I think is about 90 minutes from Paris (I don't know the train connections) and has some of France?s most beautiful Gothic churches in all their stained-glass glory. The Cathedral alone has 180 stained-glass windows, some from the 14th century. Henry V of England married Catherine of France in the Eglise St-Jean. The Tourist Office can give you information on tours of the old town. In June there is a champagne festival.


www.ot-troyes.fr/HomeEN.htm
not all of the above website is in English
www.pem.net/jon-catt/index1.html hire tour guide

Troyes has 7 museums, including the Museum of Tools and the Pharmacy Museum. The Museum of Modern Art is said to include many Impressionist and Picasso treasures.In the town's historic center are many houses dating from the 16th century. The McArthur Glen village has a 60 factory retail shop Nearby champagne caves can also be visited.

A nice place for lunch that I've read about: Clos Juillet, 22 Boulevard 14-Juillet, 03 25 73 31 32

Highly recommended for dinner: Le Bistroquet, only a block from the following excellent hotel
Hotel de la Poste, 35 rue Emile Zola. Fax 03 25 73 80 76

Here's another town

Provins is a UNESCO World Heritage site because of its walled fortifications and underground passageways.
From the train station you find yourself in the Ville Basse, lower town, with churches, canals,and alleys.
From the Hotel Dieu you can visit the souterrains, the underground passages which were used to store grain, wine, gold, and other precious commodities back in the 13th century. They were also hiding places. The tour lasts an hour, hours of admission don?t begin until 2pm. Note that in some places the passages are only 6 feet high and 4 feet wide.
http://www.virtualtourist.com/m/44f83/17962/
http://www.gayot.com/travel/france/provins.html
www.provins.org

I absolutely loved Chartres, and found it charming and easy to walk around. I don't remember if there was great shopping because that isn't my thing. but staying overnight there is definitely worth it--it's a much different place at night than during the day when all the tour groups are there. There's a fantastic Pakistani restaurant just off the Cathedral square area and the owners were so kind to us.

I strongly second the Troyes recommendation. The Tool museum is a must, as well as the cathedral. It has a very nice old town, and everything is within walking distance from the train station. The Bistroquet is very good, although somewhat pricey. But if you want charcuterie, go there. It is the only time I ever liked andouillette. There is a nice covered market on the edge of the old town.

I guess it depends on what your interests are.

I classify Rouen as a larger city (103,000 inhabitants) though there is obviously lots to see and do there. We opted to skip it this last trip.

Troyes (59,00 inhabitants) was a wonderful surprise for us. Lovely "old town" they are working very hard on restoring as well as all the religious history and museums as mentioned. We stayed at Hotel de la Poste and highly recommend it for quality and location. We enjoyed its restaurant also.

Chartres (39,000metro area) is a jewel, too, with its old houses, Cathedral, stained glass workskhop and the quirky Pique-assiette house and garden. Lots of religious buildings, and a little train which gives you a tour of the quartier (saves the feet and is kinda fun). We caught a great promotional deal at the Le Grand Monarque Hotel: a Deluxe double room, gourmet dinner for two in their renowned restaurant and the bufffet breakfast the next morning for 160euro. I would not hesitate to go back. They have a current promotion which is 2 nights with dinner for a special price. If that is too steep, right next door is the Hotel de la Poste where the tours stay.

Angers is only about 2 hours from Paris via TGV and is a beautiful city. The train station at Angers is in the center of the city and easy walking distance to most of the sites. The Chateau of Angers is worth seeing and so is the old section of the city. There are also a number of beautiful gardens. If you are interested, e-mail me and I will give you the information on the hotel I stayed at.

Have you considered Mont St. Michel? Especially if you stay overnight there, it is not to be missed. After Paris, it is my favorite French destination.

All of the places suggested so far are certainly worth the trip. You could almost just throw a dart at the map and be pleased wherever you go. But your plan to spend only one night there makes me think you shouldn't be going too far, because you will lose part of two days just traveling.

That leads me to suggest Fontainebleau, a place worth strolling about, plus a chateau that is breathtaking. It's an easy, short train ride, frequent connections, and should give you the two full days you want with only one night sandwiched between. Good luck.

I like both Reims and Rouen very much, but they aren't small villages. I don't know if I'd call either one charming, exactly, either. they are not super-huge and easy to walk around, though.

real small places don't have great shopping, in my experience, though. I did do some shopping in Reims when I was there, but nothing that unusual.

I have another idea -- Beaune, which is in the wine country and a small town (about 12K pop, I think). It is on the train line and not too difficult to get to (I think you usually need to transfer from the TGV at Dijon, although there may be some direct runs). I don't think it's so far away that it would ruin your two days -- I was thinking of it for just a day trip but never got around to it. Here's one of their web sites:

http://www.ot-beaune.fr/english/