day trip out of paris, via train
Sep 24th, 2007, 11:21 AM
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day trip out of paris, via train
We are spending 10 days in Paris, with plans to go Versaille and Giverny, for day trips. What would be another option for interesting day trip outside of Paris via train, - picturesque village, wine region, etc? many thanks for your thoughts.
Sep 24th, 2007, 11:47 AM
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Chartres is another possibility, as is chateau Vaux le Vicomte.
Depending on your DIY philosophy, I might considder also looking at organized tours, since it would remove some of the planning gotchas. e.g. Loire might be easier by bus than by train.
Depending on your DIY philosophy, I might considder also looking at organized tours, since it would remove some of the planning gotchas. e.g. Loire might be easier by bus than by train.
Sep 24th, 2007, 11:53 AM
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Rennes, less than hour by train, for its Champagne tours and impressive Champagne wine houses
Also great cathedral where kings and queens of France were crowned once
sweet regional town - WWII War Room where Allies plotted final assault on Germany - maps, tables left as were - right by train station.
Also get to ride the new high-speed TGV Est train to and fro Reims - speeds up to 190 mph or so - swoosh.
Also great cathedral where kings and queens of France were crowned once
sweet regional town - WWII War Room where Allies plotted final assault on Germany - maps, tables left as were - right by train station.
Also get to ride the new high-speed TGV Est train to and fro Reims - speeds up to 190 mph or so - swoosh.
Sep 26th, 2007, 06:53 AM
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Auvers-sur-Oise is a short train ride from Paris.
It, like Giverny is an old village on a river and was the home of several famous Impressionists artists in the late 1800s
Van Gogh and Cezanne were the most prominent.
And it's Van Gogh's tragic association with the village that brings many folks here to pay homage to him.
After Van Gogh left the asylum in St Remy in the south he came to Auvers-sur-Oise because his doctor had set up shop there and there were other painters who made this time an artsy retreat.
Anyway the time Van Gogh spent here was a time of intense work - many now world-famous paintings were done here and the town has set up a walking tour that takes you by the exact venues where the maestro painted them.
Reproductions of the paintings have been set up at the spots, such as the local parish church and the cornfields on the edge of town.
The cornfield pictures are ominous in that they portray Van Gogh's inner torments - storms are gathering - and he shot himself in the head in the fields i think shortly later.
he died in his austere room at the Auberge Ravoux in Auvers and the room can be seen today.
The auberge, a watering hole for the artists where they not only drank wine but imbibed in the 'green fairy,' or absinthe.
Auvers also offers a chateau that now hosts a multi-media re-creation of the Times of the Impressionists so you can kind of re-live the life they led here.
All in all a great day trip that i found a bit more interesting than Giverny actually and with far fewer crowds to cope with.
It, like Giverny is an old village on a river and was the home of several famous Impressionists artists in the late 1800s
Van Gogh and Cezanne were the most prominent.
And it's Van Gogh's tragic association with the village that brings many folks here to pay homage to him.
After Van Gogh left the asylum in St Remy in the south he came to Auvers-sur-Oise because his doctor had set up shop there and there were other painters who made this time an artsy retreat.
Anyway the time Van Gogh spent here was a time of intense work - many now world-famous paintings were done here and the town has set up a walking tour that takes you by the exact venues where the maestro painted them.
Reproductions of the paintings have been set up at the spots, such as the local parish church and the cornfields on the edge of town.
The cornfield pictures are ominous in that they portray Van Gogh's inner torments - storms are gathering - and he shot himself in the head in the fields i think shortly later.
he died in his austere room at the Auberge Ravoux in Auvers and the room can be seen today.
The auberge, a watering hole for the artists where they not only drank wine but imbibed in the 'green fairy,' or absinthe.
Auvers also offers a chateau that now hosts a multi-media re-creation of the Times of the Impressionists so you can kind of re-live the life they led here.
All in all a great day trip that i found a bit more interesting than Giverny actually and with far fewer crowds to cope with.
Sep 26th, 2007, 07:05 AM
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Ira:
Auxerre is one of few French towns i have not been to though i did bike thru it rather quickly once.
You inspire me to take a better look - i'm putting Auxerre onto my To Do list simply because of your frequent recommendations of it.
thanks
Auxerre is one of few French towns i have not been to though i did bike thru it rather quickly once.
You inspire me to take a better look - i'm putting Auxerre onto my To Do list simply because of your frequent recommendations of it.
thanks
Sep 26th, 2007, 03:16 PM
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Since you mentioned wine region, on one of our trips to Paris, we took the TGV to Beaune in the early am and did a 1-day wine tour of Burgundy. We could have easily taken the train back to Paris that evening but decided to spend the night in Beaune (stayed at Hotel Le Cep). Our hotel in Paris nicely stored our luggage for the night and we traveled super light (well on the way there but not so much on the way back as we lugged a bunch of wine!).
Beaune was a really pretty town and the wine tour was a highlight of our trip. It was with Burgundy Discovery run by David and Lynne Hammond (they are English and moved to France). They took us and one other couple on a personalized wine tasting tour with a really nice lunch mid-day. It was great! They picked us up at the train station in the am and dropped us back at our hotel in the late afternoon(but could easily drop at the train station of course).
Beaune was a really pretty town and the wine tour was a highlight of our trip. It was with Burgundy Discovery run by David and Lynne Hammond (they are English and moved to France). They took us and one other couple on a personalized wine tasting tour with a really nice lunch mid-day. It was great! They picked us up at the train station in the am and dropped us back at our hotel in the late afternoon(but could easily drop at the train station of course).
Sep 26th, 2007, 04:10 PM
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We went by train to Reims in the morning, toured the cathedral and a champage cellars, then took the train to Epernay for a tour of Moet, a great lunch and some more sightseeing. It made a great day trip and was very easy by train.
Sep 27th, 2007, 03:32 AM
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these are all great recommendations!! merci - will keep you posted - sounds like i need a few more days to explore outside the city. thank you palenQ for taking the time to add a little historical perspective.
Sep 27th, 2007, 05:42 AM
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Ira - thanks for Google idea - the panorama of the Auxerre cathedral and old town strung out along the Yonne (?)
River whets my appetite even more.
And less than two hours by train this promises to make a great day trip from Paris or a better base with a nice regional around it - Vezelay, etc. close by.
River whets my appetite even more.
And less than two hours by train this promises to make a great day trip from Paris or a better base with a nice regional around it - Vezelay, etc. close by.
Sep 27th, 2007, 05:51 AM
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I second Chartres: the English-language tours by Malcolm Miller are quite famous for his depth of knowledge. (Google his name for more info.)
BTW, NeoPatrick is right when he says <i>Reims</i> for the city in the heart of Champagne and the cathedral where the kings of France are buried. PalenQ's got the spelling mixed up when he writes <i>Rennes</i> - that would put you in the opposite direction from champagne country! (Rennes is in Bretagne - but the two names are pronounced similarly!)
BTW, NeoPatrick is right when he says <i>Reims</i> for the city in the heart of Champagne and the cathedral where the kings of France are buried. PalenQ's got the spelling mixed up when he writes <i>Rennes</i> - that would put you in the opposite direction from champagne country! (Rennes is in Bretagne - but the two names are pronounced similarly!)
Sep 27th, 2007, 06:23 AM
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As for Malcom Miller - a despicable person IME
we wait for the tour about 30 mins, he finally shows up stinking of wine (after lunch) and sizes up the small crowd of about a dozen folk.
then he haughtily says that at FF50 (pre Euro days) and only this many people he 'had better things to do' unless we all agreed to pay double the advertised and normal price.
This left a bad taste in my mouth as did his verbal assault on local youths riding their loud mopeds by us when he was reading an outside window - he said they purposely taunt him and i can see why
we've had posts on this before and several say Malcolm was abusive on tours - one private group leader said they quit the tour after he became so abusive.
So i don't care much for Malcolm Miller though his tours are rather enlightening. And beware - don't say a peep whilst he's talking.
That said Chartres is a fabulous day trip from Paris and the cathedral is one of the world's most mesmerizing.
we wait for the tour about 30 mins, he finally shows up stinking of wine (after lunch) and sizes up the small crowd of about a dozen folk.
then he haughtily says that at FF50 (pre Euro days) and only this many people he 'had better things to do' unless we all agreed to pay double the advertised and normal price.
This left a bad taste in my mouth as did his verbal assault on local youths riding their loud mopeds by us when he was reading an outside window - he said they purposely taunt him and i can see why
we've had posts on this before and several say Malcolm was abusive on tours - one private group leader said they quit the tour after he became so abusive.
So i don't care much for Malcolm Miller though his tours are rather enlightening. And beware - don't say a peep whilst he's talking.
That said Chartres is a fabulous day trip from Paris and the cathedral is one of the world's most mesmerizing.
Sep 27th, 2007, 06:41 AM
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Years ago we went to Chartes for the day. I had never heard of Malcom Miller (OK, I hadn't done any homework). I had a tour book and we were walking around the cathedral looking at the things the book says. We were sort of near this group sitting listening to a man talk -- I was ignoring them and was busy quietly reading my guidebook then looking at the window -- and all of a sudden the guy said very rudely, "Excuse me this is a private PAID lecture, please move away". I was shocked. I had no idea that private groups could keep you from standing and looking at various windows in a cathedral, which is all we were doing. Later when I explained this, someone said, "Oh that must have been the famous Malcolm Miller". OK.
Sep 27th, 2007, 06:56 AM
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I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned Dijon as a day trip. It's my favorite city after Paris. Only 1 hr 40 mins on the TGV from Paris.
I third the recommendation for Auxerre, and Rennes (PalenQ meant Reims) is a very interesting City - one of my top 7. Troyes was my "big discovery" of the last 5 years - only 1 1/2 hrs away.
Stu Dudley
I third the recommendation for Auxerre, and Rennes (PalenQ meant Reims) is a very interesting City - one of my top 7. Troyes was my "big discovery" of the last 5 years - only 1 1/2 hrs away.
Stu Dudley
Sep 27th, 2007, 08:09 AM
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And Loire Valley is reachable in one hour by TGV to Tours, where in the station or in front of it there are mini-bus tours that take you either on half- or whole-day tours of a few of the most famous chateaux.
www.accodispo.com is one such company that i'm familiar with but there are several others. If going by train ask at the station in Paris about a combo train/mini bus tour - used to exist but haven't noticed recently.
www.accodispo.com is one such company that i'm familiar with but there are several others. If going by train ask at the station in Paris about a combo train/mini bus tour - used to exist but haven't noticed recently.
