We are going with another couple in September for 10 nights. Paris, Nice and somewhere inbetween for a couple nights. All by fast train.
I could use any suggestions. Where did you stay in Paris, any favorite restaurant? Our friends were there 10 years ago, so sort of have the lay of the land.
I’d like the “inbetween “ place to be sort of like a Tuscany experience…chateau/winery. Perhaps stay in the larger city (like Florence), then take a day trip to a smaller village, winery.
I bought a Rick Steve’s book on Provence, but any of your recommendations are very much appreciated.
There were a few Paris threads before - you may want to check them out
We stayed at the Hotel Brighton in Paris on Rue de Rivoli and walked everywhere from there (got lucky and had a partial view form our balcony of the Eiffel Tower and a beautiful view of the park across the street). It is next door to Angelina bakery with world renown hot chocolate and Mont Blanc pastries (not to be missed).
We have stayed in the hotel below 4 times when visiting Paris (last time was 2015). We love the location in Saint Germain des Pres not far from the Luxembourg Gardens and always have breakfast in the hotel before venturing out for the day.
I’ll try to find the name of the place we stayed in Paris. It was nice and walkable to just everything. It was really close to the Louvre.
We based most of our France trip (last May) in Montpellier. My DIL was doing graduate work there. It was like a Disney land almost.
We took easy day train trips to Avignon, Sete, Carcassonne. You can also hit Nimes. I didn’t go but everyone else took a trip to Pic St Loup for the vineyards there (although I tried the wine they brought back!)
We just decided where we wanted to go each day and got tickets on our phones–I think the longest train ride was an hour. Most train tix ranged from 10 to 25 euros roundtrip. The train station was walking distance for each of these places. No need for a car anywhere we went. Can’t express how convenient and how much fun we had. Montpellier is a college town and has great restaurants and a fun night life and plenty of history to boot.
The biggest thing is to research the train system. SNCF, TGV, Ouigo.
You can get cheap tix on OUIGO for basically the same train experience as more expensive TGV tix. Including high speed trains. I had 30 euro tix from Paris to Montpellier and then it cost stupid me 110 euros to return. The tickets go on sale 60 days prior to date needed and they go FAST. The price goes up as the number of tickets shrink. You reserve seats in advance. And make sure you know which station you want to get to–in Montpellier there are two stations but one is 15 miles from town and the other in town–big difference).
Same with Paris–make sure you know exactly which station you want to leave from before booking tickets.
3 favorite Paris restaurants: A la Biche au Bois, Restaurant Perraudin, Polidor. Ask the front desk at your hotel to make reservations at these or any other restaurant you choose.
You don’t mention if you’ve been to France before, so a tip or two. Formality between strangers is important. The first thing you say to anyone, in just about any circumstance, should be “bonjour madame” or “bonjour monsieur”. People that disregard the social convention (which is considered quite rude) are then puzzled why they are treated rudely. In Paris, especially in the places tourists are likely to visit, they will speak English. Less so in other areas such as smaller towns around Nice or in Provence where your server/shop-clerk may be a teenager who learned as much English in school as I learned Spanish in my required foreign-language classes. Learning a few phrases (please, thank you, a table, where is the restroom?) before you go is helpful.
We were in Nice in the Fall of 2018 (I think) and loved it. Took the train to Cannes, Menton and Monaco. Don’t remember where we ate, but food was good.
If you are planning to visit several museums in Paris, I would purchase a museum card. This will give you “free” admission and will usually give you faster entry into museums since you’ll bypass the line to by tickets on-site. PARIS MUSEUM PASS | Official website
The Louvre recently announced that they’re reducing the number of visitors allowed each day so it is critical to reserve your time in advance. You can do this after you’ve purchased your Museum Pass. From the Paris Museum Pass site:
Since July 2019, access to the Louvre with the PARIS MUSEUM PASS can only be guaranteed by booking a time slot. Without this, admission can sometimes be a very lengthy or even impossible process during periods when there are a lot of visitors.
To book a time slot: log on to ticketlouvre.fr, select “Visitors with a Paris Museum Pass”, choose the day and time of your visit, and indicate your name and your PMP number. You can then download a QR code that will get you through the first checkpoint at the entrance to the Pyramide du Louvre (the only way to get in). You will then need to show your PMP at the various checkpoints in the museum, located under the Pyramid.
NB: The booking procedure is free and visitors qualifying for free admission have no need to book.
For food, I recommend Verjus (the restaurant or the more casual wine bar), Frenchie (mentioned above), the food hall at the Bon Marche department store, and L’As du Falafel in the Marais (the falafel is worth the wait). If you like macarons, a visit to one of the locations of Pierre Herme is a must. We loved strolling on Rue Cler, a pedestrian street that’s lined with specialty food shops and vendors. Bon appetit!
Also, if you’re doing any shopping at the Galeries Lafayette, they have a really fun vegetarian restaurant on the roof - Creatures. Food was delicious and the views incredible.
Thank you everyone for your suggestions. I will be be creating a list to research these options! I’m always a bit overwhelmed at the start of planning.
If you haven’t been to France you might want to think about doing just Paris and Nice…though it really depends on your travel style. For a 10 day trip I tend to prefer only two different places to stay. We were in Nice a few months ago and did day trips from there to Monaco, Antibes/Cannes, Villefranche-sur-Mer and St Paul de Vence. We also did a vineyard tour at Chateau de Bellet. It met our needs (inexpensive, relatively close) but if you’re looking for one with a restaurant, like some Napa ones, you might want to look for a different one.
Our Airbnb in Nice was close to the restaurant I recommended, La Cucina. We liked being close to the promenade with a relatively easy walk/tram to the train station. It depends on your preferences. We like getting up and walking very early. Then we would grab a quick bite to eat. (We liked Hobo.) After a full day we would grab an early dinner…on multiple occasions it was La Cucina (can you tell we loved it? Lol).
That’s a good idea, do you think I would get the “Tuscany/vineyard/wine tasting with lunch” feel from the areas close to Nice? Maybe there’s a day tour, I should check . It would be nice not having to park and unpack, unless the area is i credible. I was just wasn’t sure if there was enough to do for 5 days on the riviera. I can only do so much laying by the beach, I get bored after a few hours.
Seconding staying in St Germaine. Don’t miss Musee D’Orsay. Consider a day trip to Normandy with a tour of WWII sites (we did the Bayeux Tapestry as well) Both were fascinating. Take a pre-dinner stroll through Luxembourg Gardens. Saint Chappelle is beautiful.