C’est pas Paris
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The village of Santenay among vineyards in Burgundy, seen from the Mont de Sène

France for people who have done Paris

France, minus Paris.

Thirteen regions, forty towns and villages, and for each one the fastest train from Paris, computed from SNCF’s own timetable. The climate of every month, the protected food of every terroir, the festivals.

How far from Paris? What are you tired of?

Photo: Benjamin Smith, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Forty escapes

All 40 places →

The badge is the fastest scheduled train time from a Paris terminus.

6h18 Coast · Occitanie Collioure A Catalan fishing port where the Pyrenees meet the Mediterranean, with a sea-washed church tower and the light that gave birth to Fauvism. 2h20 Town · Grand Est Colmar Painted timber houses over the canals of Little Venice, one of Europe’s most overwhelming altarpieces, and the Alsace wine route at the door. 2h17 Village · Burgundy–Franche-Comté Vézelay One street climbing a Burgundian hill to a Romanesque basilica where, on the summer solstice, sunlight lays a path of light down the nave. 4h27 Town · Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Le Puy-en-Velay A cathedral town built on volcanic plugs, where a chapel crowns a ‘needle’ of rock and pilgrims set off for Santiago every morning. 3h02 Town · Brittany Dinan Half-timbered houses, 2.6 km of ramparts and a cobbled street plunging seventy-five metres down to a little port on the Rance. 6h37 Village · Occitanie Conques A slate-roofed village hidden in a wooded gorge, built around a Romanesque abbey church, a famous Last Judgement and a golden reliquary. 6h56 Mountains · Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Briançon France’s highest town, a star-shaped Vauban fortress of bright façades and rushing gutters, ringed by forts on mountain spurs. 2h12 Coast · Normandy Honfleur A slate-hung harbour town at the mouth of the Seine, where explorers sailed for Canada and painters learned to paint the sky.

How far from Paris?

For each of 3169 SNCF stations and stops we computed the shortest journey from Paris, changes included. Fontainebleau is 40 minutes away; Collioure more than six hours; Corsica, nowhere by train.

  • up to 1 h
  • 1–2 h
  • 2–3 h
  • 3–4 h
  • 4–5 h
  • over 5 h

How far from Paris?

Every SNCF station, coloured by the fastest scheduled train time from central Paris.

Regions

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Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Extinct volcanoes, Alpine lakes, the gorges of the Ardèche and the kitchens of Lyon: France at its most vertical and most generous. 4 places · 97 AOP/IGP Burgundy–Franche-Comté Burgundy’s wine slopes and Romanesque abbeys meet the forests, lakes and limestone valleys of the Jura. 3 places · 129 AOP/IGP Brittany Granite headlands, standing stones, fishing ports and a Celtic language still on the signposts: France’s far west. 3 places · 13 AOP/IGP Centre–Val de Loire Royal châteaux, the last wild river in France, the cathedrals of Chartres and Bourges, and forests made for kings’ hunts. 3 places · 34 AOP/IGP Corsica A mountain in the sea: granite peaks, maquis-scented trails, red cliffs over blue water and villages that feel closer to Italy. 2 places · 19 AOP/IGP Grand Est Half-timbered wine villages, the Vosges mountains, Champagne cellars and a border history written in two languages. 3 places · 88 AOP/IGP Hauts-de-France White cliffs facing England, seals in the Bay of Somme, Gothic cathedrals, belfries and the memory of two world wars. 3 places · 10 AOP/IGP Île-de-France (beyond Paris) Beyond the périphérique: royal forests, palaces, painters’ villages on the Seine and medieval fair towns, all within a train ride. 2 places · 2 AOP/IGP Normandy Apple orchards and half-timbered farms, chalk cliffs and tidal bays, the D-Day beaches and an abbey rising from the sands. 3 places · 21 AOP/IGP Nouvelle-Aquitaine Europe’s tallest dune, Basque villages, Dordogne castles, prehistoric caves, Cognac and Bordeaux vineyards: France’s largest region. 4 places · 105 AOP/IGP Occitanie From Pyrenean cirques to Mediterranean lagoons: Roman aqueducts, Cathar castles, the Canal du Midi and wild limestone causses. 4 places · 127 AOP/IGP Pays de la Loire The lower Loire’s tufa châteaux and vineyards, the Vendée’s marshes and islands, and an Atlantic coast of salt pans and long beaches. 3 places · 46 AOP/IGP Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Lavender plateaus, the Verdon gorge, Roman Provence, Alpine valleys and a coastline of calanques and hill villages. 3 places · 53 AOP/IGP

Pleasant in November

From Météo-France’s 1991–2020 normals: mild highs, few rain days.

6h39 Coast · Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur Menton The last town on the Riviera before Italy: a Baroque old quarter in ochre and pink, lemon groves, subtropical gardens and Cocteau. High 17°C 6h18 Coast · Occitanie Collioure A Catalan fishing port where the Pyrenees meet the Mediterranean, with a sea-washed church tower and the light that gave birth to Fauvism. High 16°C ✈ / ⛴ Coast · Corsica Bonifacio A Genoese citadel perched on white limestone cliffs at the southern tip of Corsica, staring across the strait at Sardinia. High 17°C ✈ / ⛴ Mountains · Corsica Corte The mountain capital of Corsica’s short-lived independent republic: an eagle’s-nest citadel, a student town, and wild gorges at its door. High 16°C

November → · When to go →

Regional food: AOP & IGP744 protected names on one map: cheeses, charcuterie, fruit, wines, ciders. The Plus Beaux Villages de France by trainAll 183 member villages, with the nearest station and the time from Paris. Festivals6824 festivals in the Ministry of Culture’s list, and the signature events of each month.