macgyver

Ok, my brother just bought a home in Paris. So, my girlfriend and I are going over between June 21-30. This will be my first time to Europe. We will spend some time in Paris. But, we were thinking about visiting some other places. She would like to go to Champagne. How long should we spend there? She's been to London, so I guess that's out. Don't want to go too far, since we have limited amount of time. Thinking maybe Amsterdam or maybe someplace in Switzerland? We will probably travel by train, what kind of tickets do we need to buy? Thanks!

macgyver

Please! Can anybody help? Thanks!

wug

With just nine days I'd not venture out too far. What are your interests? You can get to the Champagne region within a couple of hours, pretty easy. Switzerland can be reached for a few days as well. Or, even stay in France but go to Chamonix and Annecy. Both incredibly beautiful if you're looking for the mountains.

The Loire valley is awesome as well and very easy to get to and get around in. Renting a car for that is ideal. Driving around the beautiful small towns is great. I'd take a train to Orleans or another city and then rent a car there though.

If you like history, you can spend days in Normandy and work your way over to Mont St. Michel. Driving around Normandy is great too and so many places to visit. It's all very moving to see the beaches of D-Day, the museums are very interesting and the people and food are great.

Of course there is Provence which is also wonderful. Aix en Provence is nice and the medieval city of Carcossone is amazine.

So many options. It really depends on your interests and what you're looking for.

AisleSeat

Traveling around in Europe is a little like traveling around in the Northeastern US states. Distances are not all that far and you can pretty much hop a train and be wherever you want to be in a few hours or at best on an overnight train.

So, where have you always dreamed of going? Go there... Amsterdam, Brugges, Germany, Switzerland, various regions of France, Austria, Italy. They are all within reach.

enzian

From Paris, you can reach Geneva in just over 3 1/2 hours, and Bern, close to the Bernese Oberland, in a little under 5 hours, both on the TGV. So if you wish to see Switzerland, it's certainly doable. But closer to Paris and Champagne, there are also many nice places. . . Alsace, Burgundy. . .

Worktowander

If your brother just bought a home in Paris (and you continue to be very, VERY nice to him ;-) ) you can count on going back to Europe many times. "Just enjoy Paris this time" would be my choice.

ekellyga

Last Sp break, our son and buddies did Paris, Brugge, and Amsterdam in a one week trip and it worked well. All via train. Just a thought

ira

Hi M,

I agree with WTW.

If you find yourselves bored with Paris, you can visit Chartres, Versailles, Giverny, Malmaison, Fontainbleau, Troyes, Auxerre, Reims or Dijon as daytrips.

Doble_Vergasser

All I can offer is a book recommendation. 'Daytrips - France' by Earl Steinbicker (amazon $15).

Add either Switzerland or benelux (Amsterdam) and I think you have a fine trip.

suze

I too was thinking Geneva or Lausanne (although I think it's more like 4-5 hours on the train? each way). You could go for an overnight or two and stay in Vevey or Montreux which are beautiful small Swiss towns right on Lac Leman. You would simply buy point-to-point tickets at the train station.

Look at the tourist information websites to get an idea:
www.vevey.ch
www.montreux.ch

flsd

I wouldn't try to cover a huge amount of ground, geographically. You may want to spend several days in Paris initially, as there's so much to see and experience there. I would suggest then renting a car (try a rental agency at one of the rail stations, e.g., Gare de Lyon) and driving to Reims. Visit a champagne cave (I like G.H. Mumm's tour) and walk about the town. If you're into history, see where WWII ended. Drive on to the Loire and visit Chambord, Chenonceaux and Angers. Visit Chartres. That would be plenty of ground for me to cover in a few days, keeping in mind you'll be returning to Paris.

macgyver

Thanks everybody. I think we'll stay in France for most of the time. Champagne and Normandy are a must. We will go to Amsterdam for a night or two. Is Brussels worth seeing? Thanks guys, I'm quickly getting addicted to this website! M

nessundorma

Instead of Brussels, consider Antwerp if you want to stop on your way to Amsterdam.

AisleSeat

Maybe you can get a train from Paris to Amsterdam that stops in Brussels. You can get off, spend a few hours seeing The Grand Place and the Mannikin and get back on the train to Amsterdam. Have a lunch of Mussels and Fries with Leffe Beer while you are there and pick up some chocolate. There are about 6-7 choclatiers (sp) on the Grand Place to choose from.

suze

If you choose Amsterdam, then I'd skip Switzerland. I think it would be way too much to try to go in two different directions (and maybe you meant either/or in your post, i wasn't sure).

KarenD

Look at www.raileurope.com or www.eurail.com for tickets. I also would recommend Amsterdam. Keep in mind that Switzerland is f***ing expensive (as is Paris) and you'll have to change money. All the other countries take Euros, of course.

Amsterdam will be beautiful in June. Almost everyone speaks English (they can but do not like to in Switzerland...it is not as bad as in Paris though) and you will welcome this if this is your first Europe trip.

PalQ

I usually refer novices Euro travelers thinking of rail trips and passes to get the free European Planning & Rail Guide (free at: www.budgeteuropetravel.com)as it answers many of your questions - the web site also details railpasses and has train tips for many countries. www.ricksteves.com also has good info as does www.euraide.com.

Patty_in_Innsbruck

Depending on your interests, I'd say just do Paris or go to Normandy which is very close. Mont St. Michel is beautiful and, as another suggested, the D-Day beaches are very worthwhile if you're at all interested in history.