Paris to Dusseldorff
 

Hi---I'm so excited, I'm just starting to plan and research my first trip to Europe! I haven't gotten to the library yet, but does anyone offhand know how long it would take to drive from Paris to Dusseldorff? (I'm having a hard time judging the distance in my atlas). Or do you know a good meeting place (city) that would be about halfway between the 2? Thanks! Colette

Anyone?????

Strasbourg is a great city in the middle of Paris and Dusseldorf. If you can spare a few days travling the Alsace wine route and villages is really fun. Very quaint, scenic and friendly with great food. Strasbourg has a lot to see and do too. Shopping, sights, restaurants, walking, etc.

Strasbourg is about 4-5 hours from Paris.

For what it is worth ...

I took the train between the two, and had to change in Cologne.

It was a painless way to travel. Cologne is much closer to Dus. than to Paris though, so not a good half-way spot.

Sorry be be not-very-helpful, but at least it shows someone was reading.

I remember the train stopped in Achen, but it seemed to me to be a dour kind of place.

BAK

It's about 5 hours (a bit over 300 miles) in theory, though the German bit can get clogged.

You go north to about Amiens, then to Liege (Belgium) and cross into Germany near Aachen. You also have fun (!!!) at that point with the way the town names keep on changing between French, German and Flemish, so make sure you know the alternatives. Stasbourg is way ( a couple of hundred miles)off this route.

Mons (locally known as Bergen) is half way, though it's famous mostly for its WW1 battles and sightings of angels. That slice of southern Belgium/Northern France has lots of smallish towns, many with surprisingly handsome Flemish town centres. Arras (France), for example, has a very fine main square.

Or, if you like border-hopping, you could meet in Maastricht (Holland), which is a couple of miles north of your route.

And don't discount Aachen (Aix in French). Glorious cathedral, with just about the most impressive history of any cathedral in Europe. Notre Dame and St Paul's are historically trivial by comparison. Though, in fairness, Aachen has got a pretty boring town centre apart from the cathedral.

Thank you all!! I've pasted and saved your posts. And thx for the warning re: village name-changes. yikes!

LOL! I'm flying in to Düsseldorf on my first trip to Europe on Nov 1st :-) We'll be taking a bus for a weekend trip leaving from Essen (just north of Düsseldorf) to Paris. The bus leaves around midnight and arrives in Paris 6-7am. So I'd guess that driving (no icky bus) would by anywhere in the 5-7 hours range. Have fun! :-)

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