I am looking for recommendations for areas to spend some time before heading to Paris after coming from the East (Germany, Switzerland, Italy).. looking at Alsace-Lorraine, Haute-Savoie, French Alps, Lyon, Burgundy. Any advice on which region makes for a nice 2-3 day stint before Paris?

Thanks!

All the places you mentioned are fabulous places to spend time. Probably the most "user friendly" area is Alsace.

Stu Dudley

The French Alps if coming from Italy, Alsace if coming from Germany and the Jura if coming from Switzerland. For the Jura you might be interested in my trip report which starts in Basel. Click on my name to find it.

As Stu has said, every place has its charme (except that Lyon is not countryside). It depends on how you want to spend your time, e.g.
- strolling through picturesque towns and villages,
- hiking,
- scenic drives,
- visiting castles, abbeys, museums, other attractions,
- occasionally visiting attractions in a town or city,
- visiting wineries.

Do you want to stay in a town or village or really in the countryside?

For starters, you may look here for charming, reasonably priced hotels on the countryside (do the map search):
http://www.chateauxhotels.co.uk/

If you like to splurge, this chain offers luxury:
www.relaischateaux.com

Thanks everyone for the great suggestions, MIchael you are right on about how it depends on where we are coming from, and I don't think I've fully decided that yet. I want to go somewhere where I can have some charms of a city/town (even Lyon perhaps) but also the chance to spend a day doing wine tour/tastings or biking, As I said, 2-3 days is all i have, but I am only 23 and I can make the most of it!!!

thanks!!

Champagne?