| frenchieandproud |
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I'm doing an internship in the Normandy region of France this summer, but am going over a couple of weeks early to travel around and see some of the country. Obviously I'll want to spend a fair amount of time in Paris, but what other places should I put on my itinerary? I know I want to go to the south of France, but not sure which city. Any suggestions for a 20 year old guy traveling alone in France? Also, anyone know anything about the running scene over there? Is it fairly easy to find groups to run with? |
| fastforward |
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Take a train to Nice. You could stay in a hostel there for a few days exploring the city itself, and also taking day trips (train) to Cannes, Monaco or any number of smaller coastal towns. It's all beautiful. Can't help you with the running, but have a great time! http://www.south-of-france.com/ |
| EliteWannabe |
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Cathedral in Strasbourg is worth the trip. |
| sf |
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Monet's garden in Giverny if you like Impressionist art or history. The cathedral at Rouen. You could spend a lifetime in Paris. If you have never been there, you can easily spend a week just seeing the main sights - museums, famous sights like Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Montmartre, Pere Lachaise cemetery, etc - and another week walking around, exploring different neighborhoods. I personally would stay in Paris, read some good guide books, and really get to know the city, without the hassle and expense and time to travel all over and see more but appreciate less. There are many many day trips out of Paris as well, like Versailles. Steves Guide to Paris is a good one. I also highly recommend the book The Greater Journey - about Americans who went to Paris in the 19th century. The book tells their stories, but is also full of fascinating history of Paris and France - your trip will be enriched if you read this book - guaranteed. |
| nothingtoseehere |
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le Tour de France. |
| frenchiandproud |
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Thanks for the responses so far. I know that there's no way to see everything I want to/should see, so I figure I'm just going to see what I see, not be stressed out rushing from sight to sight, but try and enjoy seeing whatever I can while going at my own pace and taking it all in. Going by myself I really just want to meet people and soak in as much of the culture as possible. I'm also hopeful I'll be able to spend more time in Paris during my internship, it's only about 30 bucks to take the train from Caen to Paris. I'm working in a tourism office and the French aren't exactly known for their heavy work schedule. Also I might try and go over to England to catch some of the Olympics, internship ends the 10th, plane leaves the 14th, and the marathon is the 12th! |
| Adam R. |
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I really liked Nantes the last time I was there, but I heard the big cultural center got burned down in the riots a few years ago. A pity if so. |
| Captain Tenneal |
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Run in the Luxembourg gardens in Paris. Great place for running. It is my favorite place in Paris--maybe even France. |
| florianasc |
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If you'r in Caen I would recommend to show up at a stadium either the one downtown or the one in Mondeville at 6pm on a week day. Then you can meet the local runner there is a couple of solid runner's there (30 to 33min 10k). If you'r downtown I recommend to run along the local river (l'Orne) or around the hippodrome downtown. There's a good amount of local road races listed on this website. http://www.normandiecourseapied.com/accueil.htm There's a very pub run in Caen at the end of June on a friday night. To travel in France I would recommend car pooling (covoiturage in France ) That way you can travel for cheap and meet some cool peoples since French (I'm French !) are usually rude in public transport. To travel if you enjoy culture and history there's the Loire castle's like Chambord and Chenonceaux. SOuth East of France is nice but very expensice and not very welcoming. Cooler people hang around in South West. Bretagne is not too far from Caen and really nice too. Hope it will help |