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Replies to: Help plan our trip to France!
1) We will have more discussion with the group about the timing. We are constrained by the academic schedules of 3 of us, so there is no hope of "off season".
2) Some members of the group have been in France briefly, although no one for any extended time. DD's BF and I both speak a little French.
3) Paris is a must. While in Paris each couple would be free to explore some on their own (or regroup as interests dictate). I know H will be at his limit with ONE museum.
4) I'm sure we will want to see a lot of touristy things. In discussion with H, I'm trying to keep him from dragging us all over Europe a la "European Vacation."
5) I have some issues with walking, although I managed to walk 25 miles in the three days we were in NYC in May, so I'm hoping I can manage. Mountain climbing is out. Wineries are also out.
6) Definitely looking to stay in vrbo, airbnb, apartment type arrangements as much as possible. With 6 of us, not having to eat in restaurants every meal is key.
I would second/third the airbnb, vrbo, and homeaway. Those are the ones my parents use. In Paris, we stayed in a cute little apartment 2 blocks from the Louvre. It had A/C (definite must for us) but it was cheaper because it was up 4 flights of stairs. It did have an elevator, but VERY small. 1-2 people at a time. I took the stairs.
Things may have changed since 2015 and tripadvisor can be your best friend. But, we got a museum pass that saved us a lot of $$$. But also pay attention to hours. The museums can close on odd days. I want to say the Louvre was closed on Tuesdays.
If you go to Versailles, research the heck out of it, because I hope they have improved the experience. It was AWFUL for us. The worst management I have ever seen. We went in early/mid July. We had our tickets (museum pass) and got there early, but still had to stand in a 2 hour snaked queue in the sun with ZERO water/food available. The only bathrooms were inside where you had to push through another huge ticket line and there were maybe 4 stalls. Once inside it was so crowded you couldn't move. We are a tall family, so we could at least see a little. My tall S got several requests from strangers to take pics over the crowd's head. And it didn't even seem particularly nice. It felt worn and run down. Schonbronne palace in Vienna was SO much nicer. We also preferred the Napoleon apartments in the Louvre to Versailles. After the tour, you were able to go to the bathroom - but you had to push through the cafe food line full of hungry frustrated people. And once you got your food? No seats. We (including my 70s y.o. parents!) ate on the floor.
We did the river cruise which was nice. The Eiffle tower - we by-passed the lines and saved some $$$ by walking up to the first level. We are not foodies/wine people or shopping. On the Champs D'Elysee my favorite thing was a 3-5 story twisty tube slide that cost a couple of Euros.
Nice is probably too far for you to visit, unless you would enjoy the train ride scenery. I loved NIce and wished we had more time to do day trips. But the most memorable thing for the 5 kids (ages 17-23) was to drive and/or ride with a professional driver in a Ferrari that began in Eze (medieval village between Nice/Monaco) It was pricey, but definitely a highlight. But the kids have also been to dozens (maybe hundreds!) of museums, castles, roman ruins, etc. It was definitely different for us old, used Hyundai/Ford owners!
Musee d'Orsay is my favorite museum in Paris too and their dining room (reservations required) is spectacular. Nicer than the Hall of Mirrors in Versailles.
What was a nice day trip for us was going to Giverny to see Monet's home and gardens. It was an easy trip via train.
There are also all of the Loire Valley Chateaux which is close to Paris (I would rent a car for that though).
If you can allocate the time, staying a bit longer overall and choosing budget accomodations may be a better ROI wrt plane tickets. This way, you can take side trips to Chartres(1 day trip), Normandy(3 days), and Dordogne(3 days) -- you take the TGV to Bordeaux - Ouigo is the budget one but the main differences I can see compared to the regular trains is that the color palette is brighter and you can't take a huge suitcase with you (a big one is okay -size is listed), Bordeaux is 2h30 from Paris and even if you're not interested in wineries, visiting La cité du vin is really cool, as is the city, although it was built on blood money from slavery. From there, rent a car and drive to Dordogne: Sarlat, as mentioned previously (medieval), Lascaux (Dawn of time), and Périgueux (Roman Times).
For Versailles and Provence, I'd go during the Christmas vacation.
Don't compromise on this! It takes 1/2 day or more when all is said and done to leave a hotel, get to the train station in time for the train, go to another city even if just 1-2 hours away, get to the new hotel, drop the bags, and get out exploring again. It isn't much faster with a car, and can be slower over a distance since the trains go 180mph. You really only have time for one other locale other than Paris, unless you have a real fascination with travel infrastructure because if you're changing locations every day or two that's most of what you'll see.
We stayed in the medieval village of Laroque-des-Albères, in an AirBnB but the entire area is fantastic - look at the map. You can stay by the sea, anywhere from Argelès-sur-Mer to Cerbere at the border, or a few km inland. Farmers markets, oyster farms, music festivals in castles. Towns you see in endless paintings in world museums, almost unchanged. And just across the border, a village by the sea where Salvador Dali spent most of his life, and you can walk through his house - as well as his great museum in Figueres. And I didn't even scratch the surface.
After Paris, we stayed in a B and B outside of Honfleur--this is an adorable town at the mouth of the Seine. Besides enjoying it (fabulous restaurants), we used it as a base to explore Etretat, a ciderie, and the seaside towns to the south. Just a wonderful area. We rented a car outside of Paris and used this for the remainder of the trip. stopping on the way to Honfleur at Givenchy to see Monet's garden and home. Had an amazing late lunch there.
I think the two places gave us a good start, even only ten days ( we also Chunneled over to London afterward, which might have been too much. I'd been there before and just wanted a quick hello. It was fun, but a bit tiring. Tried to pack a lot in in a small time.)
I totally agree on eschewing hotels in favor of small places like airbnb, B and B's, and/or rental apartments. We did one of each and all worked out well. I also like that we had a rental car outside of Paris as it made choosing what to see much simpler than trains would have been.
Hope you all have a blast!
In all the times I've been to Paris, never went up the Tower, the lines were always long. But we did do the Notre Dame tower, in the past, and views are great from Montmartre. Every bit of historic Paris is great.
We loved buying croissants and pastries in the am, bought sandwiches early and had lunch by the Louvre pyramid or in a park.
Our personal tour was at night. For us, what made it special was it was just us and a young man, much like a couple of hours with an old contact leading and talking.
Versailles? I'd do the inside first, if you've never been. Last time, there was some shuttle that would take you around the grounds.
We also did the sewer museum, a once in a lifetime thing.
Make sure you know which museums are open what days and plan accordingly.
Versailles itself is easy to be disappointed by. The Hall of Mirrors is not that shiny. Baroque architecture is pretty ugh. But Louis XIV was such an important figure that if French history interests you, you probably should see it.
If you miss it, so be it. As long as you get balance overall, in the monumental, a few museums, get to walk, wander, and people watch. I'm one one believes you can just do a couple of hours at the Louvre, eg. See what you feel are the musts, then move on.