A week in Paris - is it worth doing an overnight elsewhere?

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icedcoffee

Wed, May 29 2019, 10:24 am

My husband and I are going to Paris for 8 days in July. We 're thinking that 8 days might be too much just for the city, and we should think about taking advantage of being in France by going somewhere else. Does anyone have any recommendations? I'm trying to figure out if it's way too much to go to either Nice or the Alps for an overnight. Maybe it makes more sense save that for another trip.

Also, any other suggestions on things to do would be great! We have heard good things about Versailles, Giverny, and Strasbourg and are thinking of some day trips there if anyone knows about those.

I really appreciate any input - I'm starting to get serious about planning and booking, so literally anything would be helpful, even just minor tips.

doctorima

Wed, May 29 2019, 10:59 am

Absolutely take a day trip to Versailles. If it was me, I would definitely go for 1-2 nights to Nice or the Alps depending on if you're beach or mountain people, as 8 nights in Paris would be too much for me. But if you're not the active types and just want to have a more relaxing vacation soaking up the local atmosphere, I'm sure you'll find enough to do there combined with a couple of day trips.

Raw

Wed, May 29 2019, 11:03 am

Lots of things are closed in Paris July/August as the city escapes to cooler areas of the country. Be careful to check everything before you go.

ellacoe

Wed, May 29 2019, 12:07 pm

The South of France is beautiful and worth a day or two. There is kosher food there as well in the summer. Monte Carlo is very nice. Ten days in Paris in the summer can be a long time.

icedcoffee

Wed, May 29 2019, 12:48 pm

Thank you so much! Maybe we will fly down to the south for a day or two. It seems like such a shame to be so close and not go!

Dina2018

Wed, May 29 2019, 3:57 pm

icedcoffee wrote:

Thank you so much! Maybe we will fly down to the south for a day or two. It seems like such a shame to be so close and not go!

or you can go to London, it‘s 2 hours by Eurostar. Also there is a town Troyes, where Rashi was born nor very far from Paris. Information on rachi-troyes.com

Raisin

Wed, May 29 2019, 5:15 pm

Amsterdam, Antwerp, Brussles are all close to Paris by train.

ggdm

Thu, May 30 2019, 6:27 am

First of all, it is definitely possible to spend 8 days in Paris without getting bored, if you are interested in culture. You can easily spend a day in the Louvre for example. Or take it slow and go shopping, drink coffee and relax.

But probably I personally would plan trips too. So don't feel bad Wink

Versailles is definitely worth a day trip. Brussels and Amsterdam is nice too and not too far. There are a few nature parks in the Paris area and I have heard nice things about Chartres which isn't too far.

I personally wouldn't go all the way to the Alps or the Meditarranean, because in my mind it is far - but that is the difference between a European and an American understanding of distances Wink

It's not crazy far and 8 days is enough time for a trip. I personally like the middle of France, the mountains around Clermont Ferrand, but I think it is Jewish nowhere. Alsace is also nice, Strasbourg has a nice Jewish community and it's maybe 2 hours by TGV. If you want something cooler, think about the Bretagne in the north of France. Lots of options!

ellacoe

Thu, May 30 2019, 9:23 am

icedcoffee wrote:

Thank you so much! Maybe we will fly down to the south for a day or two. It seems like such a shame to be so close and not go!

I think that there is also an option to take the train.

icedcoffee

Thu, May 30 2019, 9:35 am

Quote:

This is exactly my struggle! We originally planned for 8 long days in Paris because we wanted to take it slow - we just did Italy where we were running around all the time and I thought it'd be so nice to be able to relax, enjoy the city, and eat pastries at a leisurely pace. But now I'm getting remorse that we're near all these great places and maybe we should go to them too. Sometimes I think about how once we have kids iy"h then it'll be much harder to do all these things. But thank you to everyone for all the suggestions! It's given me a lot to think about.

Ruchel

Thu, May 30 2019, 2:07 pm

Clermont Ferrand has a small small kehila.

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