Day trips from Paris?

[MikeN]

So I'll be traveling to Paris on July 1st thru July 12th. I was supposed to meet up with my girlfriend, but it turns out she won't be in Paris at the same time. And since my ticket is non-refundable, it looks like I'll be solo.

I wanted to take advantage of this fact and maybe travel somewhere outside of France. I really want to check out Vienna. How many days would I have to set aside for this? More than 2? Maybe somewhere in Italy also. As you can see I'm basically deciding what to do as I go, so any suggestions would be more than welcome.

Also, are there lots of different train companies, or is it basically all run by the same people? Are they pretty expensive for international trips? Is one train better/worse than any others? Basically I just want someone to tell me how to do this!

[englandmj7]

I just spent 4 days in Vienna last month and was working for most of the time I was there. I still felt like I got to see alot of the city and was satisfied, but then, I had a local colleague as a tour guide.

You could easily spend a fair amount of time there, but I think 2 full days, if you plan your itinerary out beforehand, should be good enough.

Train from Paris to Vienna is a good haul, about 12 hours.

If I were you, I would consider:

Paris --> Brussels (high speed train in under 1.5 hours)

Paris --> Amsterdam (high speed train in 4 hours)

If you are set on Italy or Vienna, I would fly. You can get dirt cheap flights, and with your constrained dates, you're better off doing that.

[MikeN]

Thanks for the info. I don't have my heart set on Vienna, it was just some place I wanted to check out. I've been to Amsterdam twice (and love it), but maybe Brussel would be cool to check out. What is there to do there?

[Cue]

London?

Or have a look for cheap flights on easyjet and see what deals there are and let that determine your travel plans.

Barcelona? Berlin? Milan? Naples? All within a couple of hours ...

[englandmj7]

Thanks for the info. I don't have my heart set on Vienna, it was just some place I wanted to check out. I've been to Amsterdam twice (and love it), but maybe Brussel would be cool to check out. What is there to do there?

Well, for starters: BEER AND WAFFLEZ !!!!!

http://www.deliriumcafe.be/

http://wikitravel.org/en/Brussels

[MikeN]

Wait, why would I go to Brussels when I can go to Antwerp and hide inside the Ann Demeulemeester store until all of the employees leave for the night and then try on all of the womens clothing and prance around until dawn?

So maybe I should check out Antwerp instead?

[polishmike]

Skip Vienna, it's boring as fuck. Brussels is better but nothing exciting, worth visiting but 2 days (1 night) should be enough. Go to Antwerp and Bruges,if you have a chance to see it you might as well hit up both of them. You'll probably never visit Belgium again.

(...I will kick in the neck the first person who mentions the movie "In Bruges")

[ardeetee]

the train from paris->antwerp stops in brussels, so you can do both very easily or just stop of in brussels for half a day to walk around

it's also sale season in both paris and antwerp in july, so you can try on all the wimmenz AnnD stuff you want, and then purchase it on sale (plus VAT which is another 21%, with minimum purchase of 2 hundred or so euros)

[MikeN]

yesssss I love life. which specific train do I take to antwerp?

[Cue]

was just booking some train tickets and saw this - summer sale for you mr neuman

http://www.raileurope.com/us/specials/thalys_summer_special.htm

[MikeN]

thanks! since it only goes to brussels, how do I get to antwerp from there?

[Cue]

it's, I think, a 30 min train trip

trains from brussels go all the time - have a look at the belguim rail site http://www.b-rail.be/main/index.html

[MikeN]

Well I know the Thylas goes to Antwerp...but for that 50% off sale, I can only get as far as Brussels? is that correct?

[Cue]

Well I know the Thylas goes to Antwerp...but for that 50% off sale, I can only get as far as Brussels? is that correct?

think so chap - but the local train from brussels to antwerp is likely to be pretty cheap - and that way you get to visit brussels too - all good

[jean-claude]

Definitely Amsterdam and London (both full of brittons...). But as a southern french guy and as it's currently summer, I advice you to head south to Toulouse then Barcelona. Then a direct flight to Vienna if you've got enough time and cash.

[ardeetee]

the SNCF train takes you to brussels and antwerp, not sure what kind of deals there are now, but you can usually catch a break if you are 25 or under.

www.voyages-sncf.com