
5 great places to stay on a Paris side trip, from the countryside to seaside
More than 100 million travellers visited the country, spending a record €71 billion (US$84 billion) – 12 per cent more than in 2023. And the bulk of them, unsurprisingly, spent considerable time in Paris.
There is reason to visit the
French capital this summer too – from the David Hockney retrospective at the Louis Vuitton Foundation to the Centre Pompidou's final exhibitions before a five-year renovation begins in September.
But there are always reasons to tack on a stay outside the city, either within the Ile-de-France region that surrounds Paris or slightly further afield. Here are five countryside and seaside properties that can be easily added to any Parisian sojourn.
1. Le Doyenné
Travel time from Paris: 45-60 minutes by car or 35 minutes by train from Gare d'Austerlitz.
If you only have a night to skip town, use it wisely and take the train 40km (25 miles) south of Paris to the village of Saint-Vrain.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


South China Morning Post
8 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
John Lee vows to make Hong Kong ‘preferred destination' after 12% surge in tourists
Hong Kong leader John Lee Ka-chiu has pledged to adopt innovative thinking to make the city a 'preferred travel destination', following a 12 per cent increase in tourist arrivals during the first half of the year. Latest figures by the Hong Kong Tourism Board showed that the city welcomed about 3.48 million visitors in June, bringing the total number from January to June to more than 23.6 million, a 12 per cent year-on-year increase. Three-quarters of the arrivals, or 17.8 million, came from mainland China. The board said on Saturday that about 5.84 million visitors arrived from the rest of the world, marking a 17 per cent increase compared with the same period last year. 'Visitors from most short-haul markets, including Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and the Philippines, increased by at least 25 per cent year on year,' it said. 'Among long-haul markets, Australia recorded a notable growth of 33 per cent year on year.' In a Facebook post, Lee attributed the tourism boom partly to a string of arts, cultural and sports mega-events. He also pointed to the opening of Kai Tak Sports Park, the city's newest hub for world-class concerts and sporting events.


South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- South China Morning Post
How to find the best French cheese for you: an expert's guide to cheese shopping in France
While flying to Europe, I like to ask flight attendants about their favourite haunts in the destination city. Whether it is their hometown or a place they fly to regularly, they know where to eat and shop. However, when one such conversation turned to Paris cheese stores, an airline employee told me that she often leaves empty-handed. 'I'm always so intimidated,' she said. I used to be daunted, too, but after a decade of spending at least three months of the year in France, I approach each cheese counter as a new adventure. During my travels throughout the country, I have made a hobby of sampling regional cheeses at their point of origin and, in some cases, visiting the village from which a particular variety gets its name. One of the more memorable stops, in the Auvergne region of south-central France, was Saint-Nectaire. My mission: to buy this nutty-flavoured, semi-soft cheese directly from a producer. By following road signs for the Route des Fromages, or cheese route, I found one whose family had been in the business for eight generations. Like others in the area, they sold the cheese only by the wheel, which weighed several pounds each. Before committing to the €17 (US$20) purchase, I asked for a taste. The vendor obliged, using a tool called a sonde, which drilled into the centre of the cheese to extract a slender, creamy, smooth ivory sample.


South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong should support its hawkers, not let them disappear
Hong Kong is seeking to meet the demands of visitors for authentic experiences as it aims to offer 'tourism everywhere.' One of the most appealing attractions remains the city's traditional cuisine. But outdated policies and rigid regulations are threatening the existence of hawkers, an iconic feature of what the Tourism Board describes as 'Hong Kong's diverse culinary culture'. The absurdity of the rules was highlighted by a Post story about a 92-year-old itinerant hawker who cannot retire because this would spell the end for her business. Chan Tak-ching, like all other such licensees, is required to be at her stall at all times and is the only person allowed to conduct sales. This means she is out all day in the summer's searing heat. The hawker would like to pass the licence on to her experienced helpers. This would be a natural step in most other businesses. But itinerant hawker licences cannot be transferred. This inevitably means they will, in time, disappear. The policy dates back to 1972, when the government stepped in to regulate hawkers. At that time, the position was very different, with itinerant and fixed-pitch hawkers flourishing. There were 150 stalls for every 10,000 residents in 1974 – the equivalent of more than 112,000 today – raising genuine concerns about hygiene, safety and obstruction of crowded streets. But the government's restrictive approach resulted in the number of itinerant hawkers dropping, plunging 80 per cent between 2000 and 2024, with only 233 remaining. Fixed-pitch licences, which can be passed on to a family member only once, fell by 40 per cent, to fewer than 5,000. Officials continue to be preoccupied with concerns about the nuisance hawkers might cause, rather than the benefits they bring. There is a need for a change in mindset. Other parts of the region have realised that tourists love vibrant street markets and traditional hawker food. The rules should be reviewed, revamped, updated and relaxed.