"Trip to France in May, where to go??" Topic

Hi all,

I have an upcoming trip to France in May this year, for two weeks, and I was wondering what some points of interest might be? I can guess the basic ones, the Great Man's tomb, for instance, and Les Invalides, Musee de l'Armee. I'm sure there are many other points of interest. We'll be using the rail system to get around primarily, so a battle field tour near one of those might work out. We'll be staying mainly in Paris and using the bullet train to travel out from that point, so we can get pretty much anywhere that's not too far off the beaten path. Unfortunately I'm not as knowledgable about battlefields in France itself as compared to those in other countries, so any suggestions are welcome!

What subjects?
Napoleonincs?
Ww1
Ww2
Medieval?

Fortresses?

If you are just in trains, assuming they are on time ;)) you will be limited a bit.
If you are not just yourself, from time to time, consider renting a car as for 2+ it goes cheaper than trains+ And because once at the station you are stuck mostly. At least for what you want. In the countryside that is. Not Paris.

No they don't drive like Napolitans ( yet) if you are from the Us esp urban, you won't be shocked.

Also if US., don't consider the distances as you would at home. It is denser, slower and everything takes time. If you want to go further than 300 km from Paris better stay there than book for 2 weeks in Paris. Better have one in Paris and another going around. Saves money, a lot of time and hassle.

The other thing in Paris that is really cool is the cemetery where all the marshals are buried: Pere Lachaise. You can drop in on Jim Morrison and Oscar Wilde while you are at it.

I've not been to any of the Napoleonic battlefields in France. I understand there are some near Paris from '14 but I don't know much about them.

You might look into taking a train to Brussels and visiting Waterloo (you'll have to rent a car from Brussels). It's very accessible.

Pere Lachaise is a must.

The army and naval museums are also worth seeing.

JCFrog-

Napoleonic would be my primary interest. That's interesting info about the rail system v/ cars. My significant other is going so there would be two of us. I thought I saw a rail pass was something like 100 Euros or so. Maybe I need to look into that in more depth. I'd be willing to drive a car over there myself.

We were planning on 1 week in Paris and another week in the south, possibly Marsseille, initially. Then we thought about possibly just staying in Paris and using the train, since on the charts at least it says that its only a 3 or 4 hours trip to the furtherest hubs. A car might be nice though, as I'd really like to see some of the smaller villages and the country side.

St.-Jean-de-Luz is often overlooked by people not from France in visiting France. This beautiful coastal town and port would be worth visiting just for the view. However there is quite a bit of history involved. It was a center for commerce raiding and in the 17th century was home to a number of corsairs of Basque extraction. The town also was home to the royal wedding uniting the families of France and Spain in 1660.

More recently it was the site of the evacuation of Polish Troops in WWII.

The palais de Malmaison just outside Paris (accesible by bus) and a bit further the palais de fontainebleau are well worth a visit in connection to Napoleon. The battlefields of 1814 are to the east of Paris and fairly rural so not very easy by public transport but wel within reach by car.
If you want to visit tombs of fallen Napoleon,ic heroes, don't forget the Panthéon, with the tomb of Lannes. Near the Seine there is also the small but interesting museum (if it has re opened) of the Légion d'honneur

If you're going to the south of France there is one absolute must: Musée de l'emperi at Salon -de – Provence. A magnificent collection of 1st empire uniforms and equipment, one of my personal favourites

I'll second the recommendation for the naval museum, right on top of the Trocadéro Métro station.

link

Plenty of Napoleonic exhibits, although both the older and the more recent stuff are very interesting too. One hall has large paintings of harbour scenes which, though drawn in the 18th C., would not have looked all that different a generation later.

If you should decide to visit Waterloo as suggested by Idontbelieveit, let me know.
armchairgeneral AT hotmail DOT com

Don't stay in Marseilles the most dangerous city in Europe. You can do there one day in a car, park it ion the tourist places, see a bit around, eat bouillabaisse and run away.

Napoleonics ok

In Paris the aforementioned museums , père Lachaise is nice too ( download a map of it before and print… It bis big)
Navy museum; Vincennes, try to find Daumesnil missing leg.
Nearby, Montmirail battlefield can be a one day by car ( rented in the close suburbs once you have your city pass) can see other stuff around, Provins etc. very close the ww1 museum is on the way.

Most of the battlefields are… Not in France!

North of Paris, by train the cathedral where the kings were crowned St Denis ( another not safe surrounding though).

If you go south Toulon, Draguignan artillery museum ( that is another car rent, not too far all this easy in May); coastal fortifications, martello towers etc. together with more things for your wife.

Driving north (2-3 h) in Provence upu can follow the A51 up and see Aix, forcalquier, les mees and the stunning fortress of Sisteron. On the way Napo took north in 1815.

Also worth Musée de L'Emperi in Salon de Provence for napo uniforms as good as Les Invalides.

Not aware of rail passes. But ok. Going south by train ok.

"Most of the battlefields are… not in France!"

- Very true, but those of the 1814 campaign are, and close to Paris as Marcel pointed out:

link

You need a car to tour them however.

The Musée de l'Armée in Paris is a must see, a good three to 4 hours needed. Cool items include Napoleons horse (stuffed), great model forts, artillery, and my favorite a Cuirass from the battle of Waterloo with a 6 pound shot hole in the upper right breast.

musee-armee.fr/accueil.html

Yes 1814, but very little to see. Useful that is; unless you like abfew memorial stones and plaques. Not worth what time he has.

I have been in France the last 3 years in a row and driving a car (outside of Paris) is the best way to see things. I just recently returned from a trip with my son to Belgium (Waterloo, Brussels, Ghent, Bruges), the WWI Somme area of France (including Albert, Mons, the High Woods, Deville Woods) and then to Southern France to see Cannes, and ancient Roman sites (Arles, Nimes, Pont de Gard)and the former Papal residence of Avingon and a few other places. The Roman sites were better than ruins I have been to in Rome and I will say that Waterloo was great to see but a bit of a mess with construction and repair. It was a tremendous trip. If you stay north: Mont St Michelle, San Malo, Normandy, Bayeux, Caen and a few other places are pretty easy to get to as well. With a GPS and Euro coins for tolls you should be fine. Just be patient at the round-abouts and take your time.

Many small motorway exits now need a credit card. Automated pest.

Wherever you end up going, consider getting the Paris Museums Pass – used to be called the Carte Bleu – which, for one fee, gets you into 60-odd museums in and around Paris. You can even jump the queue at the Louvre but not, sadly, Versaille. We have done it a couple of times and got good value out of it. The official website is: parismuseum.com and you buy ahead of time on-line or at various points in Paris although I have usually got the hotel to pick them up ahead of arrival. One downside though is you do have to know your dates.

1814 – ça dépend. Of course, for almost any battlefield visit you have to read up on your subject beforehand, but then our friend did say his main interest was Napoleonic.

Through a family connection I went criss-crossing the field of Fère Champenoise last October and found it quite interesting – including the brand-new, Russian-financed memorial. The wide, open fields certainly look somewhat different from my local 1815 turf.

There was also quite a good little exhibition in Troyes for the bicentennial, but sadly that has now closed.

St.-Jean-de-Luz is often overlooked by people not from France in visiting France

It is a long way from Paris but a must for following Wellington's advance across the Nive and Nivelle rivers. Worth a trip up La Rhune on the train. If you are fit then follow the path down, it is a rather rugged descent.

I agree with Jcfrog…….forget Marseilles, but definitely do see the Musee de L'Emperi, you'll love it.

I may be wrong, but I would be surprised if you could buy a pass that allowed you to ride bullet trains all over France for two weeks for 100 Euros.

If you have not been before, you are going to want at least a week in Paris to do even the most basic bucket list stuff. Don't miss the Musee de l'Armee.

I would say that driving on the motorways is easier than in the USA, as the drivers are more disciplined and predictable.

If you are driving, stay in the regional areas. It will be a lot cheaper than Paris and you will save time.

Don't try to do too much. Better to do a couple of places well, than spend most of your time on motorways.

Don't expect ACW level battlefield info. You need to do your research.

Waterloo is the best Napoleonic battlefield site within comfortable reach of Paris, but it could still be a construction site in May. There are plenty of other battlefields in Belgium. Not Napoleonic, but I loved Ramillies and it isn't far from Waterloo.

If I had to suggest another place to visit, it would be Alsace, the crossroads of Europe. Don't miss Neuf Brisach. Your partner may prefer the Loire Valley, but Alsace is very pretty too.

Hey guys!
Thanks for all the input. A lot to think about- on further inspection the Eurrail pass will probably get knocked down to just the 3 travel-day version. Paris will definitely get a full week, with lots of walking/eating/drinking time built in. After a week in the city we'll either rent a car or do the rail thing, or maybe a combination. We've yet to get out the map and really plan out the second week. We were thinking about getting an Air BNB in Paris the first week and then another one in the south the second week, maybe in Nice, and then explore radially from there, possibly with a car. Fortunately my GF has been there three times or so and speaks French pretty well, so she knows the basic tourist areas pretty well. I'm going to map out all the recommended areas on a google earth overlay before we go so that I'll be organized with my options! Thanks again!

The armistice site and museum (1918 & 1940) at Compiegnes is also well within reach of Paris (just off the motorway heading north past Charles de Gaulles Airport) and well worth a visit. Vimy Ridge and/or the Somme battlefields around Albert are also easily reachable in the same direction and well-worth visiting, though not in the same day!

The Chateau de Vincennes is definitely worth visiting for the military museum, tomb of Henry V, etc. Although at the far eastern edge of Paris, it's very easy to reach on Metro 1 – only 30 minutes or so from the centre of Paris (I normally stay in Vincennes when visiting Paris).

If you go south on the motorway past Fontainbleau (where I'll be staying in April, as it happens) and continue on for another hour, you'll find the Chateau de Guedelon – an incredible project to build a mediaeval castle from scratch, using local materials and original methods. HIGHLY recommended! guedelon.fr/en

… and speaking of Compiègne, the château there has strong Napoleonic connections as well.

Hi all!

Welcome to France Forwardmarch!

Musée de l'Armée and Musée de l'Empéri in Salon de Provence must be seen at all cost!!
It is the very best of the best for the napoleonic period.
Fontainebleau and La Malmaison in second place to visit the place HE lived.

Also it is sometime possible to visit the barracks of the Régiment de Cavalerie de la Garde Républicaine. This is very interesting but must be planned ahead.Again chek on the internet.
You'll see a TRUE horse regiment from the inside.

And it would be unsane to forget VERSAILLES castle.

The navy museum is small but great.
Also interesting is the Armour Museum and the Cavalry School in Saumur (west of France), including "Le Cadre Noir", the horseriding demonstration team of the Army. Check for the programm of the shows on the internet.

For the battlefields, Normandy and Verdun are the place to tour in France; many local museums!
Also, if interested in WWII, don't forget the forts of the Ligne Maginot on the german border.

So many things to see than you'll have to come back!

Trains are convenient and fast in France, but a cheap car rental will always be better for touring the country. Just for Salon de provence (musée de l'Empéri), it would take two hours or an expensive cab to reach the place from the nearest train station …

Enjoy your trip!

For Paris get the museum pass.

If you rent a car, go to Normandy and then Mont St. Michel. It looks awesome in the pictures, and even more awesome in person.

stephen

Looks like they have some excellent paellas in Salon de Provence. Renting a car seems to be the favored means of getting around and we're leaning towards that because we do want to see the countryside as well as the cities and towns. Nice is beginning to win out over Marseille as the base for exploring the south, although we'll apparently have to make a trip over there for the boullionbase… lots of work still to do as far as planning goes!