Hello, looking for recommendations for place to spend last night in France (not Paris.) Will be coming from Burgundy area and have flight at 12 noon on a Tuesday. Not airport or chain hotels, maybe small hotel, B&B in nice setting?

Having that same desire, we have decided to stay in the city of Senlis, an 1/2 hour drive from CDG. The one hotel mentioned in most guidebooks was full; the other few hotels didn't quite do it for me. The Senlis tourist office website offers BandB suggestions. Independent searches on the web also yielded many interesting places to stay in the surrounding area, too.

Probably a dumb question - is there a train from Senlis to the airport? I've been working out logistics for my upcoming trip and this might work. Thanks!

How do you intend to get to the airport at 8-9AM in the morning from a B&B?

you can get a luxurious 4 star hotel at cdg on priceline for probably less than anything elsewhere, leaving you no "early morning getting to the airport" worries.

it worked out well for us.

www.chateau-chaumontel.fr would be a lovely place to stay, assuming you have a car to get to airport.

There are no trains from Senlis to CDG, or even Paris. I don't think they even have an operating train station, but if so, it is just small trains. YOu have to take buses to get anywhere.

Thanks all for your comments. Gretchen, we will still have the car. Janeyre, have you decided exactly where you'll stay yet? Grandmere, the chateau looks delightful, did you stay there and is it near a village or anything else to explore if we got there early enough?

We are staying at Villa Edelweiss. It was listed on the Senlis tourist office website, and I tracked down a website from www.chambres-hotes.org/Oisel. There were other interesting lodging options on the website, too, in nearby areas. I'm excited to check out Senlis; a bit disappointed that due to an unexpected flight change (earlier departure) on Air Canada's part, our last night in Versailles will not be practical. I want to eliminate as much stress as possible driving in to CDG in the morning.

If you will still have the car then go for it--realizing you need extra hours to turn in the car from WHEREVER you come from

Ozgirl, I spent a lovely Christmas night there several years ago and arrived by train from Paris. I don't think there's anything else in Luzarches , but it's not far from Chantilly, which is a destination in itself.

Any sightseeing you do in the area, I'd plan on doing it the day you arrive, not the next day; I agree with those who say to allow lots of time to return the car. Maybe it's just us, but it always takes longer than we plan, even in small towns, let alone CDG!

I think you'd be very happy spending the night at Chaumontel, and it's reasonably priced, too.

Many thanks Grandmere. Would this mean Chaumontel itself would be the only option for dinner? How long do you think we would need to allow from Chaumontel? It looks beautiful and I am struggling with my husband who is a bit of a 'panicker' re timelines and will probably want to stay at CDG which I don't. We depart from Terminal 1 I think and need to drop off at Avis? I haven't quite navigated my way around the CDG website yet!

I highly recommend the Sheraton right inside CDG. Check out www.tripadvisor.com under Roissy. It rated #2 out of #21. The Hilton rated #1.

If you stay somewhere that you can get a quick shuttle to the terminal, you can return the car the night before that will allow you plenty of time should you encounter difficulties either locating the drop off location or in returning the vehicle. Then you can have a leisurely morning before heading to terminal. We stayed at the Sheraton (I don't remember if it's in Terminal 1 or Terminal 2. Anyway, they had a driver take us from one terminal to the other terminal at no charge.

I think the Chateau is the only place in Luzarches for dinner (dining is very nice there), but again, Chantilly, where there is more going on, is not far, especially since you have a car. I have no idea how long it would take to get to CDG since I was only on a "round trip" overnight from Paris. Perhaps an email (or phone call, fax) to Chateau would give you some specific info. Their website does provide a little map, which would give a general orientation.

Thanks Grandmere, I have emailed and am waiting for a reply, just thought you may have an idea.
Luvtotravel, Sheraton looks very convenient but a tad pricey for us I think.

Ok, just checked viamichelin.com:

It's 11 km from Chateau de Chaumontel to Chantilly--a hop, skip, and jump in the car.

It's 24 km (just under 15 mi.) from Chateau to CDG, aerogare 1; not far, either, but I would not seduced by that small distance and would still would allow much time for the journey.

Ozgirl, I'll be eager to hear what they tell you. In re-reading my posts, seems like I did "go on" a bit too much about allowing enough time to return the car, but we have had enough bad experiences that I am practically phobic! Forgive me!
Happy planning!

if you bid for a four star at cdg you will only get the hilton, sheraton or hyatt.
check out www.betterbidding.com for priceline strategies.

(if you do decide to consider cdg. we got our room for $79 plus booking fee!)