Village outside of Paris for 2 night excursion
 

We'll be visiting France for the first time this April, staying with a friend in his Paris flat for most of our trip. Upon our arrival at CDG we'd like to catch a train to a quaint village to relax for a couple of days. We'd prefer something under two hours. Someplace where our poor attempts at the French language won't be a detriment would also be helpful. Thanks in advance!

Dijon?

I can strongly recommend a lovely little hotel, the Domaine de Verbois, which is just south of Paris in the village of Nauphle-le-ChÂteau--not far from Malmaison. Rooms run around 100-140€ and are delightful, especially the one on the first floor that faces front. The château is 18th century and still has that sense of elegance. Our room was done all in blue and white, with period furniture but a modern bathroom. The small restaurant is quite good.

This would be a great place to unwind after a trip, and there is a rail station in the town, I believe.

Wouldn't traveling by train to a 'quaint village' following a long overnight flight (assuming here) be much harder for a non-French-speaking first-timer, than getting to the friend's flat first, getting "feet wet" in ways French, with a friend to guide you...?

Rouen comes to mind, though it's much more than a "quaint village." It has "quaint" architecture in profusion, great restaurants, a nice old pedestrian section, and a lot of historical sites, including the square where Jeanne d'Arc was burned at the stake.

If it's of any help in making your decision, I associate "quaint village" with precisely the sort of place where poor French WOULD be a detriment.

St Cirq, curious...would you make a point of stopping in Rouen? On our way back to Paris from Normandy, we will be going from Bayeux to Honfleur for a one-nighter, and I am wondering if the next morning in Rouen would do the city justice, or if we should just try for another time. (Also would we be better just going straight to Giverny and skipping Rouen?)

Giverny, only 45 mins. by train from Paris to Vernon which is only 3.5kms from Giverny. Several nice B & B's in the village and you can visit Monet's garden, should be lovely in April.Very good website is www.giverny.org. Good luck.

I've visited Strasbourg which is a few hours by train from Paris. Also I've read that Lyon is great, would like to visit someday.

I'll second the vote for Giverny. It's a quaint little town, historic and artistic significance and they have so many tourists that language would not be a problem.

It really is lovely there and is quite close to Paris.

Enjoy your trip.

I really fell in love with the small city of Moret sur Loing this summer. It is only about 70 Km south of Paris and very near both Barbizon and Fontainebleau. Quaint is an accurate description. The official website is: http://www.ville-moret-sur-loing.fr/

Also, I posted some photos on Ofoto...
http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=7i4q8az...1&y=8kzhct

As for the language issue, my French is atrocious and we managed to get along just fine.

No matter where you end up going, have a great time! Cheers

I have nothing to compare it with, but we did a one night side trip from Paris and we loved Rouen.

We arrived in Lisieux by train, were driven to a Calvados "farm" where we tasted Calvados and cider, then had lunch in Deauville, drove to Honfleur for a quick stroll then to Rouen where we spent the night. We had a great time wondering around Rouen, we loved our hotel and found a great wine bar.

I agree that Rouen is more than a village--more of a town--but it is very pretty. Honfleur is a very picturesque little village from what we saw. We didn't have a chance to use our very limited French in Honfleur but we got along just fine in Rouen.

You don't mention whether you are driving or using public transportation. I think Honfleur is a little harder to access by public transportation.

Rouen's a CITY.

Another vote for Monet's Giverny (or the nearby Vernon)Beautiful accessible and close to Paris. (45 min by train) There is some great food to be had in the country, much less costly than the dity.

Rouen is a city, as is Dijon and Lyon. I wouldn't find this a relaxing way to start a vacation myself. In a small quaint village, it is going to be harder to figure out how to do things and they might not speak French as well and there might be transportation issues. I don't know, I guess it depends what you want to do for those days.

I really think if your friend lives in Paris, the friend should know best. I don't find Vernon very interesting myself, but would suggest Auvers-sur-Oise. There is a train there from Gare du Nord, actually, so it wouldn't be that hard to do--if you know French and the train system. It is more of a village, though, not a city.

I have been to Moret-sur-Loing and really liked it, also. I don't think it would be as easy to get to from Paris as Auvers, though, immediately from the airport. It isn't that hard, though, you'd have to get down to Gare de Lyon and there is a train from there direct. There is no public transportation in Moret-sur-Loing, though, so then you need to call a taxi or something from the train station. It would be too far to walk into town with baggage.

So, I would vote for Auvers or Moret.

Thanks everyone for your tips. Still undecided on a destination. Hopefully a bit of research will help us make a decision.

As suggested, we have decided to drop in on our friend first to get accustomed to things. This way we can pack lightly for our excursion thus toting less luggage.

Thanks again!