catherine

I would love to take a day trip out of Paris while my family and I are there in April. I'm thinking about Rouen as I have a deep interest in St. Joan of Arc. Is there another village as a day trip from Paris there that anyone was enchanted by?<BR><BR>Merci!

Rex

Rouen is not a village you know. It's a pretty good sized city.<BR><BR>I'll propose Gisors if you want something a LITTLE closer to village size. Or Vernon (but also a good sized town) - - and of course, a natural fit with the must-see Giverny.<BR><BR>Or Auvers-sur-Oise (just posted a lot of stuff on this - - see the post on Giverny) - - but again, it's metropolitan/suburban - - charming yes - - but a village, hardly.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

mary

I was just in Beaune, France and that was very nice and not to big. It was about a 2 1/2 hour from Paris. I hear Brugges, Belgium is very nice and you can do it in a day.

Christina

Whenever I read about people looking for a charming village, I hate to post because I think expectations may be too high or unrealistic for any place you can see within an hour or two of a capital city. Rouen is definitely not a village, I agree; however, I don't know if Rex has ever been to Auvers-sur-Oise as I would call that a village. It isn't metropolitan at all. The population is only about 7,000, I think, and there isn't even a hotel there (I think the auberge Van Gogh lived in lets a few rooms). I would say Auvers is very charming.<BR><BR>Along that size, I found Moret-sur-Loing rather charming, also. It's on a rail line and most American tourists don't go there, although more French do. There isn't as much to see as Auvers-sur-Oise, though. Here is their URL http://www.ville-moret-sur-loing.fr/<BR><BR>I also have been to a village to see Ravel's home, which is a museum, as he's one of my favorite composers (Montfort l'Amaury). I had an interesting time and enjoyed some interactions "with the locals" as they say, because I got lost and had to stop in the gendarmerie for directions to Ravel's house. However, I don't know that I'd call it "charming" and for someone who didn't know French, I don't know what they'd do there that much. Most villages, no matter how charming, don't have anything of particular interests to tourists and I don't think most people would want to spend a day in them as there isn't a lot to do except for those with tourist attractions (a special church, museum, etc.).

Rex

I guess this is a semantic issue over what is a village. A village, to me, doesn't have even one stoplight, for example. Gisors is not a village. It's a moderate-sized town, or a small city.<BR><BR>Ecos is a village. Tourettes. Cipieres. These are a few I know in some detail. I'm not even sure I would call Riquewihr a village. Nor St.-Hippolyte. Even Gordes is a little bit big to be called a village, even though it is often cited as a prototype "village perch&eacute;".<BR><BR>Anyhow, I have been to Auvers-sur-Oise - - to this place (cited on the "other" Auvers post) - - http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessages.jsp?fid=2&tid=1358129<BR><BR>VOYAGE AU TEMPS DES IMPRESSIONISTES. The Trip Back to the Time of the Impressionists, in the elegant Auvers ch&acirc;teau, is one of France's most imaginative and innovative museums. You'll receive a set of infrared headphones (English available), with commentary that guides you past various tableaux illustrating life in the Impressionist era, and although there are no Impressionist originals, 500 reproductions pop up on screens interspersed between the tableaux. Some of the special effects - talking mirrors, computerized cabaret dancing girls, and a simulated train ride past Impressionist landscapes - are worthy of Disney at its best. Rue de L&eacute;ry, PHONE: 01-34-48-48-48. COST: EUR9.20. May-Oct., daily 10-6; Nov.-Apr., Tues.-Sun. 10-4:30. <BR><BR>and it seems to me that Auvers-sur-Oise is largely a bedroom community, where 50% of the inhabitants commute to jobs in Paris. But it still has an interesting heritage.<BR>

Catherine

Sorry - didn't mean to imply that Rouen was a village, only that it was on the possibilities list. I loved seeing it 20 years ago, but thought a smaller village might be interesting too for my children. Thanks for all the replies so far - keep 'em comin'!<BR><BR>Catherine

David

I found this site a few days ago:<BR><BR>http://www.gordes-village.com/villages2.html<BR><BR>It appears to be an association with requirements to qualify as a "village."

Rex

Sometimes it does come in handy to use the Internet:<BR><BR>Yahoo! "villages normandy" - - <BR><BR>Camembert: A Village, A Cheese - the village and its cheese. <BR><BR>http://www.camembert-france.com<BR><BR>Cambremer: Village in Pays d'Auge - information about the village, cider route, tourism, horse festival, parks, shopping, accommodations, and more. <BR><BR>http://cambremer.free.fr/<BR><BR>Venables - historical and current information about the Venables family and the small village in Normandy, France <BR><BR>http://www.sloansterling.com/venables/<BR>

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francesca

Senlis is a beatiful town with a lovely church that is nearby and is very close to Chantilly, another lovely village with a gorgeous chateau. These two would make a nice day trip. You'd have to take the commuter train to Chantilly and go on the Senlis, perhaps by bus, from there.

xxx

A site you might want to check out. <BR>http://www.france-random.com/regions/indexfr.shtml

Rex

&lt;&lt;I found this site a few days ago:<BR><BR>http://www.gordes-village.com/villages2.html<BR><BR>It appears to be an association with requirements to qualify as a "village."&gt;&gt;<BR><BR>Thanks, David - - excellent input. I was trying to remember the name of that site that you mentioned.<BR><BR>

bobbie

You might want to try the town of La Bouille which is near Rouen. It is suppose to be a charming small town and it is about 15 minutes to Rouen which you love. There is even a frequent bus service that goes directly into Rouen from there. This avoids the hassle of city driving and parking prroblems.<BR>Good luck<BR>Bobbie

JD

Why not combine your two interests... a charming village and Ste. Jean d'Arc. Chinon is a small town on the Loire River at the base of a cliff atop which sits the castle of Chinon. The town is simple and is close to the famous Chateaux and one of my favorite sites, L'Abbaye de Fontrevaud.<BR>The castle of Chinon is no less than the very place that Joan first sought out the king of France to offer her services. The room in which this very historic meeting took place is now marked with a plaque albeit it the room and castle are partially in ruins. Grass grows in the room, but the wind blowing through the towers and walls does nothing but enhance the sense of history. Imagining Joan confronting the king is no difficult matter. Walk to the castle walls and you can look out over many miles of the Loire Valley, the river itself, and the town of Chinon below. <BR>This would make an excellent day trip and you would easily have time to drive over to Fontrevaud Abby where you will find the remains of King Richard the Lionhearted and Eleanor of Aquitaine, both very pivotal to the history of France, England, and Europe.<BR>These two sites loom large in my memories of France. I lived there for 2 years, saw many cities, ruins, and museums, but remember nothing with as much fondness as those I have mentioned. <BR>Offhand, I would say that at Paris you would catch the train at the Gare d'Austerlitz for the city of Tours, rent a car there at the SNCF station, and follow the river downriver to Chinon, etc. An early train would provide plenty of time to do both sites.

Wayne

I also like Chinon, but it's not exactly close to Paris. From your original request, I gather you would like to stray not too far from Paris on this day trip. So with that in mind, and for the moment ignoring Rex's contention that a village cannot have any stop lights, I'd suggest you consider (as closer-in villages) Fontainebleau, Montfort l'Amaury, Chantilly, L'Isle Adam, Barbizon, Dourdan, Dampierre, and Rambouillet. They are all within an easy one-hour trip from Paris, but they are scattered in different locations relative to Paris; so a best bet to see them all is probably to make 2 day trips.

Rex

I'll retract the "no stoplights" contention. How about fewer stoplights than boulangeries. Is that an okay compromise? I think that will allow me to include Montauroux. It has no stoplights up on the hill in the old town, and maybe just three down in the "new town". Surely more boulangeries than three.<BR>

kit

Any Vezelay fans? One here...

Tim

I am surprised to see that nobody has reccomened Honfluer. The town is very cute with cobblestone streets, Normandy buildings, a wonderful harbor and charming places to eat as well as shop. You can take the A13 motorway out of Paris towards Rouen and Le Havre then take the surface route 180 to Honfleur. The total drive time should be round 2 hours. The town is nice also because you can also see the beach towns of Trouville and Deauville (both are very pretty)next door. Deauville is a bit upscale and houses chic boutiques as well as a nice European casino (Las Vegas it's not). Deauville also holds France's second largest film festival in September - I've seen a few American movie stars there.