Suggestions for villages near Paris
 

We are planning a two-week trip to France and Spain. On the first week, we'll be visiting friends in Burgos and visit a bit of the surrounding area. The second week (or maybe 5-6 days will be spent in France). I thought we'd fly from Madrid to Paris and rent a car. I fell in love with pictures of Sarlat, but I think it may be too far to drive to with such limited time. Are there any quaint villages near Paris, or within a day's drive. We enjoy walking, architecture, art, great food.
What are your favorite small towns, cities and villages near Paris? Favorite or unique places to stay?

If you do a search here for Paris day trips, you will discover a lot of threads that cover this topic.

Quaint village, architecture, great food...I think of Troyes, Provins and Fontainebleau, though none of these are villages; more like towns. Chartres and Versailles are obvious choices. Maybe Moret-sur-Loing and Giverny qualify as villages.

Hi F,

>I thought we'd fly from Madrid to Paris and rent a car. <

Are you sure?

When were you last in Paris?

((I))

ira - I've never been to France, but have visited Spain. We were there last October and generally flew to/from the larger cities. But once we arrived in Alicante, we simply rented a car to visit los pueblos blancos (Ronda, etc). Though upon arrival in Madrid, we did turn the car in.
I thought we'd do the same thing. Upon leaving Paris, we'd rent a car and upon returning, we'd turn the car back in. Do you suggest something else?

Klondike-thanks for the recommendations. I'll start looking into your suggested towns. I don't think we will necessarily take "day" trips. But rather, once we leave Paris, we'll return the day before our flight back home.
So, having said that, perhaps we could travel to a region with towns/villages. I might add that we do not have to fly in/out of Paris. Maria Rosa's trip report comes to mind.

Hi F,

Are you planning on staying in Paris at all?

((I))

Another option is the well-preserved medieval town of Senlis which, coupled with the Chateau Chantilly, makes a good daytrip.

For a true quintessential French village go to either Giverny or Auvers-sur-Oise, two quiet villages on rivers that also have lots to see in terms of Monet's gardens and Van Gogh and Cezanne and Impressionists artists who gathered here - reprocutions of their works have been placed at venues they were first put on canvas at.
But both are also just sweet villages and easily reached by train - car in Paris? Yes that's daft to me - useless and one of the world's finest public transportation systems.

If your asking for a nice area to stay in for 5-6 days, not far from Paris, I'd suggest the Northern Coast. There is so much to see, and has alot of beauty.

Etretat with it's cliffs, over to Honfleur, a darling port town, Deauville with it's wide sandy beach and over to Bayeaux and the Normandy landing sites. It will easily fill your time, in a beautiful area.

I'll be taking out my map and guide books soon in order to better reflect on all of your wonderful suggestions. I think we'll have plenty of time to research as we're considering holding off on this trip until September.
Ira - I think we'll probably spend our first and last night in Paris. Often when we travel to a new destination, we take in as much as possible in a short time. We then earmark the places we know we'll want more of and return for longer stays. Obviously a day or two in Paris isn't much at all, but we'd like to explore some of the villages.