Month-long stay outside London or Paris
 

Hi all,
I am relatively new to Fodors Travel Talk Forums but have been reading the many wonderful threads. Such a great group!

My husband and I are planning 4-6 weeks in Europe next September 2020. We both work from home and will have to work from home during this month, so it's not a sight-seeing adventure per se. We have traveled with our family of five (children now in their 20s) to many of the great cities of Europe on whirlwind tours. We were in London, Oxford and Edinburgh in July 2019, Paris in the spring of 2018, Barcelona, Paris and Geneva in the summer of 2017.

However, for this trip, we would like to slow down, find a cute bustling village or small town where we can live and soak up the culture. We are thinking to find a place within an hour or two of Paris or London so we can take advantage of the city on the weekends. We don't want quiet or rural and we will need wifi. I wish a town like Annecy, Colmar or St. Remy, or even a St. Paul de Vence were closer to Paris. I don't know of towns like these near London although I'm sure they exist. Our kids will come visit for a week so we want the town to be relatively easy to get to.

We will rent a 2-bedroom apartment, go to the market, grocery shop and cook, walk, visit bakeries, cheese shops, coffee shops, enjoy pub and/or cafe life in the evenings, then use the weekends to see some of the area sights, visit other towns or go into the city. We like history, museums, castles, chateaus, and gardens.

Thank you in advance for any thoughts or suggestions you might have!

>>I don't know of towns like these near London although I'm sure they exist. <<

In the hundreds -- only a slight exaggeration.

Look in Kent/East Sussex/Surry, or in Essex/Suffolk/Cambridgeshire, or in Berks/Bucks/Oxon (Berkshire/Buckinghamshire/Oxfordshire)

Thanks JanisJ. Yes, I've found Alfriston in East Sussex and Shere in Surry. I just haven't met anyone who has been to either of them. I even thought about Cambridge or Bath as a place to settle for a month... finding the right neighborhood or street off the tourist path. Again, I haven't found a friend who has been to these towns recently either.

The problem is that with a big metropolitan area like Paris, the nearby "villages" are not that bucolic any more, just urban sprawl. And the ones you name are known for all the tourists that go there, they have major tourist attractions (and St Remy got popular because a lot of rich people liked it, not sure why it got picked but it did) and wealthy people. So small rural burgs aren't really going to be like them at all.

You can get to Lyon in a couple hours, I think, so there is a large area that would fit that criteria. Within an hour or two of Paris, I guess I'd think of:

Compiegne
Troyes
Chartres
Auxerre

I think those are all around the same size but Troyes is larger (although Colmar is no small village, it's even bigger). Some other ones I thought of maybe:

Moret-sur-Loing, it's a lot smaller, I'd much rather stay in COmpiegne as I really liked it

I will throw out Moulins, also, which is down towards central France, I really liked it a lot, also. It's also much smaller than places like Colmar and Troyes and Compiegne. It's still got a good bus system though and a few things to see and do, it's not some rural village with nothing to do. It's about 2:30 from Paris though.

Not sure I would stay a month in Bath/. Might in Oxford or Cambridge.

Will you have a car? If so I'd look at smaller towns that still have all the services. You could think about places like Burford which is a large village/small town (car only though)

But without a car you still have limitless possibilities. Just in Kent for example - Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge, Canterbury, Maidstone, Sevenoaks, etc.

Didn't see Christina's post. >>The problem is that with a big metropolitan area like Paris, the nearby "villages" are not that bucolic any more, just urban sprawl. And the ones you name are known for all the tourists that go there, they have major tourist attractions<<

England is a bit different -- there are MANY bucolic / scenic / nice towns convenient to London by train.

Or -- if you want to be west of London, some of the towns along the Thames have rail service. Henley-on-Thames, Marlow-on-Thames, Maidenhead, or even Windsor.

Not that I care much or think there is any way you'd ever be found out, but you're not allowed to work in any capacity, even as a volunteer, if you travel to the Schengen Zone on a regular 90-day tourist visa.

I agree England holds a lot more possibilities for you than France, but you might look at Provins or somewhere along the train line between Strasbourg and Colmar. In France, with a car your possibilities would increase enormously.

>>but you're not allowed to work in any capacity, even as a volunteer, if you travel to the Schengen Zone on a regular 90-day tourist visa<<

I was going to mention that -- completely forgot thinking of all the ex-London possibilities.

Same goes for the UK -- checking your e-mail now and then or making occasional work calls would be OK but 'working remotely' as a visitor is against the rules.

I had a friend who lived in Broadstairs, East of London on the coast. She commuted daily into London. It was a lovely town and looked to be a great place to live.

Broadstairs would be lovely . . . a little longer journey from London. Ex: Tunbridge Wells in to Charing Cross is about 55 mins; Broadstairs in to Victoria or St Pancras 1:25 to about 1:55

But being on the water is probably worth the extra time IMO . . .

Vannes isn't "close" to Paris.

If you want to be within an hour or two of Paris, why mention Vannes? Unless you consider 300 miles 'close' to Paris.

St Albans is very pretty, has a market, lots & lots of history (Roman Verulamium, The Abbey etc), very easy access to London, making it an expensive and desirable place to live. Lots of pubs. Close to Hatfield House. Perfect for a long stay.

https://www.enjoystalbans.com/

Maybe not be so hung up about Paris as the french "big city", but look in the south too: in or around Toulouse, perhaps?

Cambrai, Douai, Amiens? All are close to Paris but have a non-Paris atmosphere and except for Amiens with its cathedral, are well off the tourist map.

Bury St Edmunds, Stamford. Oakham, Uppingham, Oundle, Brackley, a whole bunch of Cotswolds villages, just looking for little places I've lived that are small but not too small.

St Albans is very close to where my friends live and they commute into London for work. I love Compiegne and Reims.

I would pick Cambridge in a heartbeat. It's the right size, full of history, fun people, nonstop action AND solitude - whichever you want. London's an hour away on the train, or with a car you can be in the East Anglia countryside very quickly.

It might be helpful to better understand what you seek. For example, Shere was mentioned, as was Bath and Cambridge. Very different feel. If the objective is to find somewhere that doesn't 'feel like London', then it's worth thinking about what that means. On one level, the 'London feel' can strongly permeate quite far outside of London, for example, the culture of affluent execs in the affluent parts of Surrey, Kent, or Hertfordshire, etc. Even parts of the Cotswolds. Some towns and villages are less sophisticated and less discovered/desired by London commuters.

On the other hand, even London is quite diverse and Metropolitan London also has 'villages' that can feel pretty similar to towns much further out - e.g. Belsize Park, Richmond, Hampstead Heath, Wimbledon, etc. Again, on one hand it all has some level of 'London feel' but on another level, you sometimes have to remind yourself you're in London. Budget is, of course, another important dimension. Without a car, you'll need to either be in walking/biking distance of a station for your London jaunts or rely on taxis.

I know Shere pretty well. It's got two pubs, a couple/few tea/lunch places, a few upscale shops, and a couple/few restaurants. It's a beautiful village. But it's quite a small village and it has somewhat rural surroundings. It can be bustling (or even heaving) with people on nice weekends - particularly with bicyclists as it's a regular stop (e.g. Dabbling Duck for breakfast). Quieter during the week. Looks pretty simple but it's high brow. There are many nice villages in this area - Gomshall, Abinger Hammer, etc. But these are relatively sleepy villages compared to a city like Bath or Cambridge or a 'market town'. After dinner hours, these kinds of villages are very quiet (for better or worse). No nightlife at all. Little or no entertainment or cultural events. Villages like these would be very difficult without a car.

Not too far from Shere there is Guildford which is an upmarket market town and very different from Shere (and similar Surrey villages). Within an hour of London and many from Guildford commute every day. Loads of shops, restaurants and pubs. Entertainment and some culture. Always bustling. Lots of affluent families as well as young professionals and students. It has an 'energetic' under 20-25 nightlife that may be off-putting to some. Most decent sized towns are nightlife destinations for surrounding areas and character can change considerably on weekend nights. Farnham is another nice market town in Surrey. Dorking, Godalming, Kingston...endless list. Most would be OK without a car if your place is central - everything is right there and there is decent train service to London.

I second (or third) St Albans, another popular commuter town.

New Forest (e.g. Brockenhurst). South Downs area has loads of nice towns and villages (e.g. Petersfield and around)

Thames - Bray, Marlow, Henley, etc. Beaconsfield.

Loads of choices but I think some more thought should be given to the type of the place that fits you best - (using these terms loosely) - village, town, market town, or city? Affluent town/village with regular or occasional commuters or less sought-after locations?

We spend around half the year back in the UK when we house & pet sit in various places around the country. We regularly spend time in Henley on Thames which is one of, if not our favourite place in the country. Outside the Regatta weeks in July, it sees few tourists. it has wonderful riverside walks right from the town centre, great pubs and restaurants in town and in the surrounding villages. it is 40 mins to LHR and Marlow is a 20 min drive away.

There are wonderful villages minutes away. Hambleden was used for location shots for The Vicar of Dibley, Inspector Morse and Midsummer Murders etc. The Hand of Flowers just outside of Marlow is the only 2 Michelin Starred pub in England.

It is not far from central London but the train service requires a change in Reading and Twyford.

Re working remotely. Henley has high speed broadband but that is not always the case. if that is important to your work, do check the speeds on offer in any airbnb etc. we have found it to be pretty bad in some parts of Suffolk, Norfolk and Sussex.

Comments on a few other places already mentioned.

We lived in St Albans a few years ago. The upside is that it is only 15 mins into central London, the downside, it is not the nice market town it once was. Hertford would be a better choice in that neck of the woods. Much nicer town centre and still only 30 mins into the city.

Uppingham is as typical and English country town as any. we spent a xmas and New Year there a few years ago surrounded by Morris Dancers! But it is a lot further out than places in the south east and in September will be busy with Mums and Dads returning there little darling children to the very exclusive Uppingham Public School - the town get jam packed with Aston Martins and Range Rovers for a week!

Being 2 hours from an airport is very difficult to assess. both Heathrow and Gatwick require time on the M25. traffic hold ups on 1 hour+ are fairly common occurrences!

Renting a car for your entire stay may not prove much more expensive than a few weekends rentals and would provide a great deal more flexibility.

We also work from home and need good wifi etc. My husband and I always call ourselves "homebodies that travel" since we stay many months at a time and aren't really typical tourists. I lived in Paris for six years and a couple of places that I think might fit the bill and still be close to Paris would be:

Saint-Germain-en-Laye or other places near the Versailles area. These are part of the western suburbs of Paris and St Germain is nice because it is smaller than Versailles itself has mostly a pedestrian walking center and a great connection to Paris on the RER A (around 45 minutes). If you look at the RER A line map, really any of the stops just beyond Nanterre towards St Germain en Laye are all nice areas, Rueil-Malmaison Chatou - Croissy, Vesinet etc.

And some of the place on the branches that show on the RER B line towards the B2 and B4 branches to the south are also nice, Sceaux, Gif sur Yvette for example.

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Another place to consider might be Fontainebleau. My husband and I were based there a year on a corporate assignment and while it isn't on the faster RER, it is about 40 minutes by train from nearby Avon (which is also a nice little area to live in) to the Gare de Lyon.

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If you want other ideas for places nearby Paris I can give you more specifics but I figured these might give you a start to look at....

<<We really need a town with a train station.>>

Then you can eliminate St-Rémy and Uzès.

Yes I agree with StCirq, if you want Languedoc/Provence area and need good train connections then you might want to looks at Nimes, Avignon or even Montpellier as a base (but I think Montpellier is the least charming of the three-too big city) as these are the main TGV stops in the area.

Here is a good site that give you a list of how long the TGV is from Paris to various areas. Here are the times for the Mediterranean line:

TGV Méditerranée from Paris Gare de Lyon. Connects to Provence and the Cote d'Azur.

Paris to Marseille - 3 hours 25 minutes
Paris to Avignon - 3 hours 36 minutes
Paris to Aix-en-Provence - 3 hours 8 minutes
Paris to Nice - 5 hours 38 minutes
Paris to Nimes – 2 hours 59 minutes

https://www.tripsavvy.com/tgv-train-...urlbuttons_nip

I don't know if you have considered it but with the things you are looking for, I would personally look at Bordeaux as a base. With the newest high speed route to Paris of only 2h04 minutes, it makes a great alternative and the city is really a gem these days. It also has wonderful places to visit within 2 hours drive like the Dordogne, the Atlantic coast (much nicer than the Med in the most part IMO), Archachon and Pyla, Spain etc. We have spent many months now there over 2-3 years and find it a great base-easy to rent cars, super easy airport to get to Gatwick (then for us on to Atlantic flight to US). Our only complaint could be the traffic but mostly we are not using a car when we are based in the city and they have a great tram system to get everywhere. And even with a population of 250,000 it feels like a smaller town. And if the city feels too big for you-the tram extends out to some nice "suburbs" like Talence or even Merignac near the airport that have town centers that give you that small town France feel that you would get in some of the villages you mention.

https://www.thecrazytourist.com/15-b...rdeaux-france/

We love Bordeaux also and go as often as we can. And from Bordeaux it's an easy train ride to Périgueux, and from there there are trains to many places like Lalinde and Trémolat and St-Cyprien and Souillac and Sarlat, any one of which would be a lovely place to spend a month; each has plenty of cafés and restaurants and shops and concerts and fairs and events. You could pick from any number of places, be in a beautiful rural setting, not sacrifice intellectual stimulation, and have easy train access to Bordeaux or cities and towns south like Agen, Carcassonne, and Toulouse - even the Mediterranean.. We use these train lines all the time, and they are very inexpensive and reliable and comfortable.

Jpie, Paris to Avignon is only 2h45. Was that a typo?

Back to closer destinations -- what about Metz at 1h30 or Lllle at 1h01?

Have you ever been to St Remy, as much as you say you like it? I would think you'd then know it doesn't have a train station. Isle-sur-la-Sorgue does have one but it isn't on a main line so you aren't going that many places quickly from there. It takes 1.5 hrs just to get to Marseille, for example with 11 stops. It is only 30 minutes to Avignon, though, I think that's the easiest from there, of course (or Cavaillon). You can't cant to Aix from there, for example, you'd have to go to Marseille and transfer.

Aix is a better idea than these small towns you are thinking of, in Provence anyway.

First, do not spend a month in Maidenhead. It's a commuter suburb with decent transport links, and well, not much that would warrant crossing an ocean and giving it six weeks of your free time. Have NO idea why that was even suggested. Marlow is very pleasant and attractive but its transport links aren't the best (train change to get into London, for example) and the main road in and out of town can get highly congested at peak hours. We were regulars at the Hand & Flowers when it first opened and when it was a casual fun spot where you could walk in and get a table and if you had a late lunch, see the chef's springer spaniel when the dining room was nearly empty. Things have changed! Fortunately, Marlow has several good restaurants. So it is a nice option, although I don't know what the short-term rental market is like.

In France, a congenial place near Paris is Rambouillet but whether you want to park there a month, not sure. I think you'd be better served by a smaller city rather than a village or small town. Bordeaux is good, as is Angers, or Nancy. All of these places would be enjoyable in September and have charms of their own as well as appealing places to visit nearby. And good links to Paris. Bordeaux has the advantage of being a popular Easyjet hub, so you could, if you wanted, take a short break to someplace very different Route Map | Flights to European Destinations and Beyond | easyJet

FWIW, Bath (among other places in the UK) has gotten some bad press lately about houses being rented out for big parties instead of people on holiday. https://www.theguardian.com/society/...ghbours-revolt

Yes sorry-even though that link supposedly was updated in June 2019 I see some of the times aren't correct. I didn't check them all before I "cut and pasted". I see for instance that they show Bordeaux at 3hr03 and that one is out of date too. Sorry about that-I should have read the details more closely. But at least it does give the major cities on all the regional lines. But to the OP, you will want to check the actual times to cities that might interest you on tgv.com or another site.

Oh and I meant to add that I agree that Lille could be a great choice as kerouac mentioned especially if you want to explore places like Amsterdam from there.