Recommended Weekend Trip from Paris, France
 

Where does anyone recommend going for a saturday/sunday trip from Paris, France? I am willing to go out of the country but not that far b/c I will have to be back to Paris by Sunday night. I would love to go to a smaller city perhaps with a beach, any suggestions?

Loire Valley
Giverny
Mont St. Michel

Something completely different ?

Montpellier is 3hrs by TGV and 5 km from Med beaches.

Photos of the area : http://the-languedoc-page.com/photos/index.htm

Peter

Honfleur and/or Deauville (both are coastal towns in Normandy). Honfleur is a beautiful medieval village (and touristy) with beaches in walking distance nearby (although your view is of the industrial shipping ports of LeHavre). Deauville is a touristy and posh but pleasant village just south of Honfleur with a large, fine, sandy beach (and no views of LeHavre). Both offer plenty of restaurants, stores etc. Not that far by train from Paris. The train from Paris to Deauville is a 2 hour trip. Weekend round trip prices are around 50-60 euros.

Thank you!

For a weekend getaway from Paris, I'd take the TGV to Angers in the western Loire valley. It is 90 minutes from Paris via the TGV which departs from Gare Montparnasse. You can see the Chateau d'Angers which actually looks more like a fortress; it was patterned after the crusaders' castles in Palestine around the time of the 2nd Crusade in the late 12th century. Within the Chateau in a separate gallery is the Apocalypse Tapestry. It is a tapestry woven in the 1380's based on the book of St. John the Divine. It extends about 360 feet and has about 120 distinct panels and tells the story of the Apocalypse..

Near Angers is the town of St. Barthelmy d' Anjou; home of the Cointreau distillery. www.cointreau.com

You can go for a tour and tastings:
Address: Cointreau Museum & Visitor Centre
ZI Saint Barthélemy d'Anjou - Angers - France
Tel.: + 33 (0)2 41 31 50 50
Guided tours in English, French, German and Spanish.

Just a correction..the Apocalypse Tapestry is comprised of 70 distinct panels...not 120