Will be in Paris in April '07. The Paris Marathon will be run while we are there (not us). I'm looking for suggestions to get out of town on that day (Sunday the 15th). Versailles, Normandy or anything else?

We have only been to Paris two times for just 2 days each visit. We'll be spending a week in Paris this time. We're open to almost anything.

If I were in Paris for just the weekend, I'd choose Versailles, which is considerably closer to Normandy and can be visited easily by train. Of course, it depends on your interests, which you dn't really say much about here. Normandy certainly holds interest for a lot of people, but you need a car to really explore (unless you go on a guided bus tour).

sorry ... I mean to say that Versailles was considerably closer than Normandy.

Just curious...I'll be in Paris at the same time next year.

Will the marathon be a great inconvenience? I see that it is mainly run through neighborhoods on the Right Bank. If I stay away from the route, will I even have a notion that such a large event is taking place?

Doug, I'll be in Paris for ONE WEEK not a weekend. I'm just trying to find a place to get away from 35,000 runners in the streets of Paris on Sunday the 15th of April.

Giverny would be lovely in April. Here's some info:
http://giverny.org/gardens/

I believe the prior poster is correct. Go to www.parismarathon.com. The route is on there & just avoid those areas at the appropriate time. We always take a little time to go to St. Germain-en-Laye, a suburb right on the RER line. A small castle, great park & neat little ped zone. http://www.parismarathon.com/maratho..._parcours.html

Sorry, I mis-read your post. If you're in Paris for a week, I'd certainly do Versaille (esp. since you've been to the city twice). I'd also do a second day-trip, and Giverny would be a particularly nice one in April. Normandy is also a possibility, but it's a very long day and does require renting a car.

There are many interesting places in Paris that you could explore that would be nowhere near the race... Butte aux Cailles(13th), back streets of Montmartre(18th), Musee Marmottan(16th), Montparnasse - tower, cemetery, catacombs(14th)...

Unless you just truly want to go out of town for a day... Versailles is almost a must-do, Fontainebleau is also good. Transportation is fairly easy for both.

We really enjoyed our day trip to Chateau Chenonceau, the birds and smell of green were a welcome relief. TGV to St. Pierre de Corps (Tours) and then short jaunt on TER to Chenonceaux.

My pics are here.
http://www.worldisround.com/articles/297195/index.html

I also agree with the in Paris but non-touristy area of Butte aux Cailles(13th).
Cheers and good luck at the marathon.

I agree that you should stay in Paris and explore areas that are off the beaten path. Besides I am sure the race will not impact the whole city just certain areas.

Have you been to London? It is a "short" train ride from the Gare du Nord, under the Channel. Start early and you can have a whole day there.

Or you could hop on a train from St Lazare (about 38 euros return) and an hour later, you're in Rouen, the old capital of France.

We did the Fat Tires bike tour to Giverny/Monet's Gardens. It was really nice!!!!!!

I'd like to do Versailles next year.

Chartres is only an hour away by train. Go there to enjoy the town itself, not just the famous cathedral.

This may be out of the question for you, but if it was me, I'd be thrilled to get to see parts of the Paris marathon being run! How neat to get to watch it! I'm jealous...but then, I'm a runner, so I guess I'm weird.

Thanks for all the ideas. Much to ponder!

<<saraallison11 said:

This may be out of the question for you, but if it was me, I'd be thrilled to get to see parts of the Paris marathon being run! How neat to get to watch it! I'm jealous...but then, I'm a runner, so I guess I'm weird.>>

I'm an ex runner (2 marathons). Knees went on me and ended that.

Another vote for Versailles. It makes for a wonderful day trip. I had some people tell me it was a 1/2 day trip which I guess you could do it in a 1/2 day but it was nice to linger and enjoy the full day. Giverny is another wonderful visit.

In December, we are going on a Reims day trip: Cathedral, World War II museum and, of course, Champagne. It looks good on paper, so I'll report back. Train trip is only about 90 minutes each way.

There are plenty of good reasons and good places for day trips, but I don't understand the concern about the marathon. We live on the route. The race is run on the street. Little encumbrance of the sidewalks. Granted you can't cross the street while it's going by, but you can cross under via Metro entrance-exit tunnels. The runners go by pretty quickly, a couple of hours at most, I reckon from memory. You could go to a museum and miss it entirely. All that aside, the race is pretty darned cute. So much life and determination whizzing by. Runners pushing friends in wheelchairs, runners in costumes, proud laggards hanging in, and so forth. Of course I love Paris, this "great museum without a turnstyle," but occasional juxtaposition of the contemporary is pleasing, too.