bredhairedgirl

Three women aging 19-39 spending 9 full days in France and battling on where to go. Flying from/to De Gaulle. Would like to leave Paris until the end-would be easier for departing. We have been reading lots of travel books, blog, posts, tips, etc...Still tearing my hair out.
Did recently see some posts on renting apartments? Are they reputable, or is Taken written all over it?? Is it cheaper or feasible to rent a car (driven in Scotland many times)for 3 people vs train tickets?

Thinking....

Normany day 1 or Giverny bike tour
Nice 2 days
Strausborg 2 days
Paris 3 days.

Any brave souls with advice?
Thanks

Guenmai

As far as apartments go, we have an apartment thread entitled, "Paris Apartment Rental". You can scroll to get to it. And apartments usually rent for a minimum of 5 days, but more commonly probably 7 days. Happy Travels!

swandav2000

Hi bredhairedgirl,

I think Nice is quite far to go for only two days.

And only three days in Paris??

How many of you have been to Paris before? To France??

I think I would have two destinations for nine days and build in diversity by taking day-trips. Or, max, three destinations.

Good luck!

s

jamikins

I agree, with 9 days stick to two destinations. You will lose at least 1/2 a day each time you move (travel time, checking in and out etc).

With 9 days you could spend the whole time in Paris (renting an apt) and do the Giverny Fat Bike tour and Strasbourg as day trips from Paris.

Hope this helps!

50plus

I like to do a loop from Paris. DH and I fly to Paris, spend a few days in the city then rent a car from the Carousel at the Louvre and pick a destination to drive to. We drop the car off at the airport the night before our flight out, without going back into the city. This works well for us. We book the Paris hotel and the airport hotel and wing some of the rest. We have gone up through Rouen to Normandy and St. Michel, to Chartes and the Loire Valley, to Burgundy, and to the Champagne region and Alsace this way. Just prioritize what you all want to see and figure out the route. Take a GPS from home if you have one.

adrienne

When you did your itinerary did you factor in travel time plus time getting to and from the train stations or airports, packing/unpacking, familiarizing yourselves with new places? Below is train travel time.

Paris to Nice - 5.5 to 6.5 hours
Nice to Strasbourg - 9 to 11.5 hours
Strasbourg to Paris - 2.5 hours

Does your 9 full days include the arrival day? If arriving from an overseas flight you need several hours to retrieve bags, get to hotel, etc.

Normandy requires more than 1 day. You'd need probably 2 full days to touch the surface - D Day beaches, Mont-St-Michel, Rouen, Caen.

Re: trains vs. car - have you looked at the distance you'll be traveling? By car, Paris to Nice is 9 hours on a highway; Nice to Strasbourg is 10 hours. These times are driving times only; they do not account for stopping for food and health breaks. I've done it once and I'd never do it again. Who wants to spend an entire vacation day(s) looking at a highway.

But it's your vacation and you should do what you want.

Apartments - an above post referenced a Paris apartment thread. Check it out. I've rented apartments and really enjoyed staying in them. I don't think you should automatically assume that you will be taken.

The bottom line is the three of you need to decide what you want your vacation to be. Do you want to come home saying you've been to a lot of towns that are a blur and saw a lot of highway scenery or do you want to come home and say that you went to two places and really saw and experienced France in your 9 days.

I'd recommend Paris and either Normandy or a couple of day trips (Giverny/Versailles). Paris is a diverse city and has much to offer. You could not even begin to experience her depth in 9 days.

ira

Hi B,

You have far too much on your plate.

You could easily do 9 days in Paris with a few daytrips (Avignon, Auxerre, Chartres, Dijon, Biverny, Nancy, Strasbourg, Versailles.....), or visit Normandy for a few days plus Paris.

Enjoy your revised visit.

NanBug

I'd stick with staying in Paris the whole time, too, with daytrips.

That way, if some of the gals don't want to go on a particular trip, it's easier for them to stay behind, or go elsewhere on their own.

Less hassle, less tension, more freedom.

Bon voyage!

Lexma90

Here's another vote for 2, or at the most, 3 destinations. How about some time in Normandy, then Paris? If you're considering Nice, then that plan would work better if you're flying into Nice, and out of Paris (open jaws), but it sounds like you may already have your plane tickets. If it were me, with my interests (which includes not having much interest in Nice or Strasbourg), I would spend two nights in one location in Normandy, two nights in a different location, and the rest of the time in Paris.

To help narrow down your options (I've done with with my family), sit down with a map of Europe, or at least of the places you're thinking about, armed with train and car travel times between the places. Then ask each member of the group about travel times, and what time you'll have left in between the travelling.

Re apartments, for a shorter stay, you may find hotels easier, especially if your group hasn't done much European travel. Some people prefer apartments, but we prefer hotels - and we're not a demanding group that needs lots of luxuries. We just like to see someone at our front desk, who we can ask various minor questions, and knowing that their will be someone at the front desk no matter when we get to the hotel. Also, I love a good cafe creme in the morning, and that tends to be easier to get at a hotel (or at a cafe down the street, which is the way we always do it in Paris).

Train vs. car, it depends on where and what you want to do. If you want to visit places that are difficult to get to by train (i.e. Mont St. Michel), then car may be better. If you'll only be visiting cities (Nice, Strasbourg), then train may be better. You can price out the car rental vs. train tickets for 3 people to figure out what would be best, money-wise.

Guenmai

Correction, "Paris Apartment Thread", not "Paris Apartment Rental". Happy Travels!

cvq

We found an apartment in Paris to rent on www.vrbo.com and had a good experience. Many of the apartments have user reviews so that's probably a good indication of whether they are legitimate. Also, I'd suggest taking a bike tour of Versailles... that was wonderful.

TPAYT

I'm with the "2 city" group. IMO 9 days is too short to run around that much. We've been to Paris 6 times and will return this fall as we still have things to see on our list.

There are so many day trips out of Paris to choose from. If you choose 2 cities, you will enjoy them both more than hurrying from place to place.

We have enjoyed:
Paris & Avignon(TGV, then rent a car at the train station)
Paris & Aix en Provence (same as above)
Paris & Antibes(ditto)
Paris & The Loire Valley(ditto)
Paris & a Mediterrenean cruise
Paris alone

I also agree that if you are doing the South you can maximize your time by flying into Paris and out of Nice(or the other way around).

To go north, then west, then south requires a little more time if you want to experience the regions at all. France is so beautiful that you should try to stop and take time to smell the flowers---or is it the coffee---or is it to try the wine?

Oh well, everyone travels differently. Whatever you choose, we'll look forward to your trip report.

TPAYT

correction--I meant to go north, then east.

kerouac

There are more possibilities than usual this year due to the economic situation.

BarbSG

I agree 2 cities would seem to be more managable. You'll enjoy more.

nytraveler

Way too much territory to cover. You'll spend half your time just driving from one place to another. I would concentrate on paris and spend a couple of days in ONE direction from there - preferably either east or west. You can see something if you spend 3 days.

To do Nice and the Riviera including travel I would want a minimum of 5 days. And that wold be only a very superficial look.

janisj

And if you still want to try all these places spread all over France -- re-read adrienne's post above. Those are the travel times and will take 2.5 days out of your already short trip.

MichelHenri

bonjour
it is actually Strasbourg.... very nice city
You probably can get an Eurail pass for unlimited train travel and for example when you are in Nice you can easily commute by train to Monaco, Antibes and Cannes
have a nice trip
michel

Sampompei

While everyone seems to be telling you to revise travel plans, I would like to give you a small suggestion for something to do in Paris. I just got from Paris and one of the best things I did was a wine tasting with Olivier at O-Chateau. I did a two hour tasting with six wines sampled as well as a presentation of all the different wine regions in France. He taught us how to read a French label and the proper way to look at, smell, and taste wines. It was SO informative and SO much fun! It is short amount of time and it is right in the heart of Paris, (two steps from the Louvre) so it doesn't have to be a whole day affair like other wine tastings can be. I would advise you to consult their website and see if you three women can book a tasting! I promise you won't regret it!
www.o-chateau.com
Have a great time in France. I know I did!

JeanneB

Bred:
Please consider the "stay in Paris" advice.

This sounds like a first-timers' itinerary. Why do I say that? Because it's very similar to what we tried to do on our first trip. We had 13 nights, wanted to see as much as possible. Our plan was: 3 nights Paris, Dordogne 4, Brittany 3, then 3 last nights Paris. We picked up our car in Dordogne, returned it in Brittany.

The days in Paris were perfect. But mostly what I recall of the countryside is scenes whizzing by outside the car window...usually with our having no idea where we were. The driving took <I>much much longer</i> than planned and, when we finally got to Brittany, the weather was awful.

Once back in Paris we dearly wished we had stayed there the whole time, with perhaps some daytrips. I wouldn't exactly call the trip a "nightmare". But---having been back to Europe many times since---we look back with regret at the amount of time we wasted on that first trip.

And we had 4 more nights than you. If you <I>must</i> do a side trip, I would say 3 nights in one place. But you'll find that 6 days in Paris doesn't cover nearly as much as you think.

Bottom line: If we had it to do again we would have stayed in Paris the entire time.