MadeleyNYC

Hi,
My husband and I are considering a trip to Paris that may include the kids, after picking them up in Spain (they are spending 4 weeks with the grandparents). Rather than flying back to NYC we thought we would take them to Paris and then hop on a train to a near by town with a beach/port. We want our kids to experience old-world quaint France with out being in isolated in the countryside, and of course a little beach helps. Any ideas?

We want a small town with the charm and old architecture, with more locals then tourist. If you know a good place to stay or a source for renting a home, etc., that would be much appreciated.

Thank you!!

MyriamC

The Baie de Somme is a nice area to spend a few days at the beach. It's 200 km but I don't know if it's easily reachable by train.
http://www.saint-valery-sur-somme.fr/

MyriamC

Le Tréport is good, too. There is a good train connection, with only one change, from Paris to Le Tréport.
http://www.ville-le-treport.fr/touri...imoine-66.html

Christina

I don't think there is any beach that close to Paris. The closest would be up on the Normandy coast, of course. Honfleur is an intentionally "quaint" port town (no beach), and you can get there in just about that timeframe (2 hrs). You have to drive, though. If there is bad traffic, it won't be two hours.

Other than driving, I would guess the closest beach might be Deauville/Trouville, which is on the train line and probably takes about two hours. Forget quaint, you don't get quaint with beach resorts.

There are some other ports closer to Paris, but I don't think of any of them as quaint. YOu tend not to have quaint villages where there are major beaches or ports, and not within a major metropolitan area.

Honfleur would probably be most like what you want, if you insist on a port for some reason. YOu could also go to Rouen which has some older parts, of course, although it's too large to be considered quaint and the port isn't very quaint, that's for sure. It's easy to get to, though.

I don't know why you want a port so much, it might be easier to find a semi-quaint place on a river than on a port, if you must have water. For example, I think Moret-sur-Loing is semi-quaint, and has a lovely park area near the river which has willows and old mills on it. It is on the train line from Paris and within your time frame. Lots of French people go there for a day trip to relax, but you won't find many American tourists there, or other nationalities. It's not just locals, though, most places worth going to are not.

The idea of experiencing "old world" France without being in the countryside is impossible IMO. Even there, I think you have romanticized it too much, even small villages without train lines are not like time has forgotten them.

well, check this out
http://www.ville-moret-sur-loing.fr/

MyriamC

"The" beach for Parisians is Le Touquet-Paris-Plage at the Côte d'Opale. I didn't mention it before because it's an absolutely unattractive place IMO. It has a sandy beach whereas Le Tréport has a 'galets' beach.

kerouac

There is no coastal location less than 2 hours from Paris.

In kilometerage, the closest coast to Paris is in Dieppe, which is not the most picturesque coastal town.

One of the best beaches in France is the one of Berck-sur-Mer, which is an otherwise hideous town. I made a report about it: http://tinyurl.com/2vl6ux6

While you will not see the kite festival, the beach carts will be in full swing.

Otherwise, you might want to see a place like Etretat.
http://tinyurl.com/ya2j9z7

kerouac

But, as suggested by MyriamC, Le Tréport is also worth a visit.

http://anyportinastorm.proboards.com...3&page=1#68842

FrenchMystiqueTours

Honfleur does have a nice sandy beach, it's just a few minutes walk outside of town. But your view is of the industrial area of Le Havre. It does have a port and old architecture and narrow cobbled streets. It is, however, full of tourists. You won't find old world quaint/charming and non-touristy in a coastal location, especially 2 hours from Paris. It is a 2 hour drive and 200km from Paris (viamichelin), if there is no traffic (and that is key). The previously mentioned locations in Normandy of Etretat, and Deauville/Trouville are all relatively close to Honfleur but also full of tourists. Of these 4 locations, Etretat and Honfluer would most likely fit your ideal of charming with old architecture with Honfluer having the older architecture (I believe as early as 15th century but more 16th and 17th). If you scratch the word "non-touristy" off of your wish list I think any of these locations would suit you. Etretat has a pebble beach whereas the others are all sandy. I like them myself and my French wife and friends do as well, more so outside the high tourist season. Haven't been to Le Treport. There are lots of websites for self accomodation/homes for rent but I always have luck with homelidays.com and abritel.fr.