hllm

My family (me, my wife, daughter 21 and son 20) will be spending 18 days in France this summer. The flights are booked and a rental car reserved for 12 of the days.

We are considering starting in Paris for 3 full days and then have 4 days open. We hope to rent an apartment in Avignon for a week and then drive back up to Paris - stopping along the way for one night (Chartes possibly). We will have one last night in Paris before departing back to the States. What help do I need? A suggestion for what to do between Paris and Avignon and some ideas for day trips around Avignon.

For the days between Paris and Avignon - we we considering the Alps. We love to hike/trek and to see this area would be great. Not sure if we need Mont Blanc, but the area around Argentiere looks incredible.

As for Avignon, the city of course, but also Arles, the Gorge du Verdon, Aix-en-Provence, a beach town. So many options. I would appreciate any guidance or suggestions.

StCirq

You don't have time, with only a week in Avignon, to do Arles, the Gorges de Verdon, Aix, a beach town, plus all the other things there are to do in the area - St. Rémy, Pont du Gard, Uzès, Les Baux, the Camargue, etc. "A beach town" alone will eat up pretty much a whole day.

I would either make it a 10-day stay in the area, perhaps dividing the time up between the Bouches-du-Rhône and the Riviera, or cut back on your expectations and spend the week just in the immediate area of Avignon, which offers plenty to do and see.

And I wouldn't drive from Avignon to Chartres. That's a really long, tedious, expensive drive - for what? Chartres is not even on the way. Take the quick TGV back to Paris and make Chartres a day trip if you want. Or if you opt for the week alone in Avignon and then the alps or whatever else, drop the car and take the train back to Paris and make Chartres a day trip.

Michael

I agree that Chartres should be a day trip from Paris. Decide now how you will organize your driving vacation. Autoeurope's prices keep on going up the closer you get to the rental date. But train tickets are cheapest 3 months ahead of time, which may be after your car rental.

For something different, drive down to Avignon via the Auvergne and return the car in Annecy. Book your tickets back o Paris from Annecy.

To whet your appetite:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...th/4358135939/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...th/4861313068/

mpprh

Check out the A75 autoroute passing over the Lillau bridge.

It passes through magnificent countryside and is toll free to Clermont Ferrand !

mpprh

Oops Millau bridge

hllm

Wow - thanks for the responses. We have had a change in plans since the original post. We have moved our week to Aix-en-Provence. Hopefully that is a good move. I had read many reviews of Avignon that mentioned feeling unsafe on the streets and the pictures I saw (Google Earth) showed a significant amount of graffiti and not a well maintained town (at least by the rentals we were considering).

As we will be driving back to Paris - I will keep in mind the advice on Chartes.

Thank you all for your responses.

Regards.

hllm

Michael - thanks for sharing your pictures. I am very excited about the trip. Photography is a passion and I am sure I will come back with thousands of shots.