MollyBrown

Hello,

My DH and I have been planning a grand dream trip. It is now officially going to be a bunch of tiny dream trips as work schedules are not cooperating with our vision.
So, we have decided to commit ourselves to a 2-3 week trip each year for the next few instead.

First up - France. We would love any and all advice.

A) 7 nights Paris
Paris
Paris
Paris
Paris: Rouen
Paris
Paris: Chambord?? or Chinon? or...
Paris

B) 3 nights in Metz
Metz: Luexmbourg (around noon)
Metz: Verdun
Metz: Troyes

C) 5 nights in Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg: Colmar
Strasbourg: Nancy
Strasbourg: Kayserberg+Riquewihr
Strasbourg: Obernai

1. We are not looking to visit lots of museums, but are interested in walking, architecture and photography
2. We will travel by public transport only
3. We aren't sure about visiting Chambord as a day-trip - we are wondering how much of the chateau is accessible and how plesant it is even amidst what we gather will be large crowds. I have already been to Blois and Amboise.
4. We aren't sure about Metz....we have no particular interest (though it would be nice to walk around), but aren't sure it is appropriate for a 3 night stay.

Any suggestions would be great thank you!

MollyB

PalenQ

Chambord as a day trip - very possible and twin it with Blois, a sweet regional city

Train from Austerlitz to Blois, about 1.5 hrs i think and then, but in summer only there are navette buses from Blois to Chambord - other public transit is lacking

I've been to Chambord thrice and the crowds never seem as much as at Chenonceaux and other smaller castles

This the most vast and to me most awesome castle of the Loire has a lot more rooms to sprad out in - i think most of it is open.

Blois has fine restaurants, etc.

With all that train travel you may be one of the few here to benefit from the France Railpass.

tedgale

These are certainly not conventional destinations in France. Indeed, apart from a brief visit to Strasbourg around 1970, I -- who visit France annually -- have never been to these places.

Would you perhaps share how and why you chose the NE as your area of great concentration?

Chambord, BTW, is beyond belief -- esp the staircase and the roof. Not sure how public transit would work though.......

MollyBrown

Hi guys,

Thanks very much for your feedback! Chambord does look lovely - I have been to Chennenceau and Versilles....I had trouble enjoying Versilles through the crowds (although the rain didn't help).

tedgale, I saw a show on NE France called..."Don't Forget your Passport" - a few years ago now. I found it very interesting. I visited France just over a year ago and toured a little bit of the Loire and a lot of Brittany (beautiful). I just thought this might be something a bit different.

Of all of the daytrips, I am most looking forward to Rouen as i've heard it has a nice old town and....probably Verdun actually. It would be nice to pay my respects at a WWII sight.

Have you not visited this region because of negative feedback?

Thank Again!

Mollyb

StuDudley

I would call Alsace/Strasbourg a major destination - although I think you would enjoy it more if you had a car & could explore the small wine roads (not the Route du Vin).

Never been to Metz, but we really enjoyed Troyes when we visited it last year.

Nancy is well worth a visit - we did it as a day trip from Alsace also.

Your itinerary seems fine to me if you have to rely on public transportation.

Stu Dudley

PalenQ

You may want to investigate the France Rail 'n Drive program where you can buy up to ten i believe rail days and several car days

Take the highspeed trains in between cities and then pick up a car at a train station - say Strasbourg, drive the Alsace Wine Road and return you car at the station in Obernai and hop back on the train

And similarly in the Loire as well, etc.

Lily

In 2003, we spent an afternoon in Rouen and really enjoyed it. We followed a walking tour from a travel guide and found it very interesting. We also enjoyed sampling the baked goods, cheese and pates in the bakeries and charcuteries.

MollyBrown

Thank you! I enjoy the train and want to avoid driving as I don't find it relaxing - but I will look into it nonetheless as I am sure this will help us see some great nooks and crannies.

Wonderful to hear about Rouen - I am very excited about this day trip!

Cheers,

MollyBrown

MollyBrown

Does anyone have any opinions on Metz? Do you think we should just divide our time between Paris and Strasbourg and make Metz a day trip - or is that then too many days in Strasbourg to amuse?

Thanks!

MB

ira

Hi MB,

Verdun is a WW ONE, not Two site.

Anyway, may I suggest that for your visit to Alsace that you rent a car. It is a beautiful region that is not very well served by trains and buses.

I also suggest staying at http://pagesperso-orange.fr/schwendi/index.htm
in Kientzheim.

You can walk to Kaysersberg and Riquewhir. It is also an interesting WWII site.

A daytrip to the Black Forest and Baden Baden from there would be pleasant.

Rather than Metz, etc have you considered training to Dijon and visiting Burgundy?

Hope this helps.

cparris

The Alsace area is very beautiful. You will get some nice pictures. I think the others are correct in that you will see the area better by car. I think 5 nights in Strasbourg may be too long. Why not split it up and spend a couple nights in Colmar When we went we had a car and started in Colmar staying at the la Masion des Tetes, making our way through the little towns, stopping at a few little towns such as Riquewihr Kaisersberg, Eguisheim... and ending up in Obernai...staying there for last two nights. Many of the towns, while very pretty, are also very small and take only a short time to tour.

StuDudley

I agree with cparris that 5 nights might be too long in Strasbourg if you have a car. It would be fine if you don't because trying to get from village to village on public transportation will consume a lot of time. BTW, the train station in Riquewihr is quite a ways out of town - too far to walk.

Instead of Metz I woulds substitute Dijon. Take the TGV from Paris to Nancy, stow the bags at the train station (don't know if they have lockers), look around most of the day, then off to Strasbourg. Spend 4-5 nights there. Next day, (or day after), rent a car & visit some of the villages (do you have my Alsace itinerary - if not, e-mail me at [email protected]). After Alsace, head for Burgundy & stay in Dijon - my second favorite city in France. Try Coco's place. Visit the many Chateaux in that area, Beaune, Vezelay, Auxerre (fantastic), and other stuff. The day you depart for home, take the TGV from Dijon directly to CDG airport.

Stu Dudley.

StuDudley

>> then off to Strasbourg. Spend 4-5 nights there. Next day, (or day after), rent a car<<

This might not be clear. I should have said..."the first or second full day you are in Strasbourg, rent a car & visit some of the Alsace villages".

Also, if you have already visited Versailles & Chennenceaux, I'm not sure I would take a full day to visit Chambord. Perhaps do that the last day in Paris if you start to get bored.

Stu Dudley

MollyBrown

Some very good ideas here - thank you. Dijon was also on our "radar" screen for awhile - we'll have to give it another look as I think your plan makes some good sense Stu.

We were indeed planning on walking from Kaysersberg to Riquehwir - but its very helpful to know the Riquehwir train station is far out. Perhaps we'll splurge a taxi for this part.

I will find your Alscase trip report - thank you Stu!

Cheers,

MollyB

di2315

Hi MollyBrown

We visited Metz last August, and it turned out to be a beautiful city; most unusual colours to the local sandstone used in old buildings, and beautiful flower displays in the gardens, baskets on bridges over the river etc. If you are planning to be there in Summer, I can definitely recommend it.

One of the friends we were travelling with is a 'Knights Templar' fiend, and it was her insistance that led us to the city so she could visit their old church in the grounds of the fine arts college.

I had no pre-conceived ideas of what we would see there, and was so blown away by the whole experience.
We were only there for one day, so probably only scratched the surface of what the city contained.

I would also put in a word for Amiens if you are looking at WWII history - it's a great base for exploring that area, although I would think a car would make the travelling into the little villages, grave sites and memorials much easier. If you click on my screen name, it should lead you to my reports on this trip (also visited Strasbourg).

Happy travels, Di

MollyBrown

Hi Di,

Thank you for sharing your experiences in Metz! I am happy to hear you had such a positive day. We would certainly like to stop in, we just aren't sure 3 days will suit. Still lots to decided and consider....

Cheers,


Molly