Shivaprashanth

Hello

i am planing to travel Europe this april with a friend and will have 6 days for France. I have read some blogs and forums and have come to the listings of some places. I need help in finalizing it.I also want to know whats the best way to travel.

Places:
1. Paris(sight seeing)--> Normandy(st Mischael,world war places)->Brittanny->Giverny(garden)->Lyon(city)->Loire(chateu and winery)->Versallis->Alsace then to Brussels.

I am also interested in visiting Provence region. May not be that interested in Nice and Monaco(out of my budget and less number of days).i want to feel the cities rather than visiting meuseums. let me know if i have missed anything. Let me also know if i need to add anything. And suggest me some places for stay in the following route. I know this trip will be of lot of travelling, cant help i only have those many days. want to utilize it for the maximum.

i would also be travelling in belgium and amsterdam. My port of entry will be belgium. eurorail is the best bet?

-Prashanth

bilboburgler

6 days for France and you want to fit in
Paris
Normandy
Brittany (Mont St Michael)
Giverny
Lyon
Loire
Versailles
Alsace
Brussels

I suggest you do the following

Paris 3 days, day trips to Normandy 1 day, Versailles 1 day, Alsace on the way to Brussels 1 day. it will be a rush but it might just work

bilboburgler

why have you asked the same question in two threads??

Shivaprashanth

Thanks for the reply.The website got hung when i aplied submit first time. So i tried second time. i am new here.

What about the travel ? can i take train or do i need to hire a car ?

Can i visit all of them? or i should remove some places from the list? In that case which are the places i can remove from the list ?

bilboburgler

Paris 3 days, use Paris Metro to get around and from CDGaulle airport
day trips to Normandy 1 day, I'd book a tour (they are worth the back ground info) but take a train to the start often in Rouen
Versailles 1 day, take the train
Alsace on the way to Brussels 1, train to Colmar and leave bags at station, then either car hire or you can take the local buses out to say Equisheim which is a good example of a fortified roman town with wineries close by

bilboburgler

All other sites need to be dropped from your plan, there is just too much to do

bilboburgler

I guess you could take a Giverney tour and drop the WW2 beaches. Much as Giverney is wonderful a well organised tour of the landing is very good.

Shivaprashanth

ok .. so now it finalizes to,

Paris- 2 days
Versallis- 1 day
Normandy - 1 day
Giverny- 1 day
Alsace - 1 day

So Loire valley is ruled out, i cant see any chateau? is ther any other place where i can see chateau ?

FrenchMystiqueTours

Um, Versailles is the most famous and largest château in France. There are other château very close to Paris as well, such as Vau-le-Vicomte, Chantilly, Pierrefonds, Fontainebleau etc. But you need to decide what is most important to you. I think you should get rid of that day to Alsace and replace it with another château if that really interests you. If you want to do a D-Day tour as a day trip it might be easiest for you to go with one of the bus tour companies that departs from Paris, such as Cityrama or Parisvision.

Michel_Paris

With such a short time, you are short-changing Paris. Gain one day by combining versailles and Giverny

http://en.parisvision.com/14,36-visi...versailles.htm

Michel_Paris

are you landing from home in Paris, or is it en route? If yes, your first day is going to be compromised, with jet lag, getting into city, checking into hotel...

Note that Normandy (tour) will be a very long day.

StCirq

<<Paris- 2 days
Versallis- 1 day
Normandy - 1 day
Giverny- 1 day
Alsace - 1 day >>

You can't do this. It's logistically impossible.

2 days for Paris is not adequate. One day you'll be totally jetlagged and nothing will "Stick."

Versailles doesn't necessarily take a full day.

Normandy is a LONG way from Paris. You can take a full-day tour, but it will be rushed, a very long day, and you'll spend more time in transit than you will in Normandy.

Giverny is a nice place, but doesn't deserve a full day and considering all there is to do in Paris is a waste of your VERY short time.

Alsace just has to be dropped. You can't possibly get there and back and get anything out of it.

Stay in Paris and make a day trip, possibly two. You do not have enough time to do more.

Shivaprashanth

thanks for the detailed reply.
I am landing in belgium, so there is a xtra day for jet lag ..

so now i feel it simplifies to
Paris- 2 days
Versallis + Giverny- 1 day
Normandy - 2 days
Loire valley +wine tasting - 1 day

can i see Millau Viaduct on the way ? .. any chance ?

One more query,
How costlier is the guided tour compared to covering places by self. i mean if i take train/car and travel myself will it be cheaper ?

jamikins

It takes time to get to these places - 2 days in Normandy, then 1 day in Loire - how do you plan to get from Normandy to Loire? You have not allocated any time for it!

I think your best bet is to spend 6 days in Paris and do a long day tour using a tour group for Normandy, a day trip to Versailles, and a day trip to Loire using a tour company. Spend the rest of your time in Paris.

Loire Tour: http://www.pariscityrama.com/visit-f...ry/50A134.html

Giverny/Versailles day trip: http://www.pariscityrama.com/visit-s...e/115A208.html

Just to give you some ideas...

FrenchMystiqueTours

If you look at a map you'll notice that the Millau Viaduct is in the south of France and not on the way to any of the sites you've listed.

The Paris-Versailles one day tour is offered by several companies and costs between 150€ and 180€.

What are you going to do for 2 days in Normandy? Go to the Parisvision and Cityrama websites to get prices for the one day D-Day tours.

You could also do a day trip from Paris and go to the Loire region and do châteaux and/or wine tasting tours. The TGV will get you to Tours in an hour. You want to arrive in Tours Centre, not the train station Saint-Pierre-des-Corps. The tourist office is right across from the train station and that is where you'll pick-up your tour. Here is the weblink for the Tours tourist office. Click the tab on the left that says "Excursions" and you'll find all the info you need.
http://www.tours-tourisme.fr/index_en.php

If you decide on this you'll need to use the TGV website to buy/reserve your tickets. For info on these trains use the website www.tgv-europe.com for schedules and prices. Don't forget to uncheck the box marked "Direct Trains" to see all possible options. If the TGV site redirects you to the RailEurope website then try again and enter "Antarctica" as your ticket collection country. Other countries may also work but just try to find a country that doesn't get you redirected to RailEurope. The RailEurope website often doesn't show all the trains and generally has higher prices but you can check just to compare. You can buy tickets up to 90 days in advance and the earlier you buy them the cheaper they will be. The discounted tickets are known as PREM tickets but these are non-refundable and can't be exchanged.

Here is a website that will tell you how to navigate the TGV website:

http://www.nickbooth.id.au/Tips/FrenchTrain.htm

An excellent website to learn all about train travel in Europe is www.seat61.com.

Shivaprashanth

oki.. it changes to

Paris- 2+1 days(self)
Versallis + Giverny- 1 day(guided tour or self)
Normandy - 1 day(guided tour)
Loire valley +wine tasting - 1 day(guided tour)

i was worried whether i can see normandy ww2 fields and mt st michael on the same day.. looks good.

yeah i saw the map cant cover Millau Viaduct ..
thanks for detailed idea about train ticket booking. It's really helpfull ...

StCirq

<<can i see Millau Viaduct on the way ? .. any chance ?>>

On the way to where? But in any case, no. PLEASE get a map of France so you can understand where you're going.

FrenchMystiqueTours

Are you thinking of doing Mont Saint-Michel and a D-Day tour on the same day? Are those tours offered by one of the bus tour companies? Even if it was offered I wouldn't do it because it would leave you with too little time to appreciate the D-Day sites.

As far as doing Versailles and Giverny on your own I suppose you could but from either place you have to go back to Paris first to get to the other place. That's a good example of where a tour may cost more but will save you time over trying to do it on your own.

Shivaprashanth

yep .. its offered by one of the tour companies..i can book a stay near normandy and do it 2 days rit?

i mit even drop Versailles and Giverny. I am intersted in visiting historic places. So searching few other places for 2 days.
Now it changes to

Paris- 2 days(self)
Normandy - 1 day(guided tour)
Loire valley(one chateau)+winery - 1 day(guided tour)

2 days left, options i have are
1. extra day for M-S-M
2. Giverny+Versallis

any other places/region which i can see in 2 days ? please suggest

FrenchMystiqueTours

I guess what you mean is instead of doing Giverny+Versailles or MSM what other options would you have for 2 days. Is that correct? Well, there are several dozen day trips you could make from Paris and if you ask 100 people which one you should do you'll get 100 different answers.

Have a look at this thread where I and others discussed most of the popular day trips you could do from Paris:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...s-431343-2.cfm