Central Paris stay with easy transport and comfortable rooms
Discover Carcassonne's charm, views, and fine dining
France is ideal for short trips thanks to the short travel time and the compact size of its cities. By Eurostar or on short-haul flights from the UK, you can reach Paris, Lille, and Bordeaux in just a few hours, so even if you arrive on Friday evening, you can enjoy 2 full days of holiday. Resorts on the coast or in the Alps are better suited for longer stays.
Paris remains the easiest choice for a first weekend away. There are direct trains to the city, and you can explore the city centre on foot. Lyon is the perfect destination for foodies, Nice beckons with sunshine and a sea breeze, Strasbourg with its Christmas market, and Bordeaux charms with its old town, which is easy to explore on foot, as well as its vast vineyards, located just a few minutes’ drive away. You can fully enjoy each of these cities in 2 days.
If you have 3 days, you can take day trips from a single city. You could choose Paris as your starting point and visit Versailles or Giverny, or stay overnight in Nice and take a train or bus to Monaco, Antibes, or Èze. From Lyon, you can visit the Beaujolais hills, and from Marseille, Cassis. Instead of moving from hotel to hotel, it’s better to choose a fixed base and take day trips to the surrounding areas from there.
Paris, Provence, and the French Riviera attract the largest number of tourists. In Paris, museums, cuisine, and architecture are concentrated within a small area. Provence charms visitors with its mountain villages in early summer, its markets, and its lavender fields. On the Riviera, stretching from Cannes through Nice to Menton, you can enjoy the beaches, promenades, and mild climate well into October.
In May, June, and September, the days are warm, the evenings are long, and prices are lower than during the height of the summer season. In July and August, the coast is hot and crowded, and many Parisian restaurants are closed in August. Spring is ideal for strolling through the city. Winter is perfect for trips to the Alps to enjoy the snow, visiting the markets in Strasbourg, and leisurely walks through the capital’s museums.
Hotel rooms in French cities are generally small, and breakfast is often not included in the room rate and must be paid for separately. A standard breakfast is served in the continental style and includes bread, pastries, jam, fruit, and coffee. Hotels on the coast or in resort areas usually offer a buffet breakfast; some of them also have a swimming pool, a spa, and paid parking. Older buildings do not always have air conditioning.