maayan_gordon2

Hi,
My boyfriend and I will be in Paris in June and would like to spend our last 2 days outside the city. I thought to rent a car and go about 2 hours away fron paris. We would like to see beautiful scenery and to hike. Any recommendations?

Gretchen

I'd like to ask how long you'll be in Paris? If you do have time to go "somewhere" it could be much better to take a train to "somewhere" and rent the car there. Are you leaving from CDG or going elsewhere. If leaving from CDG you may have to return to Paris or a CDG hotel the night before in order to make your flight and that will cause you to lose days on the ground.
sometimes it is better to do your "away" time on the front end of a paris visit and then finish in paris because it is easy to arrange transport to CDG early on the morning of departure.
More info may help all of us.

ira

ditto

maayan_gordon2

We are going to paris on a business trip, so we'll be there a week, and we can travel outside the city only in the end of our trip.
We can leave paris on Sunday early in the morning, and we'll need to be at cdg airport on Monday around 19:00.

Thanks!

Gretchen

Oh, then you have a nice part of a day to get to the airport. But you still might think about doing it by train rather than driving. Hence, take the train to somewhere that has good service direct to CDG on your return day, rent the car and return it there, and get to CDG in time for your departure. Doing it by train could allow you to go as much as 3 hours on a TGV for your "somewhere"--even provence.

maayan_gordon2

Since we only have a day and a half for this trip, I thought to keep it simple and stay about 2-3 hours away from paris. Do you know about any hiking trails that we could go to?

Gretchen

Others will have to weigh in on that. There are probably some lovely places to hike/walk north of Paris along the Seine. I'm sure some of our knowledgeable folks will come in.

FrenchMystiqueTours

The thing about 2-3 hours away from Paris is that the TGV train can get you from Paris to Avignon in 2-3/4 hours and that's way down in the south of France. So 3 hours by train can get you quite far from Paris, which opens up several dozen possibilities that fit your criteria that are accessible by train.

Just a few possibilities would be taking a TGV train to Burgundy or the Loire. But if you take TGV trains anywhere you have to buy tickets 3 months in advance for the cheapest prices. There are more options available by TGV than I could mention.

The other possibility is sticking with the local trains from Paris. There are dozens of places that are within about 1 hour from Paris that would be scenic and have great hiking. Since these places could be accessed by local train you wouldn't have to buy advance tickets and you could have a few possibilities to choose from depending on weather and your interests. Just a few places where you could be in a small charming village on a river and close to nice walks/hikes would be Moret-sur-Loing or Crécy-la-Chappelle. Both these places are about 1 hour by train from Paris. I've got lots of photo reports of places near Paris and here are a couple about Moret and Crécy if you want to see what they look like and what's nearby to them, country scenery, etc.:

Crécy-la-Chapelle: http://tinyurl.com/7wnybgw

Moret-sur-Loing: http://tinyurl.com/buhknqs

Or you could take a hike along the Marne river in the Champagne region and go strolling through some vineyards:

http://tinyurl.com/p467ofv

You could also rent a car and just explore within a 1 hour radius of Paris and see several charming towns and châteaux.

I've got loads more reports about exploring near Paris but you've got some thinking to do about the options available to you. Other people will give you plenty of other suggestions so you'll have a lot to think about. I've given you my two cents.

Gretchen

FMT is in a way echoing part of what I said--go somewhere by train and return to CDG.
Take a look at his ideas.Driving out of Paris is a waste of your short time.

nytraveler

We stayed at a lovely old mill converted to a charming hotel/ restaurant, called the Moulin des Ruats, in Avallon - in Burgundy. We drove - so not sure exactly would to get there by public transit - I really think you would really need a car.

The hotel is very romantic, situation on a lovely stream with pretty gardens and right on the edge of the enormous Morvan Regional Nature Preserve (with lovely woods and a host of wildlife including deer and boar). As we were sitting at dinner looking out over the stream we saw what we though was a white cat - until we saw it start to run - and realized that it was an ermine.

A lovely area to explore - and close enough that many Parisians go there for a romantic weekend and a great dinner.

Coquelicot

If you look at FMT's reports you'll get some great ideas for a day or two outside of Paris. One of my favorite reports is their day out near Giverny:

http://anyportinastorm.proboards.com/thread/4138?page=1

Just a short drive from Paris, it's a different world. Driving the back roads is easy. You can drive to well-known destinations like Pierrefonds, Giverny, La Roche-Guyon, Les Andelys, Chantilly, and Gerberoy. Or you can follow the Michelin green (scenic) roads and make your own discoveries.