justineparis

Please do come back and tell us how your plan to interact with the locals went.. My relatives are locals( in other towns|) and are super nice,, to me,, but I know they would not interact much with you ,, they barely acknowledge neighbors that they have lived near for years,, yes, they say hello,, but thats it.. lol

justineparis

FMT c'est moi, Joan,, the name was taken here apparently, so now have new screen name.

FrenchMystiqueTours

Joan - Would you also be joan1 from another travel forum? I know a few Joan's on a few forums so I just don't want to get you all confused. Either way, nice to have you here on Fodors.

learningfrench - Well I don't know how you came up with Carrières-sur-Seine (not what I would consider a small town) but regardless I hope you're happy there. If you haven't booked there yet you might just want to give a quick look to the nearby towns of Marly-le-Roi and Louveciennes. These actually do have downtowns that resemble small towns, complete with old buildings and cobbled streets. They're quite charming and are served by the suburban train lines as well as buses.

Whichever you choose, that area has a very rich and important history pertaining to The Impressionist artists. There is a tourist trail in that area that you can follow to see sites where famous paintings were created and learn about other important Impressionist related history. Here are some links you may find useful:

http://www.marlyleroi-tourisme.fr/

http://www.tourisme-bougival.com/

http://www.rueil-tourisme.com/

http://www.ot-saintgermainenlaye.fr/en/

And here is a link to a trip report I wrote about exploring the towns around there, essentially Rueil-Malmaison, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Marly-le-Roi, Bougival and Louveciennes:

http://tinyurl.com/3f7npjr

Feily

learningfrench - sorry I didn't reply sooner. I think you've already made your decision and whichever you choose I wish you good luck though honestly I've the same question as FMT - how you came up with Carrières-sur-Seine.

Anyway, this link might be useful (please read on transport section)
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carri%C3%A8res-sur-Seine

I've lived a while in Asnieres-sur-seine, Pantin and Montrouge. All these towns is in region ile-de-france, just like Carrières-sur-Seine. I could say that those 3 towns are just a walk away to Paris so sometime I still feel like living in Paris.

I've never been to Carrières-sur-Seine but since it is in region ile-de-france, I think it would be wise if you also consider the living cost in this area.

Do you plan to go to local course to learn french?

I wish you good luck with your decision

farrermog - thanks for your nice words.

FoFoBT

I'm going to add another vote for Rambouillet. We have friends from there and love the town. Besides simply being an attractive place with its own vibe, the people are nice and the food is great. It has a language institute:
http://www.planete-langues.com/

FoFoBT

Also, you can get to Paris from Rambouillet in about 30 minutes. Out of all the choices suggested here, Rambouillet is my favourite because it has its own charms and unlike Chartres, for example, is not well known by English-speaking tourists.

learningfrench

I found Carrieres-sur-seine by finding an apartment on VRBO. The owner has given me a lot of information about the area and contact names of local people. So----we'll see come next Sept.! I think I might look into someplace where I could take a language course, but I have time to think about that.
Thank you all for your input, and some day I am going to print out the information you have given me.

kerouac

Oh, this is all getting very complicated. What was the original question again?

FrenchMystiqueTours

Are you looking for a small village kerouac? Where would you like to stay?

taconictraveler

FMT: I've been lurking on this post, and not commenting, but I want to say:

no matter what the OP decides, your encyclopedic, illustrated information of the whole Ile de France is outstanding and most appreciated.

Libretto

FMT, I'd also like to chime in and thank you so much for your very useful and informative posts- you have been so generous with advice I am sure you have helped many Fodorites.

FrenchMystiqueTours

Thanks taconic and Libretto. I'm always happy to help with advice any way I can. I'm not the expert on many regions in France but I think I've got the Île-de-France region covered fairly well. Since most people aren't spending their vacation time close to Paris other than to make day trips to some of the well known nearby places I'm just trying to fill in the gaps. I think I've found my niche.

Blwetorch

Does this photo belong to Chartres? Just curious to know...
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._de_l_Eure.jpg

FrenchMystiqueTours

Yes, that is down in the area next to the Eure river below the cathedral.

Blwetorch

Thank you FrenchMystiqueTours..for the feedback!