WWYD France Edition
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Anonymous
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My 14-year old daughter and I are attending a concert in Lyon, France, on a Friday night. Our plan is to fly to Europe on Wednesday night, arriving Thursday AM and flying home on Sunday. I can't decide if we should:
1. Fly non-stop into Paris, spend Thursday night there, take the train to Lyon on Friday and then spend Friday and Saturday nights in Lyon, and train back to Paris/CDG on Sunday. 2. Fly into Lyon, with a layover likely in Brussels or Paris, and then just spend the whole time in Lyon. Is there enough to do there with a teenager? 3. Some other option that I'm not thinking of. Flight prices are the same. Now that I'm typing this, #2 probably makes sense. We were just in Paris last December and have done most of the major tourist things, but DD would love to see more of the Louvre and I'm sure we could find other stuff to do. |
Anonymous
| I was just in France (Lyon, Paris, and some other cities). If it were me I would fly direct nonstop to Paris and take a train to Lyon. If your flight to Paris is a red eye, I’d go straight to Lyon the day you arrive and just he the travel out of the way (but not with a connecting flight because the more airplanes, the greater room for error. ) |
Anonymous
Agreed, that short a time, stay in one place. Also, Air France will sell you a ticket that includes the train ticket from CDG to Lyon. You can search to LYS and it will show both options - flight connections to Lyon from CDG, and train connections. |
Anonymous
| Thanks! Would it change your opinion if we flew in on Tuesday, so we would have most of Wednesday, all of Thursday, and the morning of Friday to explore before the show. Would you spend two days in Paris first? |
Anonymous
| Number 3: assuming you’re traveling from Dc, take direct flight to/from Geneva on UA and then make the 90 minute transfer by train or rental car. Done. |
Anonymous
I actually had this thought in the middle of the night last night. Is that easier than flying into/out of CDG? Also, side question: Any value in visiting Annecy while we are in Lyon? Is it worth a day trip? |
Anonymous
| Lyon is fabulous, and a very underrated city. Of course Paris is iconic and if she's never seen the louvre or eiffel tower then that's something you would want to do, although I'm not even sure if youd have enough time in Paris to cover that. If it were me I would explore Lyon and maybe the surrounding countryside (there are towns in the nearby Alps that are very cute) |
Anonymous
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Agree with the PP. I adore Lyon and think you will have an amazing time…
Also, that first day I am always so tired from jet lag. I wouldn’t want to try to fit another city in while I was tired and just enjoy Lyon. |
Anonymous
Any suggestions of things to do in Lyon? We've done parts of the Louvre a few years ago, and we were at Musee D'Orsay and the Eiffel Tower last December. DD doesn't really care if we go back, but I just love Paris and the Eiffel Tower, so I'm swayed slightly. |
Anonymous
| I have no recommendations, but it sounds like a fantastic trip. You're living a mini Lifestyles of the Rich and (but probably not so) Famous. |
Anonymous
GVA is much smaller than CDG, so things like the walk from the plane to the arrivals area to the train station are much easier. But of course you have 1 flight/day versus 4 to CDG (on United and Air France), and also I don't like the 6 PM departure from Dulles- when we have done 9 or 10 PM departures we have been able to get more sleep and arrive in better shape. The total transit from GVA to Lyon is probably around 2:15 on train. From CDG it can be only 2 hours if you catch the direct TGV, but that doesn't run that often. Personally I would connect at CDG- lots of flights to LYS and less transfer/transit, etc. |
Anonymous
Annecy is beautiful, especially in the summer, so time of year matters. But not sure it's worth it if you have only 3 days. |
Anonymous
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The museum about the French resistance during WW2 is amazing. The first time I went, my book club happened to be reading The Nightingale and it was super top of mind for me.
The old town is great to walk around. I love Place Bellecour. Les Halles is better than in Paris. I love the Parc. I’m sure you could find an amazing cooking class. There’s other great museums and the university culture brings a lot of short term events, etc. You basically have a long weekend, you won’t be short on things to do. |
Anonymous
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I would get out of Paris. Major cities interest me less and less the more I travel.
Lyon is a college town, with amazing food. Your daughter should have no problem enjoying a brief stay there. |
Anonymous
She does not have time for side trips. They won’t even have time to recover from jet lag! |