I have 2 nights to spare on the way to Paris from Italy to break up the train ride. Where is the best place to stop? Any suggestions would be helpful.

Rebekah- You don't mention the time of year that you will be travelling???<BR><BR>I personally LOVE Lyon--the sightseeing is beautiful, right on the river,has Roman Ruins and fabulous food.<BR><BR>Forget Marseilles-too rough an area<BR><BR>Avignon is also WONDERFUL-esp.if you can be in town for one of their well know flea markets-on Sundays....<BR><BR>Nice--fantastic--you can do excursions to St.Paul de Vence , Eze,Monte Carlo or just stay in the city and hit the pebbly beaches......<BR><BR>Take your pick!

I would recommend either Avignon or Aix... it gets you further along in your train ride than Lyon. If you're travelig by TGV, Avignon is only 2.5 hours and Aix is 3 hours from Paris.<BR><BR>From Avignon you can also take tours available from the tourist office to sites such as Les Baux or the Pont du Gard. The best flea market is Saturday morning just on the other side of the river in Villeneuve lez Avignon (I was there this morning).<BR><BR>PB

Hi Rebekah. Andy, can you elaborate on Lyon? Is the train station near the old city? Has the it retained its characteristic architecture? Is it friendly for those using trains and their feet? p.s. Rebekah, there's always Annecy, which is beautiful!

Lyon is easy to navigate via metro and feet. There are two train stations, one is on the edges/suburbs and the other very central (Perrache). You could walk to the Old Town from it without too much trouble, it's not that far. HOwever, there is a metro station right there, also. I think when I was there, I took the metro to the funicular which goes up the hill to the basilica, and after looking around there, I took it back down and Old Town is right near the base of that funicular. From there you can easily walk aross the river to some of the main large squares and museums, and even back to the station, I did. There are a lot of well-preserved or restored Renaissance buildings and others in the Old Town area, as well as interesting architecture, sculpture (large fountain by Bartholdi in place des Terreaux main square) and several outstanding museums.

To get to Vieux Lyon, you'd have to take the metro from Perrache to Place Bellcour. It's easily walked too, just exit for rue Victor Hugo (nice walk -- pedestrian street, lots of stores). From Place Bellecour, you can take a metro to Vieux Lyon, but you can walk it also (when you hit Place Bellecour, walk across it and hang a left and walk over the Saone and you wind up just to the left of the church). <BR><BR>Lyon really is an easy city to walk -- if you love to walk. And metros aren't too difficult to find. <BR><BR>By the way, the tourist office is in Place Bellecour, on the right just after you enter from rue Victor Hugo. You can also reach them on line (don't know the address, sorry). <BR><BR>Bartholdi's fountain is in the Presqu'ile, not in Vieux Lyon. Place Bellecour is also in the Presqu'ile, walk through Bellecour down rue de la Republic and hang a left at the Hotel de Ville. The Presqu'ile is where the "main" shopping area is. <BR><BR>One funicular takes you to Fourviere, the other to the Roman ruins (they DON'T cross over). I suggest you take the one to Fourviere and walk down to the ruins -- uphill can be a killer, depending on how much walking you plan on doing (or have done) -- and take the funicular down from the ruins back into Vieux Lyon. While you're at Fourviere, go behind it and check out the panoramic view of Lyon -- on a bad day it's impressive and on a good day it's stunning. <BR><BR>Lyon has retained a great deal of it's architecture. It's a beautiful city. <BR><BR>As I tell everyone -- I've posted about Lyon before so, if the search is working, my handle will be out there. I had more energy in the beginning, so there are some pretty detailed posts out there somewhere...

I hate Nice and the rest of the Cote D'Azur, and Marseille is the Detroit of France. Lyon is the "Florence" of France, with a beautiful old city and great food. Avignon is equally wonderful, though not as large. The Palace of the Popes is very interesting and there are many nice shops and cafes. But, if I had my choice I would pick Lyon.