Does anyone know France well, particularly around Paris?

[Godofwar]

I could use your help. We are planning an epic trip to France which includes all sorts of expensive fun. We are stuck around the first leg of our trip.

We are going to be near Paris and would love to spend a couple of days exploring the city, some nice food, a few shops and seeing a couple of the sights. The price to stay over in Paris for two nights is astronomical 😂 and while I usually wouldn’t mind we have budgeted a lot for the remainder of our trip. With that in mind I was hoping to find somewhere outside of Paris to stay for those two nights where Paris is easily accessible. I’ve heard their trains are great so hopefully someone can recommend somewhere up to an hour away by public transport so my DD is not deprived of Brandy Melville Paris 😂 much obliged

We stayed in Huttopia Versailles last year in a wooden cabin. It was great! Took the train into Paris every day. Also went to Versailles.

Another vote for Huttopia 😀

French TGV trains are great. Parisian suburban trains, meh. Same as any other suburban railway taking mostly commuters in and out of the big city.

If you want a cheap hotel to just flop in after a full day in the city then there are lots of chains with very basic rooms at very basic prices: F1 (loos on the landing!), Ibis Budget, Balladins, Premiere Classe, and then (very slightly less basic) Campanile, Ibis, Kyriad, B&B Hotels. You find them all over France near to commercial/industrial estates in medium-sized towns, and in the Paris area in places like Cergy, Aulnay-sous-Bois, Les Ulis, commuter areas comparable to Hounslow or Enfield or Dagenham. Utterly forgettable but you can often get a double room for €50 to 60.

Torcy. Plenty of budget hotels on a direct line into Paris and Disney. Have stayed there a few times. Far enough out of the city to be cheap, close enough to be at the Arc de Triomphe in 30 mins.

We stayed a couple of nights in All Suites apartments, Noisy Le Grand last year. Direct train into Paris (I think the A line) and on street parking available outside.

You don't mention your dates.
I've just got back from Paris.
Lots of building works/renovations going on in readiness for the Olympics.

Chantilly.

Oh wow thanks for these ideas. Will certainly be looking into them all. Dateswise we are heading end of July into august

Dateswise we are heading end of July into august

Don't. Just don't.

The Olympic Games opening ceremony is on 26 July. No wonder the prices you looked at in Paris itself were so high.

Several of the Première Classe hotels (think "like Travelodge but a bit less nice") in the Paris area are already showing £200 or more for a double room. I assume the one in the attached pic, which is over twice as much again, is near an Olympic facility of some kind. This is a 1-star hotel with a not very good double mattress, a small shower, and two thin towels, which would be £52.58 tomorrow night.

The trains to go in to town will probably have armed soldiers in every carriage (and the games themselves will be a huge terrorist target, if you worry about that aspect). The city will be totally locked down. Everyone will have gone away for their holidays (which they do anyway in August) to make €€€ renting their flat on Airbnb. The restaurants that are still open will be charging double their usual prices.

Seriously, please do yourself a huge favour and give the whole Paris area a massive wide berth. If you're driving down from Calais, turn right at Amiens and go round Paris via Rouen and Chartres. Have a great holiday in France, but go back to Paris on the Eurostar for a long weekend some other time.

Rouen is really nice for a short trip, and has plenty of good shopping available. I would go there instead!

We stayed at a lovely campsite - Paris Maisons Laffitte. It has wooden cabins, great facilities and is an easy quick train ride into the city.

But, I agree your dates are going to be a nightmare this year with the olympics!

We are going to the Olympics, but apart from that you could not have chosen a worse time to go.

but to answer your question - I lived in Cergy pontoise for a year. It is easily accessible and also has a water sports lake to do other activities. It’s on the RER.

Oh is that why it’s so expensive? 😂 I was so confused!!

Avoid like the plague for those dates!

They are even turfing students out of their accommodation for the period, etc - steer clear. So many other incredible sights in France!

Yeah it’s only the most famous quadrennial global event to ever exist. I don’t know how I could have possibly missed this. Thanks so much. Thinking of heading to western France!

Seen the Olympics, I suggest indeed western France or the north. Lille is beautiful as it combines French and Belgian influences. I actually prefer it over Paris as it is more laid back.

If it is still available Grand Hotel les gobelins has normally a good price and not too far from the centre. Nice big boulevard with lots of restaurants nearby as well.

Lille is another town affected by the Olympics. Basketball and handball (and maybe some other sports). I have tickets to the basketball but have had to book accommodation over the border in Belgium due to the prices.

Yup... Olympics...

Too bad that Lille is affected as well by it. It is such a lovely town

I am from Paris and live here.

Will you have a car? Where are you going afterwards and is that by car or train?

If you can say these things, then I can suggest some good places to stay in the surrounding area.

West of Paris is typically the nicest area.

You could look at Saint-Germain-en-Laye which is pretty and historic with a decent-sized town centre, restaurants, shops, etc. so not a totally boring village for your DD and also a very cute traditional market. There is also a huge forest to walk in and its on the river Seine. In the surrounding area there's a Go Ape, horse-riding, golf and countryside to explore. 20-25 minutes by direct train to the centre of Paris, (commuter train RER A) which is regular and not expensive. You'll get a seat too as Saint-Germain-en-Laye is the terminus. The Ibis hotel in the centre is great, I have had meetings there and visiting colleagues staying there.

The train also goes to la Défense which has a huge shopping centre (plus the Arc de Triomphe, Opéra, Châtelet (another shopping centre, next to the Pompidou centre, near the town hall, the Marais, Louvre), and Gare de Lyon (near Bastille and for train connections to the south of France).

But tell me more about your needs and I can make more recommendations.

Oh and the RER A train also goes to Vincennes where there is a huge park with lake, zoo, etc. (and eventually all the way to Disney.)

We live near SGEL and agree it's lovely, but OP I think is going to struggle as it's the Olympics (we're escaping just beforehand). She's going to need to consider less lovely locations a bit further out, imho.

Another thing to bear in mind is that public transport prices will be doubled during that period. We're all buying our carnets now to stock up.

Sorry, I missed that OP is coming during JO. I would say don't come anywhere near Paris or IDF during the JO or the weeks leading up to it. Hôtels will probably be impossible. Can you reschedule the trip for next year?

We are getting away too! Probably to Brittany but maybe further.

St Germaine en laye is gorgeous!