Whitneyrecker

Hi all! This is my 1st time posting on here because, well, I'm in the prelim stage of planning my 1st trip to Europe. My husband and I are going to France for a week next April. We are not seasoned travelers (actually our honeymoon cruise has been our first and only trip together) so this is a big deal for us and we are super stoked! We've decided to spend about 4 days in Paris but we've also been captivated by the beauty of the Provence region watching shows on the Travel Channel etc. so we were thinking of spending 2 or 3 days in a small, country inn/B&B. Ideally, a historic chateau that has "old-world" charm but modern amenities (sharing a bathroom with other guests...prob not gonna happen), walking/biking distance to a village, is moderately priced, and we'd love a place that has a "farm to table" approach to meals with locally grown and prepared authentic Provencal cooking. If anyone has some insight, please share! Thanks!!

StCirq

Provence is a pretty enormous area, with thousands of B&Bs and inns, so you need to narrow it down a bit. Lubéron? Bouches-du-Rhône? Côte d'Azur?

You might want to start reading Provence threads on this site and get out a map so you can familiarize yourself with the various areas. When you have narrowed your focus, I'm sure people can make lots of suggestions.

Whitneyrecker

Thanks for the advice! I didn't realize it was that big an area so I will try to narrow it down a little. I didn't realize planning a 1st trip to Europe would be so daunting but I'm learning as I go!

cigalechanta

Here's a brief intro for you, Whitney.

http://gitelink.com/provence/provence-region-guide.htm

There are alot of good guide books out there.

chartley

It's worth looking at the Logis de France website (http://www.logishotels.com/en.html for the English language site). Logis are family-owned hotels, usually in small towns or villages, and they usually have good restaurants.

Although you are unlikely to be the only non-French person there, they often cater largely for local residents and other French visitors, so you will experience something quite authentic and very French. Facilities can vary, but you will almost certainly have an en-suite bathroom. Generally, the French are more concerned about the quality of the food than the decoration and facilities in the bedroom. Having said that, some Logis are newly built with good amenities. You need to pick the type of place that suits you best.

The only proviso is that, because of their location, you will almost certainly need a car.

StCirq

You're really going to need a car to visit Provence - any part of it except possibly the Côte d'Azur - anyway.

Alan_CT

You may want to consider staying closer to Paris so as to reduce time spent traveling. Have you considered Burgundy?
The area is beautiful - top-flight wine country if you're interested - with small stone villages surrounded by vineyards. Lots of good restaurants, too.
You can get to Dijon by TGV from Paris in under 2 hours, then rent a car at the station.
We've stayed twice at Domaine des Anges in Puligny-Montrachet, www.domainedesangespuligny.com, and love this small chambre d'hote (bed and breakfast) run by a charming ex-pat British couple.