Travel from Paris to other countries
 

I will be traveling to Paris for 8 days in October and would also like to visit another country or two while there. Any recommendations along with time estimates (how long to get to another country and back) would be appreciated.

90 minutes to Brussels, Belgium by train. <BR> <BR>From there, numerous other destinations cheaply on www.virgin-express.com <BR>

I thought this was a decent question that deserves more answers. <BR>

Aside from Belgium, you can get to London in 3-4 hours by Eurostar train; you can get to Netherlands in that time also (and perhaps Luxembourg but I don't know about it). Those are the only feasible ones from Paris. All are fine if you have the time and don't want to spend it in Paris. I'd choose Belgium because it's closer and I would not want to spend the time and money on the others for a day trip. Just go to www.raileurope.com and try looking at the schedules for Paris-London, Paris-Amsterdam, Paris-Brugges and Paris-Brussels. Obviously the plane would get you lots of places pretty quick, but I wouldn't fool around with that for a day trip, at least on a train you are seeing the countryside.

I have read the original question very carefully, and I don't think this is necessarily a request for "day trips" only. Even if the goal is only Belgium, I recommend an overnight. <BR> <BR>

If you take the train, you could do Switzerland for a couple nights. It's a pretty quick trip to Geneva (several hours but fast). <BR> <BR>When I'm going to France, I don't usually enjoy adding London to the trip --would rather do that separately. Wales is great fun though; you could easily take the Chunnel over, catch a train or drive there for a few days. <BR> <BR>You can also drive to Holland in just a few hours; you could actually see a little of Holland, Belgium and Luxembourg in 3 days. Have fun!

Fodors <BR> <BR>Eight days isn't long for all Paris. But if you do go elsewhere, I suggest you take a sleeper berth about twelve hours overnight both ways. That gives you Madrid, Barcelona, Nice, Milan, Florence, Rome, Venice, Munich or Salzburg, Berlin, and Hamburg. Quite a choice. <BR> <BR>Please write if I can help further. Welcome to Europe. <BR> <BR>Ben Haines, London <BR>