k_marie

I’m just beginning to piece together an itinerary for November. No tickets have yet been purchased, no reservations made. All inter-city transportation will be by train.



Paris - 7 nights

It’s Paris. The only must-do at this point is 11 am Sunday Mass at St-Sulpice which is followed by an organ recital. I will look for other concerts and maybe this trip we will finally get to Le Train Bleu.



Reims - 2 or 3 nights

We were here once for a brief visit including a day’s excursion to Champagne houses and sites. We would like to do a good tour of the cathedral and a one-day tour of World War I sites and battlefields with Terres de Mémoire tours. Stay will probably be at the Hotel Continental which is close to the train station and walkable to the cathedral.



Nancy - 3 or 4 nights

We will be here too early for the Christmas market, parade, and festivities. Art, food, and wandering will be our focus. Hoping to stay near Place Stanislas. Hotel de Guise, maybe?



Basel - 3 nights

We will devote a leisurely day to the Beyeler and, perhaps, browsing the shops near Spalentor.

The Christmas market is scheduled to open 28 November. Will holiday afternoon tea aux Trois Rois begin that day, or earlier? I see no reference to it on their website.

I was hoping to stay at Hotel Basel but discovered yesterday that bankruptcy has been declared and the hotel is closed. Does anyone have info on plans to reopen? We definitely need a hotel close to a tram line but just outside Basel SBB is not where I would like to stay. I know there are several large hotels right there where the trams and buses are coming and going all day long.



ZRH - 1 night

We will stay at an airport hotel the night before our 10:15 am departure.



I welcome comments and suggestions on these evolving plans. Thanks, all!

bilboburgler

Makes a lot of sense.

Strasbourg missed
Mullhouse missed
Metz missed

not saying you are wrong but just for thought

seat61.com for train guidance as that is such a train based route you have there

k_marie

Thanks, b. I have been to Strasbourg several times and Mulhouse only once but never to Metz. (Well, actually, we didn’t see Mulhouse. We were the for the Tour de France in 2005!) I should do some research!

For previous trips, I’ve used Trainline for research and advance purchase of train tickets. I will check seat61.

bilboburgler

Mulhouse has some very good museums

lavandula

It's been a long time since I was in Metz but their cathedral has Marc Chagall windows, like several other churches in Europe (Mainz, for instance). Worth googling.

Lavandula

k_marie

I see that Metz is only about an hour by train from Nancy. Metz could be a daytrip, with the cathedral as the destination. Thanks, lavandula.

shelemm

There is a terrific story in "Travelers Tales France" called Remnants of Hell about the WWI sites. I am sure you could pick up a cheap copy on ye olde internet. Highly recommended. Not really a travel story, but a revealing glimpse.

We toured on our own, with a car, and we went to the Verdun sites and also sites along the Chemin des Dames, which formed a natural front. I have many important memories of that trip.

aliced

St. Sulplice was under total renovation October 2022 much to our disappointment -- access was very limited, entire block cyclone-fenced off. Had flyer about it, but cannot find it, I would check as to accessibility. It seems you know they are doing masses though.

k_marie

No, aliced , I did not know St-Sulpice was being renovated. We were last there in 2019. The 11 am Sunday Mass is always on our Paris itinerary and we have enjoyed other organ and orchestral concerts there. Time for some googling about the current circumstances. I have seen that David Roth is Titulaire Émérite now.

k_marie

There is no mention of ongoing renovations on the St-Sulpice website. In a few months I’ll check again to see if any evening concerts are scheduled.

It seems the Christmas markets will be in operation in all three French cities when we are there in November. I may delay my serious browsing until we get to Nancy.

WeisserTee

We live in Basel. I don't think that you will need to give a whole day to the Beyeler, it's not that big. I think you would enjoy the main art museum; it's very good.

Yes, the closure of the Hotel Basel is a real loss, even those of us who live in Basel miss it -- the hotel's brasseries were very popular with locals as well as visitors. Right on Marktplatz is the Hotel Maerthof, which is an attractive new hotel with a popular bar and restaurant. Other hotel options that would be an easy hop to the train station by tram include Nomad (between the Bankverein/Aeschenplatz tram stops, which means you are just one or two tram stops from SBB), Motel One down by Barfusserplatz, the Marriott by Messe (take the 2 tram to the station for a faster trip), and of course Les Trois Rois if your budget allows. If you want to have afternoon tea there, the hotel should have its holiday decorations up by then, but whether it's serving its "official" holiday tea is something you can ask. Make your reservation as early as you can, it fills up quickly (we have already made reservations for tea on December 27!). FWIW, the lobby is beautiful and we like taking tea there, although we actually prefer the bar with its handsome decor and wood burning fireplace.

k_marie

Thanks for your response, ,WeisserTee. I was hoping you would see this and chime in with some thoughts on Basel.

We have been to the Beyeler a few times and realize that we will have time for other activities during that day. Maybe the balance of the day will be for strolling and finding a few Christmas ornaments for the grandsons. I expect we will be in Basel toward the end of November but not sure if our dates will coincide with the opening of the Christmas markets there. If not, Johann Wanner, maybe?

We will probably head for another museum on the next day—Basel has a wealth of small and specialized places! You had previously mentioned a new museum on the Novartis campus which might appeal to my husband after two weeks of art museums.

I appreciate the info on hotels. Barfusserplatz and Marktplatz are my preferred areas; I will take a look at both the Hotel Marthof and Motel One. And as soon as we pin down our dates, we will secure our reservation for les Trois Rois for tea.

WeisserTee

By the way, the Hotel Basel has been sold to some German group that is going to make it all digital. Basically no staff from check in to checkout. 🤬

No word about what will happen to the brasseries.