amtravelbug

My boyfriend and I are planning an 8-day roadtrip from Paris, down to the South of France and then back to Paris at the end of May. We have a very rough idea of what we want to do/see but we are super flexible. We have already booked our flights and 2 nights at the beginning of our trip in Paris. We are Flying into Paris on May 21st, then renting a car on the 23rd and returning the car on the 30th back in Paris.

Things we definitely want to do:
- See the lavender fields (hopefully they will be in bloom)
- Go to Nice and Monaco
- Stay in Annecy - possibly.
- Go wine tasting (stay in Provence for at least a full day so we can go wine tasting and not have to worry about driving).

We want to get off the beaten path and are also prepared to spend a lot of time in the car considering everything we want to see. We heard about a road from the south of France to Annecy that is along the Italian border and a beautiful drive - does anyone have any insight into that road?

We also would like any advice on places to stay/see. Should we book lodging now or just wing it? We want really quaint places to stay off the beaten path so any advice would be helpful.

Thanks so much!

greg

Lavender might be too early. See for example, http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic..._Provence.html

For lodging, why not just assess the occupancy situation right now? If they are already fully booked for the target dates, you will have a harder time finding something to your liking when you get there.

For example, if you head out to Monaco without doing a research on May 24, hoping to wing it, you will be hit with a rude awakening that there is nothing available, except perhaps at exorbitant rate in town because it is the last day of the Monaco Grand Prix.

StuDudley

Get a good and comfortable car - 'cause that's where you'll be spending a good portion of your time in France.

Too bad you already booked 2 nights in Paris at the beginning of your trip. You're also returning to Paris for your flight home, so you have some serious schedulng "challanges" that will consume and waste time.

Lavender blooms in Provence in late June & July - so you'll miss the lavender.

Also, the Alps/Annecy can be a little "iffy" in mid-May.

If I count your "days" correctly - starting with 2 nights in Paris at the beginning of your trip and 1 night in Paris at the end - you'll have 7 days to see France. One day will be totally lost getting from either Paris to Nice, or Nice to Paris - so you have 6 days. Another 3/4 day will be lost from Annecy to Provence or Nice. And a 1/4 day lost for Provence to Nice. So you now have 5 days to see France. Your itinerary has you in 3 different locations. So that means 2 days in two of the places you want to visit, and 1 day in the other.

May I offer an alternative????

- Take the 2 3/4 hr TGV (train) from Paris to the Avignon TGV station in Avignon/Provence. Rent a car and stay 4 nights in Provence.

- Drive to Nice, and spend 3 nights there. Keep the car for the first day and explore the Nice Hinterland by car. Return the car and visit Nice, Antibes, Menton, Monaco (not one of my favorite places) by train or bus.

- Fly from Nice to Paris CDG late on the 30th. Stay in Paris or close to the airport. Depart on May 31.

The road that goes through the Alps close to Italy is the Route Des Grandes Alpes. We drove it one year & it took us 4 nights to get to Annecy - with stops along the way to see things. We've also stayed in Annecy for 2 weeks, in Briancon for 1 week, and in Embrun for 1 week on the Alpes Route. Obviously, you don't have nearly enough time to do this drive.

We've spent 40 weeks vacationing along the Cote d'Azur & Provence.

I won't go into how France should be "savored" slowly and not "rushed" - I'll let others explain this concept. Instead of a "road race" through France, visit a farmer's markets in the morning - then explore some remote hilltop villages, visit some Roman Ruins, spend a day at the beach, spend time "watching people" & having lunch on the Cours Meribeau in Aix.

Stu Dudley

ParisAmsterdam

Take a train to Lyon and pick up a car there (to head to Annecy) or detrain at Avignon to drive to Nice. You'll see more because if you pick up a car in Paris you have a lot of boring and expensive autoroute travel... and you'll see about as much as on an interstate at home.

Drop the car in Nice and plane or train back to Paris. Skip Monaco... take it from someone who has been 3 times. ;^(

If this is your first time in Paris forget what I just wrote and stay in Paris the whole time with perhaps 1 or 2 day trips. ;^)

Sassafrass

Can you change your hotel in Paris and make it your last 2/3 nights?
As soon as you can after arriving in Paris, catch the TGV to Avignon. Rent a car and see the villages and countryside of Provence, also some great food. TGV back to Paris for your last two/three days. Easier, cheaper, you will see more.

amtravelbug

Thanks so much for all the replies. This is super helpful as we are not huge planners but love to travel. We have been to Paris many times which is why we decided to get outside of Paris and see other parts of France. After reading through the suggestions we have decided to either chose to stay in Provence and the Cote D'azur.

We were thinking 4 nights in St.Remy and 4 nights in Nice possibly.

Anyone have any suggestions on places to stay? We don't want to spend more than 100-140 Euros/night if possible.

We are thinking of taking the train from Paris to Avignon then renting a car there to drive around.

We did also want to do wine tasting but not wanting to do a tour. Are there any cabs in the smaller towns so we don't have to drive?

Thanks again!

StuDudley

Glad you've revised your itinerary so that you'll now spend less time on a "road race" and more time enjoying France.

If you can find transportation to the city of Chateauneuf du Papes - there are many places in town that offer tasting but no tours. However, in France there is more "pressure" to purchase a bottle or two than there is in the US (we live near Napa/Sonoma). These tasting places will seem more like storefronts than tasting rooms within wineries (actually, the wineries are elsewhere in most instances). Personally - I would skip this plan - you might be disappointed.

Like I stated earlier - we've spent 40 weeks in this region & I've developed a 35 page itinerary that describes our favorite villages, markets, scenic drives, restaurants, etc. I've sent it to over 3,000 people on Fodors. If you would like a copy, e-mail me at [email protected] & I'll attach a one to the reply e-mail.

Stu Dudley

Gretchen

Don't drive. Take the train from Paris and back.

michele_d

We stayed here in St Remy. Great location, walked everywhere. There is a great street market in St Remy. Hopefully you will be able to visit it.

http://www.hotelsoleil.com/

DebitNM

Too late for this trip, but for the future. Do not fly in and out of the same city if you want to do a driving tour [or even a train trip] . It is much better to fly into one city and start there and then fly home from your ending city. It is called an open jaw/multi-city ticket and should cost no more than a RT ticket.

For this trip, you could have flown into Paris and then home from Nice or Marseille. Or vice versa. Saves having to drive/train back to original city and allows for time for the actual trip.

TassieTraveler

@amtravelbug Hi, did you do this trip last year?? we will be driving from Paris to Nice at the end of May this year, and are looking into doing a similar trip. Would love to hear what you ended up doing?
Thanks!

StCirq

Whatever she/he ended up doing, I hope it didn't involve driving from Paris to Nice, which is a long and excruciatingly dull drive IMO unless you spread it over a week or so and take the N and D roads.