Where to go for a few days after (or before) Paris......by train
 

We will be in Paris from Oct 22-29, and would like to add on a few days in a village south of Paris that we can get to by train. We will not have a car, so want to be able to walk to shops and restaurants. Please give me some ideas......I am thinking of Avignon or Arles, but have no idea. We have been to the areas around Nice, so want something different. Thanks in advance!

Neither Avignon nor Arles are villages. What do you want to see outside of Paris? What are interested in?

Beaune in Burgundy, although not a village either. Or Bayeaux in Normandy.

Any reason to go just to the south of Paris?

And do you really mean a village (not a whole lot to do) versus a city?

There are lots of options but it depends on what you are interested in. Reims is a favorite for me. The cathedral is where French kings were crowned and it beautiful. Many Champagne houses are located in Reims so a tour or tasting is also an option. I believe it is about an hour by TGV.

Further away, Strasbourg is an option. Also a well known cathedral with an astronomical clock. La Petite France and a different feel since it is in Alsace and has been part of Germany in the past. We are going around Christmas.

Maybe Tours would be good for.

I just finished reading "Paris to the Past" by Ina Caro which is an excellent source of day trips from Paris (all by train)and a bit about the history of the town.

I have not been, and I believe it's a small city not a village, but what about Auxerre? I have always wanted to visit.

denisea, I am exploring info about Tours right now. Thinking that might be perfect. Have you been there?

Auxerre isn't a village, but I think Beaune could qualify as one. It's pretty small, at least a lot smaller than the other places names. The problem with villages is there isn't a lot to do there and no public transportation. And usually no hotels, so they don't really work unless you have a car. I don't think you really want a village from what you say, though.

Tours is a lot bigger than a village, if you want to visit chateaux for some reason, some people recommend Amboise, it is a lot smaller. Or Blois. But without a car, Tours has a lot of transportation options, of course, and many day tour companies from there probably.

There was a post recently about someone who wanted to visit chateaux over a weekend and stay in Tours without a car, that might be of interest to you.

Beaune is really not a village; it's a small town. Villages are like Dieulefit, in the Drôme Provencale; the Lubéron villages in Provence; and the many villages in Burgundy, the Dordogne, and on and on.

I guess I am caught n a semantics problem. It sounds like I am looking for a town or small city. We want whatever it is called to have markets, shops, restaurants, and a nice place to stay. I will look for the thread on Tours.

Chicgeek, I have not visited Tours. We did take a train into Tours several years ago and then went on to Amboise and Chenonceau during the day.

Someone recommended it to us and we want to go but not on our upcoming trip this December. I did research it and would love to go there. This trip we are definitely going to Strabourg and possibly Chartes.

Tours has a nice central area with a market (on the day we were there, at least) and shops and restaurants. You can also arrange for a couple of chateau tours, or rent a car and do it yourself. Close enough to return to Paris CDG.
I sort of disagree that Avignon wouldn't be a good destination (in that it is a "city"). I found it "small" enough, and the surrounding countryside is just total charm. Rent a car however.
And return to CDG is easy direct to the airport.
It certainly has ALL the things you want in the town--and plenty of the same in the surroundings.

Change of plan.......I found a last minute deal on a Uniworld river cruise after we leave Paris. It begins in Arles, so we could spend two nights there before the cruise. We end in Lyon, where we can take a train back to CDG. This is how we roll.......very serendipitously! Now my only worry is what the weather will be like on the cruise the first week of November!

Lyon.