Approx. 10 days in France - which places to visit?
 

Hi all,

I am in France from Apr 23 for approx 10 days (is it too short?) Apart from Paris and Versailles which are the places I MUST visit?

My understanding Lyon and Nice - but is it doable in 10days? I am planning to spend 5 days in Paris, 1 day in Versailles and have 4 days to do Lyon and Nice - should I do 1, both or none and spend more time in Paris? Iam not a big museum fan but am a big sucker of Gothic structures and ancient architecture.

Cheers!
Kumar

I don't think that Paris, Nice and Lyon are the places to look for Gothic structures and ancient architecture.

What else do you want to see in France?

I'll have to disagree with valtor on Lyon not being a place to look for gothic and ancient architecture.

Lyon has two roman amphitheatres, one of which is in much better nick than the other and still hosts concerts, plays and gigs and you can still see the remains (ruins?) of some of the four aqueducts the Romans built in and around Lyon. The larger of the two is France's oldest, so I think it classifies as ancient.

As well as all the Roman architecture ( Lyon at the time was arguably the most important settlement in Gaul) there is plenty of Gothic architecture, including the St. Jean cathedral (which is a mixture of Roman and Gothic styles) with its astronomical clock which still works.

As you can probably tell, I'm going to suggest foregoing Nice on this trip and spending your four available days in Lyon. Four days isn't enough (in my opinion) but is definitely enough time to give you an overview and feel for the city.

I'm heading back to Lyon in two weeks and can't wait. Hopefully it'll be the first of a couple of trips there this year for me.

While in Pais, take a day trip to Chartres to see the cathedral. It is a marvel of French Gothic architecture. I think it is more beautiful than Notre Dame. If one is offered, take a tour.

Yes, 10 days is too short.

You can see Versailles as a daytrip from Paris. In addition to Chartres, you could also daytrip to Rouen, which is a veritable feast of Gothic churches and medieval houses.

For Roman ruins, here's a good website: http://www.historvius.com/features/r...ites-in-france. There's the Arene de Lutece in Paris. Elsewhere in France, inland Provence has a lot of Roman ruins in Nimes, Arles, Orange, etc., but you really need a car. Though I expect you could do some of this by bus and train.

Not far over the border in Germany is the town of Trier, chock full of Roman stuff, some of it very well-preserved.

I've assumed by ancient architecture you meant Roman. But there's a lot of prehistoric megaliths in Brittany. And, to the south, in the Dordogne, caves, cave paintings, and the troglodyte town of La Roque Saint Christophe. Both of these destinations, Brittany and the Dordogne, require a car.

If you're doing Paris and have only 10 days then I wouldn't do either Lyon or Nice since you'd just be repeating the big city experience you already had in Paris. If you'll be driving you can do Paris and then use a car to explore a region outside of Paris for a few days. If you are not planning on renting a car during your stay I would suggest staying in Paris all 10 days and using it as a base to make day trips. If you like gothic architecture you can make day trips from Paris to Reims, Laon and Chartres, which all have spectacular cathedrals and are nice places to visit even without the cathedrals. Combine those three days trips with your day trip to Versialles and that makes 4 of your 10 days vacation already accounted for.

Ten days is a very short time, and if it's a first trip to Paris, I'd say you want a minimum of 5 days there. There isn't a lot of ancient architecture in Paris apart from Les Arènes de Lutèce and the scrap of Roman wall that's still visible on the pavement on the Ile de la Cité, but there's medieval architecture galore and a few Gothic remains - Notre Dame de Paris of course. Versailles doesn't fit in with any period you've mentioned.

But as mentioned, if you're really interested in ancient ruins, you need to head south, at least to Lyon, preferably to Provence.

I wonder if by "ancient" you just mean more than a few hundred years, and that is why you said Versailles.

I really don't understand the comment that you don't go to Paris for Gothic architecture. What about St Denis, Notre Dame and Sainte Chapelle, those minor little examples. As well as St Gervais and other Gothic cathedrals/churches you can easily see from Paris as a day trip (ie, Chartres, Reims, Rouen, Senlis, Troyes).