side trips from Paris
 

We are spending 3 weeks in Paris in August and would like to take two or three 2-3 day side trips into the countryside. Any suggestions?

Hi V,

Lucky you.

Dijon and Beaune, the Loire Valley, Burgundy wine tour, Bordeaux and vicinity, Bruges and Brussels, Provence, Dordogne, Normandy...

((I))

Lots of ideas and a frequently asked question...

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34572708

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34586946

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34561646

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34524181

We just returned from a similar trip. While in Paris, we took the TGV (MontP) (about 8 AM) to Tours (Pierre), were picked up by http://www.accodispo-tours.com (private driver) Went to Cheverny, Chenonceau, and Chambord for self guided tours, then hurried back to Tours for the "slow" train (2 hours to Aus).

It made for a long day, but we enjoyed it. The best way would be to stay the night and split up the visits. Not having to drive in 2 cars and having a running commentary about the area was worth the 400E (all day for 7 adults).

We also used Philippe (http:// allophilippetaxi.monsite.wanadoo.fr) in the Dordogne area caves. We took the long 4 hour train to Brive. He picked us up about Noon. He made prior reservations at Lascaux II and Font De Gaume for us. It is hard to get into FDG and we had the French tour, but it is worth it. This cave will undoubtably be closed to the public in the future. Philippe was able to find a place that sold excellent walnut oil during the French "closed" time, a priority of mine. All of this and had us barely back for our 7 PM (last train) train to Paris. There is no way we could have done this in 1 day on our own. I certainly wouldn't recommend doing this in one day. It was tiring--8 hours of train travel and 7 driving and touring. But, the four of us who did this are glad we did. Two of us had visited the Valley before and would recommend spending several days.

BTW-the climb to FDG is hard and should be taken slowly if you are out of shape--with an umbrella in the heat!

I should also add, if you are new to Paris, try to contact Michael Osman http://www.geocities.com/parisfinder/ [email protected]. We used his services for 3 days (75 E + paid for his lunch and tip)and should have used him fro 2 more days. Our party of 7, loved him. He is flexible, showing you gardens, museums, food stores, churches, or whatever you want. There is no doubt that he made the trip twice more fund and "useful" for us.