We are spending a week in Paris on a company trip and want to extend the trip by traveling around for another 6 days. We have to fly back out of Paris. Any suggestions? Southern France or Belgium, Switzerland, Italy? We haven't been to Europe and are at a loss as to how to best enjoy this trip.

When are you going? I just wondering about weather.

Have you been to London? It's an easy train trip there and back and a week in London would be great.

What time of year?
Are costs a factor?
What types of activities do you enjoy most? Shopping, dining, museum going, castle-visiting, hiking, swimming, etc.?
Any particular period of history or architecture that fascinates you?

What do you know about the various regions of France? There a LOTS of possibilities. You need to get guidebooks and maps and research the internet. There are dozens of possibilities, and you have given zero info on your interests, who "we" is, or anything. To get good information, you have to provide some of your own. We don't have crystal balls.

We are going in September. Another couple will join us in Paris for the second week. We are interested in seeing the sites, experiencing the cultures. Not hiking or swimming. Dining of course, maybe shopping. Museums aren't high on the list. We might do a day trip to London during our first week while in Paris. We don't have any physical limitations. I understand the train system is a great way to get around.

Oh gosh! I'm so fan of Biarritz, take a TGV from Paris Montparnasse or fly to Biarritz. Visit Bayonne also. Or Bordeaux if you want a destination near of Paris (3h30 by train)

It's one huge open question! London is by far the most expensive place you could waste your time. From Paris, by train, you can head north, west, east and south. It all depends on what you want to do. Southwest France, the Pays Basque is always interesting, but then so is Normandy and the Dijon region, which you can do on a day-trip for lunch. The possibilities are nearly endless. You need to sit down with a good guide book and decide what you are interested in seeing and doing.

If you have a full week, I suggest traveling to Provence and the Cote d'Azur. Lots of lovely towns to visit in Provence, great food and September is a very nice time to go. The best way to see it is by car. The train from Paris to Avignon is quick and easy.

If Provence doesn't appeal, consider Amsterdam and somewhere in Belgium (Bruges?)

If your flight home is out of Paris, these destinations would be fairly easy to get to and return to Paris from.

I also recommend Bruges and Amsterdam as your add on. Reasonably easy to travel by train to and from. If you have not booked air, go into Paris home from Amsterdam.

Thank you for your replies. Normandy is included in our first week activities. We were talking about the train to southern area and perhaps driving along the Italian coast. We do have to fly back out of Paris in the end tho. We are such newbies in European travel, I want to see it all!

Love the Loire Valley and Bruges Belgium but there are so many possibilities. Do you want to rent a car and drive? Will you be relying on trains?

We have visited different areas of the Loire on two different trips combined with trips to Paris. The countryside is beautiful, there are wonderful hotels and restaurants, lovely gardens and interesting sights. We enjoyed visiting Clos Luce in Amboise and stayed at Le Vieux Manoir. Especially liked Chenonceau and Villandry.

Frankly, a day trip to London will hardly help you scratch the surface of all to be seen there and it is a long way to travel for just a few hours there. I would either devote more time to London or put that day towards your other travels and save London for another trip.