Hello, I am planning to go to Europe with one other person in first week of July for about 5-7 nights. Thinking about Loire Valley or Berlin. Need help in setting itin and arranging transportation.
Thinking of flying into Paris and visit Versailles before Loire Valley. Which is the better logical route? Touring Paris is not a necessary part of the trip.
1) Day trip from Paris to Versailles (by train) and Paris 1 night then Loire Valley
2) Train to Versailles and train to Loire Valley
3) Train to Versailles and rent & drive to Loire Valley
4) Drive to Versailles from Paris and then to Loire Valley
Any suggestions on Loire Valley intinerary, I am open to any suggestion or past experiences 
1) Do I need to pre-book train tickets to Versailles or Loire Valley in July?
2) Any lavender to see in early July in the Valley? The lavender festival is mid-July in Provence which is much hotter.
3) Base town? or should I move around in those few days?
4) Chateau suggestion that is under 200 euro a night for 2 people, or other accommodation?
5) Would joining a local tour better than driving ourselves? Like getting into vineyards or castles/chateaux?
6) If driving is better, should I rent it at Paris, Versailles or Loire Valley? Where is more convenient traffic wise? Is a GPS necessary or the Valley area is straightforward to navigate without GPS?
7) Finally (the most important part!! ) Any suggestions of places to eat, vineyards to visit? Or any places that are good to visit. Like I said I am open to any suggestions.
As to the Berlin choice, we figure it is a cooler temp place to visit in July.
Just want to know if anyone knows if it is a bad choice to do in July, like rain, crowds or attraction closure, etc
Thank you so much!!
5-7 nights itinerary suggestion in Loire Valley or Berlin in early July
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I would choose Berlin over the Loire valley for that amount of time.
From another thread:
You might want to try to find this book: Peter Fritzsche and Karen Hewitt, Berlinwalks, 1994 which divides Berlin into 5 different walks in different neighborhoods.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/sets/72157623174831107/
I would prefer Berlin too... but if you prefer Loire Valley i would go by car... it's always better in my opinion when you don't want to lose to much time with this intermedieries before getting to the place that you wanted to see.
I wouldn't spend 5-7 days in the Loire Valley. Well, maybe 5, but not a whole week. And there isn't any lavender in the Loire Valley.
Versailles is reachable by the RER. The Loire Valley is reachable by train. I'd spend two days in Paris and use one of them to make a day trip to Versailles, then hop on the train to Tours and rent a car for visiting the valley. You don't need a tour - the Loire is easy to navigate.
That said, I'd probably opt for Berlin, given the choice.
Three different rail lines go to Versailles - two of them are open seating - the RER line C that is best since it goes practically to the gates of the palace. By rail to Loire it is back to Paris and then out from either Austerlitz or Montparnasse, depending on where in Loire you want to go.
I would drive to Versailles then drive to the Loire - Chartres and its fantastic cathedral are on the way and make a neat stop. I have driven this route several times and if you take the superb side roads - well paved and practically traffic-free you can see from a long ways south of Chartres Chartres' cathedral regally crowning a hill - just think of what medieval pilgrims must have thought when after an arduous trek they glimpsed their goal and the end of the pilgrim trail with high hopes their prayers will be answered!
Hi, I think that you could easily spend 5 t 7 nights in the Loire. A day trip to Versailles is more logical than going to the Loire via Versailles if travelling by train. You'll get a better connection to the Loire Valley from Paris. However, I would definitely recommend taking a car to the Loire in which case you could go via Versailles. You should try and schedule your visit to take in the "grandes eaux" fountains (Saturdays and Sundays - http://www.chateauversaillesspectacles.fr/les-grandes-eaux-musicales-1.html).
If you're staying in Versailles for the night, I advise picking up your rental car at the airport. You can then drive from there to the Loire. Blois is a central location, with easy trips to all the main châteaux and if you like the idea of sleeping in a Renaissance house built in 1584, you could try www.closeriefalaiseau.com. Vinomania in Blois has wine tasting sessions in English based on the connection between local history and local wines. Various vineyards arrange tours in English as well. You could probably navigate around the Loire without a GPS. Signposting is usually pretty good.
I have lots of suggestions for places to eat ; it depends on your budget. Atlunch time, the châteaux themselves offer very affordable meals, often served with wine from the château itself! For a really fine meal (2 star Michelin) I would recommend Domaine des Hauts de Loire (http://www.domainehautsloire.com/). You won't be disappointed. Perfect in every way.
Thanks everyone for the reply.
I am leaning toward a more relaxing tour than a city tour, so Loire is more preferred but it could change depending on my travel partner....
@PalenQ and AussieFrance, so picking up a rental at CDG then?
@PalenQ - I am checking out the map now. Which roads did you take from Versailles to Loire via Chartres? A10-A11-D910?
@AussieFrance, I love good food!! I can't get into the site of Domaine des Hauts de Loire, maybe it is congested. I reckon it would be 200euro pp because it is at least 150 at P Bocuse in Lyon and it wasn't good. Any suggestion of flavourful local cuisines at different ranges (<E50pp and E50-100pp)?
Thanks!
CDG is NNE of Paris. The Loire valley is south. It makes no sense to go back to CDG to pick up a car once you are in Paris.
Hi, in Blois, we really like L'Embarcadère http://www.aussieinfrance.com/2012/03/a-celebratory-lunch-in-blois and for an authentic local experience Au Coin de Table http://www.aussieinfrance.com/2011/11/three-reasons-to-live-in-blois. I should be posting on some others soon. Try this link for Domaine des Hauts Loire: http://miseajour.apicius.com/domainehautsloire/fr/carte.asp The tasting menu (which we took) is 160 euros, wine included if I remember correctly, and it was worth every mouthful. There are also menus at 96, 77 and 49 (lunch Wednesday to Friday only).