We only have 6 days in Paris this November. Thought we'd do 3 days in Paris. Trying to decide if to go to Versailles, Fontainebleau Palace, Chartres or to rent a car for a couple of days and go to Normandy or Loire Valley. Any thoughts? Marsha

You may find that 3 days in Paris is not enough. I returned to Paris after an absence of many years in the summer of 1999 for 5 nights. We saw so little of the place that we went back this past summer for 4 more days, including one day for Vaux-le-Vicomte and Fontainbleau. And I still places on my list to vist!! <BR>As for side trips, Versailles has a certain appeal. For trips well away from Paris, there are Fontainbleau and Vaux-le-Vicomte. <BR>To me, visiting both Vaux and Fontainbleau wase too much for one day. I wanted more time at both places, particularly Vaux because it is an architectural, artistic, and landscaping masterpiece with a fully integrated design; one that I could not stop admiring. <BR>Fontainbleau has the history, of course, because many of the French rulers lived there. <BR>While I do not deny that some of the rooms at Fontainbleau are grand and stunning, Vaux, when viewed as complete, self contained creation, has the extra dimemsion of consummate stylistic harmony that other places lack.

I am forgetting good grammar in retirement. Three days are!

I agree that 3 days are not enough in Paris. Especially when the first day is not really a full day if you arrive in the a.m. worn out and/or jet-lagged. We spent 6 days in Paris this past summer -- did give one day over to Versailles, but didn't have any too much time even then.

I second your instinct to get out of Paris for half of the 6 days you have there. Is 6 days the total length of your trip? your total time in France? Either way, it would be a shame (and increase your average daily cost) to miss the countryside in favor of 6 days, all IN the city. <BR> <BR>Six days all IN Paris would only make sense to me if you have plenty of other smaller town time on this same trip, and if you are VERY much "big city" people. <BR> <BR>Assuming you will go back to France again (and again and again), there is a lifetime to see more of Paris with each trip to France. The French transportation system makes it highly likely you can combine Paris with trips to other destinations within France in the future. <BR> <BR>I have never been to this place, but it looks like a dream base for destinations in ths southwest Ile de France, southern Normandy or the Loire Valley - - www.chateaudejonvilliers.com - - it is my list of places to try on the next suitable trip. <BR> <BR>Chartres is an excellent destination - - and splurge with dinner at Chateau d'Esclimont (St. Symphorien) or Chateau d'Artigny (Montbazon), if you get the chance. You can find info on both at the www.slh.com website.

I say go with your instincts. You may want to find out all you can about those destinations and select those that make your heart leap highest. However, we've made two ten-day trips to Paris and are returning this June. We can hardly bear to leave Paris when we're there. Many folks say if you've seen one Chateau, you've seen them all, and that may be true. So, you may want to pick the one most appealing to you. Sacre Coeur and Notre Dame in Paris, along with the breathtaking Ste-Chappelle, are just as spectacular as Chartres, although the town of Chartres is a very nice day trip. Normandy is a different experience altogether. If it were my first, and perhaps only, trip to Paris, I'd go to Normandy and spend the rest of my time in Paris. But, it's your trip, so you should do whatever you feel like doing and not what anyone else thinks you should do.

Hi Marsha <BR>I personally don't think that 3 days in Paris is enough if you haven't been there before (unless you hate cities), but you can always play it by ear. The day trips you mention that don't require a car can all be <BR>decided upon at the last minute.On a first visit, Versailles, Fontainebleau, and Chartres would each or all be good choices, as would Reims (for the champagne caves and the cathedral, assuming the caves are open for visits in November). <BR>www.ville-reims.com <BR>

Thanks to all of you for your help. I'm pretty certain that we'll go back to Paris and then explore a different are of France each time. Of course just wish I had more time now. Marsha