Where should we go after Paris
Jul 16th, 2009, 11:30 PM
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Where should we go after Paris
We are travelling to London from Australia in mid October this year. The trip is substantially to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary and so our plans are, after staying the first night somewhere in London (in case a late plane arrival otherwise causes problems), we intend to travel to Paris and stay about 5 or 6 days which covers the anniversary. We will then have about 7 or 8 days left and are not sure where we should go from there.
We have been to England only last year. We travelled into Belgium, Germany and Holland many years ago. Otherwise we have not seen any of Europe.
Any suggestions?
We have been to England only last year. We travelled into Belgium, Germany and Holland many years ago. Otherwise we have not seen any of Europe.
Any suggestions?
Jul 16th, 2009, 11:36 PM
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If you want to stay in France then I would suggest doing the D-Day beaches up in Normandy,Caen and Mont St. Michel(definitely spend the night ) OR fly down to Nice and do the Rivera-Monaco,Menton,St. Paul de Vence, Cannes.
Otherwise, I would suggest Italy.Rome with either Venice or Florence.
Otherwise, I would suggest Italy.Rome with either Venice or Florence.
Jul 16th, 2009, 11:46 PM
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40th! My that is some mileage - congratulations! My DH and I will achieve that next year in November but I haven't planned anything special except we do have plans to visit Canada.
Of course in October it is Autumn in Europe so I would choose somewhere that has beautiful scenery with trees changing into their red and gold leaves.
May I suggest a decent hotel near to St Pancrass if you are travelling to Paris with Eurostar?
We find The Ibis Euston just right for 2 or three nights.
It is a short walk from the station and very conveniently right next to Euston with an underground connection.
Of course in October it is Autumn in Europe so I would choose somewhere that has beautiful scenery with trees changing into their red and gold leaves.
May I suggest a decent hotel near to St Pancrass if you are travelling to Paris with Eurostar?
We find The Ibis Euston just right for 2 or three nights.
It is a short walk from the station and very conveniently right next to Euston with an underground connection.
Jul 17th, 2009, 01:28 AM
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Thanks for such rapid replies.
Dutyfree - what catches our eyes there are Nice and the Riviera etc. Great idea. Do you know if there is a train to there? We like train travel if it is available as it allows us to see a bit more of the countryside.
Tod - Excellent advice also - we are now in the process of looking for an appropriate hotel. It would only be for the night as our plane gets in about 1.30pm and I have looked at the Eurostar times. There are departures that might suit but I am worried about the plane arriving late or being held up in customs etc. Probably better to wait until the next morning to travel over to Paris.
Interestingly, we were in a forum with you a couple of days ago when we were looking at the possibility of flying to Ireland after Paris. Your writings on driving around in the van were inspiring as well. I think, though, that the option of travelling to Monaco or Italy is probably a good one as we have not seen either of those locations and we are already within reach when in Paris.
40 years - yep quite amazing - where does time go? Let's hope the next 40 years slows down!
Tod, you shouldn't be looking at another overseas trip next year - you have the soccer world cup in your country. We are really starting to get into the travel thing. We had to do a big trip last year (England, Canada and USA) but that was for my work. Sue did lots of sightseeing but I was working a fair bit of the time. We are going back for 10 days to New York City in August using the cheap fares that are around at the moment. And then, of course, the trip to Paris in October (with stopovers in Hong Kong and Singapore). We could really get used to this travel thing!
Thanks for your help - great suggestions which we will definitely follow up.
Dutyfree - what catches our eyes there are Nice and the Riviera etc. Great idea. Do you know if there is a train to there? We like train travel if it is available as it allows us to see a bit more of the countryside.
Tod - Excellent advice also - we are now in the process of looking for an appropriate hotel. It would only be for the night as our plane gets in about 1.30pm and I have looked at the Eurostar times. There are departures that might suit but I am worried about the plane arriving late or being held up in customs etc. Probably better to wait until the next morning to travel over to Paris.
Interestingly, we were in a forum with you a couple of days ago when we were looking at the possibility of flying to Ireland after Paris. Your writings on driving around in the van were inspiring as well. I think, though, that the option of travelling to Monaco or Italy is probably a good one as we have not seen either of those locations and we are already within reach when in Paris.
40 years - yep quite amazing - where does time go? Let's hope the next 40 years slows down!
Tod, you shouldn't be looking at another overseas trip next year - you have the soccer world cup in your country. We are really starting to get into the travel thing. We had to do a big trip last year (England, Canada and USA) but that was for my work. Sue did lots of sightseeing but I was working a fair bit of the time. We are going back for 10 days to New York City in August using the cheap fares that are around at the moment. And then, of course, the trip to Paris in October (with stopovers in Hong Kong and Singapore). We could really get used to this travel thing!
Thanks for your help - great suggestions which we will definitely follow up.
Jul 17th, 2009, 05:10 AM
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Your options are really unlimited, so it would help if you narrowed down your interests somewhat. You can take the TGV to Avignon and explore Provence and the Côte d'Azur very easily. From London you also have the option of taking low-cost flights to just about anywhere in Europe.
If France is your focus, you can do Normandy and Brittany, the Dordogne, Provence and the Riviera, Strasbourg and the east, Lyon and Bourgogne, the Pyrénées....there are myriad choices. I think you should do some reading and get back to us.
If France is your focus, you can do Normandy and Brittany, the Dordogne, Provence and the Riviera, Strasbourg and the east, Lyon and Bourgogne, the Pyrénées....there are myriad choices. I think you should do some reading and get back to us.
Jul 17th, 2009, 05:31 AM
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France has one of the best rail systems in the world, trains go everywhere, definitely all major cities.
It really depends on you, this is just such an open-ended question -- where should I go on vacation? I personally would never choose Normandy out of all of Europe as a place to go if you haven't been hardly anywhere.
Switzerland is a possibility, it is a very pleasant country to visit and very beautiful, and pretty easy and quick to get to from Paris by train. I'd also consider Spain myself, because I love that country and October is a good time to go there. If you just want to get somewhere by train from Paris, that would eat up too much time, though, I'd say. There are cheap flights there.
YOu haven't mentioned how you must depart, that could make a big difference in plans, or if that is up in the air.
It really depends on you, this is just such an open-ended question -- where should I go on vacation? I personally would never choose Normandy out of all of Europe as a place to go if you haven't been hardly anywhere.
Switzerland is a possibility, it is a very pleasant country to visit and very beautiful, and pretty easy and quick to get to from Paris by train. I'd also consider Spain myself, because I love that country and October is a good time to go there. If you just want to get somewhere by train from Paris, that would eat up too much time, though, I'd say. There are cheap flights there.
YOu haven't mentioned how you must depart, that could make a big difference in plans, or if that is up in the air.
Jul 17th, 2009, 05:43 AM
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Someone just e-mailed me asking for suggestions about where to vacation in France. We've spent several years (total) vacationing in varous regions there.
Here is the "Stu Dudley rating" for regions we've visited in France. Of course, this is very subjective according to what we like to see & do (beautiful countryside/terrain is a big plus - and also cute villages & castles. Not big on museums). I had to put my "first timer" hat back on to come up with this ranking, because places that I loved 15 years ago, don't appeal to me as much now (Cote d'Azur as an example - altough we love the Nice hinterland).
Scale of 1 to 10
Provence in Lavender season - 10
Provence outside of Lavender season - 9
Dordogne - 10
Cote d'Azur - especially the backcountry - 8
Brittany - 8
Auvergne (Puy du Dome, Cantal) - 7
Languedoc/Roussillon/Lot/eastern Pyrenees - 7
Pays Basque, western Pyrenees - 7
Alsace - for about 1 week max (it gets too "repetitive" after that) - 6
Beaujolais - 6
Lake Annecy/Alps area - 6
Franche Comte - 6
Burgundy & Dijon - 6
Burgundy without Dijon - 5
Ardeche - 5
Normandy - 5
Loire without the Chateaux - 3
Top large cities:
Paris
Dijon
Toulouse
Rennes
Aix-en-Provence
Avignon
Lyon
Top medium sized cities
Sarlat
Colmar
Beaune
Vannes
Stu Dudley
Here is the "Stu Dudley rating" for regions we've visited in France. Of course, this is very subjective according to what we like to see & do (beautiful countryside/terrain is a big plus - and also cute villages & castles. Not big on museums). I had to put my "first timer" hat back on to come up with this ranking, because places that I loved 15 years ago, don't appeal to me as much now (Cote d'Azur as an example - altough we love the Nice hinterland).
Scale of 1 to 10
Provence in Lavender season - 10
Provence outside of Lavender season - 9
Dordogne - 10
Cote d'Azur - especially the backcountry - 8
Brittany - 8
Auvergne (Puy du Dome, Cantal) - 7
Languedoc/Roussillon/Lot/eastern Pyrenees - 7
Pays Basque, western Pyrenees - 7
Alsace - for about 1 week max (it gets too "repetitive" after that) - 6
Beaujolais - 6
Lake Annecy/Alps area - 6
Franche Comte - 6
Burgundy & Dijon - 6
Burgundy without Dijon - 5
Ardeche - 5
Normandy - 5
Loire without the Chateaux - 3
Top large cities:
Paris
Dijon
Toulouse
Rennes
Aix-en-Provence
Avignon
Lyon
Top medium sized cities
Sarlat
Colmar
Beaune
Vannes
Stu Dudley
Jul 17th, 2009, 06:07 AM
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How about the night train from Paris to Venice. See Venice for 2 or 3 days and then the train to Rome. If you have a couple more days you could stop off at Florence for a couple of nights. Are you flying back to Australia from London or Paris?
Another idea would be to fly from Paris to Oslo, Norway and go on the Norway in a Nutshell tour from Oslo to Bergen and back. You could easily be in Norway for 7 nights.
Another idea would be to fly from Paris to Oslo, Norway and go on the Norway in a Nutshell tour from Oslo to Bergen and back. You could easily be in Norway for 7 nights.
