My husband and I are going to Paris in July to catch the end of the Tour de France. We'll spend 4 days there and can take day trips. We've been to Paris before and have seen most of the sights. My problem is I don't know where to go for the 5 days we have before France. Any suggestions on where to go? We've been to England, Belgium, and Amsterdam on previous trips.

We really enjoyed the Berner Oberland area of Switzerland with the beautiful mountains. Also enjoyed Stein am Rhein and Shauffenhausen with their midevil towns, Lucerne and Zurich. <BR><BR>Of course, Italy would be a wonderful choice. Fly into Italy, out of Paris. The train ride from Milan to Paris is just beautiful. Takes about 5 hours.

Last summer, we spent time in the Lac Leman (Lake Geneva) region of Switzerland before taking the train from Lausanne to Paris. We stayed in Montreux and took a day trip to Gruyeres. It's a beautiful area with a lot to explore and it's a nice counterpoint to a bustling city like Paris.

Do you think 3 days in Switzerland, perhaps Lucerne and 2 days on a Rhine river cruise in Germany before Paris be too much?

I am partial to Maastricht &amp; perhaps the Mosel rather the Rhine. You could add in Lux City as well. This works very well if you are flying into Cologne or Frankfurt.

Hi tonja<BR> Why not Copenhagen?

Reims is a nice city to visit. You can take a day trip, but I believe it is 1 1/2 hour drive each way. Enjoy the champagne country and take a tour.<BR><BR>Alsace, the wine route, is a nice 2-3 day trip.<BR><BR>Not sure if you want to do just day trips or what, but do a search of Paris and there have been several threads concerning day trips from Paris, if that is what you are looking for.<BR><BR>Have a fun trip, and GO LANCE!!!

How about driving up from Provence to Paris? So much to see and the scenery is captivating everywhere such as the Luberon area of France, up to Lyon (nice old city center), then up to Burgundy for the food, the wine, the pictoresque villages. You can then spend a day at Fontainebleau right before arriving in Paris. Your options are limitless if you want to drive around France.