Can anyone tell me if I can take a 1 day trip via train to a cute small town? I would like to take the train and Get off at a charming town. <BR>How about a town in the wine country. Can this be done in one day? <BR>Thanks in advance!

sure. You should get a map or guidebook and decide where you want to go and then find out if there's a train station. Lots of places, even wine country, are within a couple hours of Paris by train. Unfortunately, a lot of the cute small towns don't have train stations. Chablis, for instance, is within a couple hours of Paris, it's between Paris and Dijon, but I don't think it has a train station. Not sure how cute it is, but it's okay. Some other cute small towns, like Colmar, are in the Alsace region and too far. Think about what you would do in a small town for a day while planning; really small towns won't have anything there but a town center square, a few houses, maybe a church and a police station and a school, and a few shops, a cafe if you're lucky, and probably a bar at the bus/train station. There has to be some reason for you to go there, maybe a special museum or house or winery or something to see and do for a day. I'd suggest you look at Earl Steinbicker's Day Trips in France paperback book for ideas; it's very good, and only includes towns that will give you something to do for a day and that are reachable by public transport. Also, people may not speak English much in these small towns, if that's a problem. You might consider going to Epernay in the Champagne region, a little distance from Reims; it's a small town, just a couple hours from Paris by train, and is walkable from the station; there are several champagne caves/tours there you can reach by foot. I haven't been there so can't rate it on cuteness, though.

Visited Reims from Paris as a day trip last month. Wouldn't describe Reims as a cute town at all, but as a bustling city. Most of the building looked pretty new (wasn't it bombed during WWII?). However the cathedral is worth seeing, along with several champaigne caves. The tourist information office located next to the cathedral, and a 10-15 minute walk from the train station. The train ride was only 1 1/2 hours from Paris. <BR> <BR>I also visited Bayeux which I thought was a great town. You can visit the cathedral, the Bayeux tapestry, and a couple other museums if you have time. We drove so I don't know how long it would take via train. Bayeux does have some great cafes, and I thought that it was charming. <BR> <BR>Hope this helps.

A friend just sent me an article from the Sunday Los Angeles Times of July 9. The article recommended Troyes in France. The pictures in the article show charm and history. The Cathedral of St. Peter and St.Paul is 16th century with beautiful stained glass. 13th and 14th century churches are still standing, not touched by the war. It is 90 minutes from Paris by car.Good Luck!

What about Versailles and the château and gardens - very easy to get to. <BR>or <BR>Fontainebleau - Napoleon's château alsdo the Barbizon village nearby where the impressionist painters hung out. <BR>or <BR>Chartes and its cathedral <BR> <BR>or take a coach excursion to the Mont St Michel. It's quite far away (4hrs by coach) but very nice and very famous. You can also get day trips to the Loire Valley where you visit 2 or 3 châteaux usually Amboise (where Leonardo da Vinci is buried), Blois and Chambord or Chenonceau.