PDH

Hi -- We're going to France in May for 10 days. 5 in Paris and the rest somewhere out in the countryside. <BR><BR>We're looking for unique places to visit that's beyond the staples for France (the castles in Loire, Mont-St. Michel,Giverny, etc.). Somewhere quaint and very "French". We're renting a car so it'll have to be within reasonable distance from Paris, like 4 hours or so. <BR><BR>Any suggestions? <BR><BR>

Rex

Gisors. or any nuber of other little towns in the Vexin area of Haute Normandy.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

Julie

Rex, what's so special about the places you suggest? We're going to be in Normandy in October, wondering if we should reroute to take this area in. Thanks.

liz

Melon is fantastic, Barbison is lovely too and not far from Melon ( ?sp) <BR>If you drive down from Normandy to the Western Loire you can see some wonderful trogolidite towns along the river. Then there is (sp?) Frontrovard Abbey where Joan of Arc is buried and Richard the 3rd. Keep around the Samur Chateau area.

StCirq

Ahem, liz.....Joan of Arc is not buried at Fontevraud l'Abbaye. She was burned at the stake in Reims, remember? There wasn't much to "bury." <BR><BR>Fontevraud is an exquisite abbey, all the more interesting because it was populated by an abbesse and nuns who did everything (in the Middle Ages) that their counterpart monks did elsewhere (agriculture, cottage industry, etc.). It became a popular sanctuary for aristocratic females, including El&eacute;anor d'Aquitaine.<BR><BR>It houses the tombs and painted effigies of Henri II, El&eacute;anor d'Aquitaine, their Crusader son Richard Coeur de Lion, and Isabelle d'Angoul&egrave;me - a fine collection of Plantagenets.<BR><BR>In its heydey it housed a leper colony and the nuns ran a hospital there. The octagonal kitchen, restored to perfection by Violet le Duc in the 19th century, is one of the best examples of secular Romanesque architecture in France.<BR><BR>It makes for a great visit.

Judy

I am afraid Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in front of old market in Rouen(there is a ultra-modern church at the spot).The only remained after the fire was her heart,was thrown into River Siene.<BR><BR>I think Honfleur is one of the prettiest little town in Normany and one of the most painted: lovely fishing ports, well-preserved old buildings,good walking, many museums and art galleries,nice cafes,good and cheap restaurants(best for seafood).

Sue

I thought that ultra-modern church in Rouen was so disharmonious with the rest of the town; wonder what the rationale was?

StCirq

Jody - of course, you're right, it was Rouen. I should know that, as we "dropped" my then 3-year-old daughter (now 15!)onto the stones there while looking at the place where the pyre was and had to get her to a pharmacie very quickly for some gauze and bandages! I was getting my "R" cities in France mixed up.<BR><BR>At any rate, there wasn't much of a burial of Jeanne d'Arc.<BR><BR>And I agree that Honfleur is one of the prettiest places in Normandy, albeit a "discovered" one by tourists in the past 10 years. I almost bought a house there in 1978 for $13,000, but couldn't imagine how I'd come up with the money. Silly me. I should've sold drugs. It's not very convenient for the WWII sites, but it's well worth a stop just to savor that part of Normandy and try the shellfish and get a hint of what the Impressionists were thinkig when they painted their Normandy beach scenes.

Andy

I LOVED Rouen-- great medieval town--also Honfleur is wonderful--very very picturesque---THere is also Carcassone ( the walled city) I think I have the right walled city--gosh ,went there and Concarneau and get them confused....

clairobscur

A quaint village in Normandy could be Lyons-La-Foret

Sally

Can anyone tell me how to get to Honfleur (not driving)? Thanks.

StCirq

You can get to Honfleur (presumably from Paris?) by train, but apparently it requires more than 2 changes of train (check out www.sncf.com)

Judy

There are frequent trains from Paris to Le Havre (2 hours),the bus station is at the side of train station, buses from Le Havre to Caen stop at Honfleur near old port. One of the highlights of the ride is through "Le pont de Normandie"-one of the most gracefully striking bridge I have ever seen.

PDH

Many thanks to everyone who responded!<BR>Great ideas for Normandy -- anyone have any suggestions for Burgundy or Champagne? That would be a great addition to the list I'm making -- thanks!

clairobscur

IMO, Champagne is arguably the less interesting french region. You could want to visit Reims and Troyes. Provins is also an interesting medieval town, worth a visit. Personnally, I would pick Troyes if I had to stay in this region.<BR><BR>In Bourgogne : what about Beaune?

Jan

In Bourgogne, we enjoy Vezelay (about 3 hours southeast of Paris). There's a beautiful basilica there, and several excellent restaurants.