pompa1

Is September normally a busy time in France during the month of September? We will be spending most of our time in the Loire Valley and Normandy and need to know if reservations are recommended in September. We have been to France many times but want to do some exploring for about 1 week and like the flexibility of stopping for the night when we find a cute town or area.

If reservations are necessary we had considered basing in Carentan and Amboise. Any suggestions would be fabulous.

Thanks,
Mike & Diane

Michael

If traveling by car, you do not need reservations. Use Gite de France (http://www.gites-de-france.com/locat...bre-hotes.html ), make a list of the B&B's that appeal to you and call them in the early afternoon to see if they have a room available.

patandhank

You didn't mention budget. We stayed here in Amboise - loved it.

http://www.le-vieux-manoir.com/

If you're going to Rouen, I highly recommend the Mecure hotel that is downtown. The location is fablous for exploring the town and leaving your car in a secure,undergroud parking garage. Where in Normandy are you headed?

pompa1

Thanks for the advice. We will be traveling by car and budget is 100 Euro max.

We were thinking about Carentan in Normandy. We want to see the WWII sites but are really looking forward to Mount Ste Michel.

This trip is to celebrate our 40th anniversary so the trip will be a relaxing 3 week affair. We have reservations in Paris for 3 days at the Hilton after our car excursion. Where is a good place to drop the car before heading into Paris?

Michael

You can get very good accommodations with en suite bathrooms for 60 to 65€.

bilboburgler

I'd open google maps in the area of interest and type in B&B or chambre d'hote into the search engine and see how many red dots appear.

The parisians will be back at work, but the english may be over enjoying a late holiday. Booking not vital but don't leave it too late in the day

Coquelicot

Weekends get booked up ahead of time no matter where you're going, so you might want to plan ahead and pin down the area where you'll be staying, then call a few days ahead.

Many B&Bs in the Loire valley are still busy every night of the week in September.

I agree it's best not to leave reserving the evening's lodging till late in the day. I'd want to have someplace booked by 2:00pm.

annhig

we have on occasions used the service provided by the tourist offices - you go in, say what you want, [often they have book for you to look in] they phone for you, and there you are. often they have a booking charge, but it's not much more than a phone call.

that said, if there are just two of you, it shouldn't be that difficult.

this is a website for an association of chateaux B&Bs in the Loire area if you fancy a stay in a chateau:

http://www.bienvenueauchateau.com/index.php?lang=2

pompa1

Thanks to all of you. These are great ideas and I think we'll have no problems. My wife loves the idea of a stay in a chateaux B&B.

Any suggestions on where to drop the car before heading into Paris? We want to spend some time at Versailles and I thought that might be the best place to drop the car and take the train to Paris. The only problem is the luggage which is why I originally considered heading to Paris first and doing a day trip to Versailles. Maybe a B&B in Versailles might be the way to go so that we could see the night festivities.

annhig

we stayed in st. germain en-laye once. it's a lovely place and on the RER so very convenient, and less touristy than Versailles.

you could tour Versailles, drive to St. germain, stay overnight, then hand your car in in the morning and get the RER into Paris.