Château de Maintenon. Photo / Lezbroz Teddy Verneuil
Château de Maintenon. Photo / Lezbroz Teddy Verneuil
Heading to Paris or the northern hem’s summer? Take time to explore some of the fantastic châteaux, smaller cities and countryside just a stone’s throw from the French capital, writes Anna Richards
France is more than just Paris. It may sound obvious, but tell that to the 44 million people visiting annually — almost half the foreign tourists that come to France go to Paris. With the Olympics and Paralympics on the horizon, it’s even more likely that Paris is the epicentre of your 2024 trip.
While the atmosphere will be infectious, and even famously cold Parisians in high spirits, going to France and only visiting Paris is like going to an all-you-can-eat buffet and only sampling one kind of cuisine. Many of the country’s best places are extremely accessible from Paris — perfect for a weekend trip.
Bias aside (this is my home city), Lyon is sure to appeal to anyone with even a passing interest in history. At the top of Fourvière Hill, the highest in the city centre, is a Roman amphitheatre. Built over 2000 years ago, it saw the days when Lyon went by the name Lugdunum, and was the Roman capital of modern-day France. Roman ruins are everywhere in the old city, and as you wander around crumbling, millennia-old pillars you’re often the only one exploring them, save for smoking teenagers. But the Romans didn’t just leave their architecture, they left wine, and many of the first vineyards around Lyon (the Rhône Valley to the south and Beaujolais to the northeast) were planted by the Romans. Now, though, you don’t even need to leave Lyon to get the vineyard experience. The city’s first urban winery, Chai Saint Olive, which opened in 2020, runs workshops to blend and make your own wine, right in the heart of the city.
STAY
It’s centrally located with plenty of charm, but it’s all the free reading material which makes Hotel de Verdun 1882 the place to stay. Lyon is two hours by train from Paris Gare de Lyon.
Built in the image of the most opulent buildings in Paris, ready to welcome Louis XIV, Nancy, 1.5 hours from Paris, looks like a miniature version of the French capital. Unesco-listed Place Stanislas is gold-gilded with magnificent baroque fountains in every corner, and wrought-iron lamp posts that look as though Mr Tumnus is going to spring out from behind them at any moment. One of the few cities in current Alsace-Lorraine which never became German during border disputes in the Franco-Prussian War, it became a refuge for intellectuals and artists, who left their mark on the city’s architecture, with intricately carved Art Nouveau facades. It’s still a big place of learning, and students at the University of Lorraine, Nancy, make up roughly half the population.
STAY
Striking the balance between city centre and urban oasis, the oldest parts of Hotel de Guise were built in the 17th century, and it bleeds character.
GET THERE
The train from Paris Gare de l’Est to Nancy takes about 1 hour and 50 minutes.
Less than two hours by train from Paris, Nancy looks like a miniature version of the French capital. Photo / Getty Images
Maintenon
The crown for France’s best château is as hotly contended as for the crown of Westeros in Game of Thrones. There are so many to choose from: Chambord with its 100 turrets, all-that-glitters-is-definitely-gold Versailles and Chenonceau, whose bridge-like château spans the width of a river. But one severely underrated, spectacular chateau is Maintenon, less than 100km from Paris. It used to be the meeting point of Louis XIV and his then mistress, Françoise d’Aubigné, who would later become his second wife. Particularly spectacular are the landscaped gardens and Roman aqueduct which spans the river, sprouting foliage like hair.
STAY
A canalside B&B so bedecked in creepers you can barely see the walls, Aux Charmes de Maintenon is as charming as the name suggests.
Drive from central Paris to Maintenon in 1 hour and 20 minutes, or take the train and get there in the same amount of time.
Maintenon, less than 100km from Paris, was the meeting point of Louis XIV and his mistress Françoise d’Aubigné and features stunning landscaped gardens and a Roman aqueduct. Photo / Lezbroz Teddy Verneuil
Versailles
The chances are you already know of the Château of Versailles. One of the most visited sites in France, it attracts some 15 million visitors each year. Most people visit on a day trip from Paris, and this is easy enough to do, but I recommend spending a weekend in Versailles to see all the other things this Parisian suburb has to offer. The architecture throughout the centre is exquisite, particularly at the opera house, which dates from 1770, built in the same baroque style as the château. The Potager du Roi, the “king’s vegetable garden”, isn’t your average vege patch. It spans nine hectares and belonged to Louis XIV, the same king who designed much of Versailles. At the end of the day, when the day-trippers head back to central Paris, Versailles city is deliciously quiet.
STAY
Great value with just three rooms, Les Versaillaises is within walking distance of the château.
Versaille is just 27km from central Paris. Both car and train take about 40 minutes.
The Château of Versailles is one of the most visited sites in France and attracts some 15 million visitors each year. Photo / Alexandre Brondino on Unsplash
Perche Regional Park
Farm-to-fork culture reigns supreme in Perche Regional Park, where a delicious variety of local vegetables and organic meat are produced at the many farms, and sold at local markets weekly. At just 90 minutes from Paris, it’s perfect for those looking to slow down and experience an authentic slice of rural France. Sometimes the quality of the markets even draws Parisians out for the day for their grocery shop. Hiking trails through forests, acres and acres of farmland and old mills by the water, it couldn’t be a better antidote to the frenetic pace of Parisian life. Visit in spring or early summer when the woodlands become carpeted in bluebells.
STAY
Restaurant first and foremost and B&B second, La Planque en Perche serves seasonal produce and is run by a chef trained by Ducasse. It feels like an upmarket safari lodge.
Just 140km from Paris, sitting between Normandy and Loire Valley, Perche Regional Park is about 90 minutes’ drive from the capital.
Perche Regional Park, about 90 minutes' drive from Paris, offers farm-to-fork culture with local vegetables and organic meat sold at weekly markets. Photo / David Commenchal
Rennes
Most people visit Brittany for the coast, and saltwater is in the veins of every Breton, although their capital city is landlocked. In spite of this, Rennes feels like a seafarer’s city. At once ultra modern and ultra-traditional, this is a city where modern tower blocks overlook medieval, half-timbered houses, and where Breton cider served on peniches (barges) with buckwheat crêpes and fresh seafood means the proximity to the sea is tangible. Delve into Celtic culture, Celtic music and dancing nights (look up the schedule proposed by Le Cercle Celtique de Rennes) or visit the Écomusée de la Bintanais, a curious combination of farm, farming history and art.
STAY
If you’re on a budget, one of the prettiest backpacker hostels in the country is in Rennes. The plant-filled communal areas look like a Pinterest board. Private and dorm rooms are available at Les Chouettes Hostel.
GET THERE
Getting from Paris to Rennes by train takes just shy of two hours.
Rennes, a landlocked city in Brittany, combines modern tower blocks with medieval, half-timbered houses and offers a taste of Celtic culture and music. Photo / Yves, Pixabay
Brussels
Did you know that you can visit another country in just 1.5 hours from Paris? There’s no shortage of culture in Brussels. Visit the Atomium, an art gallery-cum-museum in a futuristic silver structure designed to look like an iron crystal, see the Unesco-listed Grand Place square and the teeny tiny statue Mannekin Pis, a tiny, urinating boy which despite having roughly the proportions of a garden gnome, brings tourists from all around. The best thing to do though, is eat and drink, and Belgian specialities are rich and hedonistic. Breweries are everywhere but take care, Belgian beer is strong, particularly the kind brewed by Trappist monks, which at 10 per cent alcohol content are almost the equivalent of quaffing a pint of wine. The next best thing to do is learn to make chocolate. Belgian chocolates are renowned worldwide and a class at The Belgian Chocolate Workshop is so full of temptation it’s hard to stop. Who needs teeth anyway?
STAY
Easy walking distance from Parliament Square, colourful wallpaper and a slap-up breakfast, Made in Louise ticks all the boxes.
GET THERE
The train is considerably quicker than driving and a direct train from Paris Gare du Nord station to Brussels takes 1.5 hours.
