deadzoners

Hi

I'm going to France this May 2013 for 10 days. Intended to go Paris, Strasbourg and still decide on one more city to go to.

For this trip I want to go to cities that I can walk around and explore the city. I don't want to visit a city that I have to take a taxi or bus to go around 20, 30km to visit a castle or something similar and come back.

Travel further by train is no issue with me, as long as the city/village i can see by walking then it's fine with me.

since it's the first time I will go to France, I need more ideas from experienced travellers.

Thanks a lot.

adrienne

With only 10 days I would choose some place between Paris and Strasbourg such as Colmar.

If you can walk the entire city of Paris then any other French city would be no problem. I can't imagine any city that is 30km from one end to the other.

mamcalice

You can certainly see a lot of Paris by walking. If you want to visit Versailles, for example, it is easily reached by train. I would spend a week in Paris and the rest of the time in a small city like Amboise or Avignon, also easily reached by train from Paris and easy to see by walking.

nytraveler

You can see the center of almost any city by foot - if you have the energy - Paris, Strasbourg and Colmar are fine. However many of the castles and palaces are out in the countryside and best seen either by car or by tour bus. (May or may not be trains at all and buses are often for locals and very infrequent.)

tom18

You might also consider a day trip from Paris to Bayeux. Bayeux is a little town (around 20,000) rather than a city. Within the town can be found the Bayeux tapestry (about a 15-minute walk from the train station), the cathedral (near the tapestry and dating from the 12th century), and a wonderful WWII museum. In addition, the town is very pretty and has some great restaurants (search this site and Tripadvisor for reviews). And, of course, if you want to visit the nearby Normandy D-Day landing sites, you can find a tour in town that will take you there.

Also, just to clarify - Colmar is not between Paris and Strasbourg. It is about 45 miles on the other side of Strasbourg from Paris.

PalenQ

every city and town and village in France meets your criteria for being walkable - even Paris to a certain extent as main sites are clustered in a rather compact area.

and my motto is that walking between sites is great because IME it is often what you see when walking between say museums or cathedrals - what you pass en route is often as interesting or more than your destination - often IMO some stuff museum whereas the life and culture of a country is in the streets and shops, etc you pass by on foot.

bilboburgler

Well I'd suggest you would do better riding a bike in Strasbourg, especially if you want to see any of the 1870+ military defenses or the much of the canal area.

I think I'd also include Rheims, you can do a fair bit of that by foot but again a bike would get you to some of the further champagne houses.

I'm with PalenQ that just about every city and town is walkable but some are big enough to need a bike this would include Lyon and Toulouse both of which spread out a fair bit.

MaineGG

I would add Nancy and Dijon to your possibilities. Nancy is on the way to Strasbourg by TGV. There is direct TGV service from Strasbourg to Dijon, and Dijon back to Paris. Both Nancy and Dijon are very walkable and quite different from Paris, Strasbourg, and each other.

kerouac

For something a bit different between Strasbourg and Paris, I would recommend Nancy or Metz. If you search the archives, you'll find that I made reports about both (and I also made a report about Strasbourg).

travelhorizons

Avignon or Aix-en-Provence ... in addition to Paris which is easily walkable and has an excellent subway system.

kerouac

I'm not sure it is worth going so far south for such a short trip.

Michael

Troyes might be a good choice: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...th/4861325114/

deadzoners

Thanks a lot for your input. i really appreciate that. Saw many trip reports by kerouac. Really admire the time and effort you put in to make very detail reports.

bilboburgler mentioned about 1870+ military defenses in Strasbourg. I read books but don't see any book mention about this. Where is the actual location?

Now to question about Regular France Rail Pass. From this site http://www.francerailpass.com/ what I understand is that if I buy a rail pass, I can use TGV (with reservation) right? How much is the booking fee? If I use normal train, I don't need to pay for anything at all. Am I right?

bilboburgler

A little from wiki
"A belt of massive fortifications was established around the city, most of which still stand today, renamed after French generals and generally classified as Monuments historiques; most notably Fort Roon (now Fort Desaix) and Fort Podbielski (now Fort Ducrot) in Mundolsheim, Fort von Moltke (now Fort Rapp) in Reichstett, Fort Bismarck (now Fort Kléber) in Wolfisheim, Fort Kronprinz (now Fort Foch) in Niederhausbergen, Fort Kronprinz von Sachsen (now Fort Joffre) in Holtzheim and Fort Großherzog von Baden (now Fort Frère) in Oberhausbergen.[27] Those forts subsequently served the French army (Fort Podbielski/Ducrot for instance was integrated into the Maginot Line[28]), and were used as POW-camps in 1918 and 1945. Two garrison churches were also erected for the members of the Imperial German army, the Lutheran Église Saint-Paul and the Roman Catholic Église Saint-Maurice."

Some of these are open to the public and you will find various leaflets in tourist info.

FORT DE SCHOENENBOURG is Maginot now, but originally was pre-maginot www.lignemaginot.com

http://wikimapia.org/13267198/fr/For...d-de-Tir-civil

etc etc

MaineGG

Sometimes it is difficult to get a reservation on a TGV when using a railpass. The availability of reservations for passholders is limited.

It would almost certainly be less expensive to buy separate tickets well in advance and take advantage of low PREMs fares. I see fares for Paris-Strasbourg in mid-May for €30 and €33 euros.

StCirq

Don't buy a rail pass for your simple trips. Familiarize yourself with how to get low-cost point-to-point tickets on the national railway - SNCF.

StCirq

And ALL French cities can easily be enjoyed traveling on foot. Some are more spread out than others, but I have never been in one that I didn't spend hours wandering around on foot (with a map, of course).

LunaBella

I second the suggestion for Nancy! I fell in love with this lovely French town a few years ago, when my son and I stopped there for a few days between Paris and Freiburg, Germany. It's also an easy train stop between Paris and Strasbourg, its main square is staggeringly beautiful, and the town is full of art nouveau. What's not to love?!

Anyway we stayed at the Hotel de Guise, which I also highly recommend. Ah, Nancy...I would like to return there soon.

deadzoners

I intend to go paris-strasbourg-colmar-nancy-paris. is it worth to get a Rail Pass?

Thanks

StCirq

No, it is not. Everything you need to know about buying the cheapest point-to-point tickets is here on Fodors and at www.seat61.com.