Avidtraveller

My husband and I in our mid 60's will be taking the Eurostar to Lille and picking up a rental car to drive onwards. On previous driving trips we have taken a west route from Paris to Honfleur, Normandy, the Loire and then down and across to Monte Carlo. On another trip we drove from Avignon down towards the Spanish border and then up to Bordeaux, via Carcassonne.
We had hopes for May 2016 to drive to Annecy and then maybe to Strasbourg, however we are concerned that it may still be cold with perhaps snow along the border.
We have been to Lyon on a previous trip, and with the car and parking problems, would prefer a route/accommodation which takes in small towns/villages.
We are interested in wineries, museums, and provincial French food.

hetismij2

We have just returned from a week in Lorraine and Alsace.
We were in a camper so I can't advise on places to stay, but we loved the area.
There are many lovely old villages to visit. Nancy is certainly worth a couple of days as well.
We stayed at a campsite in Wingen Sur Moder, which is home to the Lalique museum. There are a couple of other glass and crystal museums in the area. Due to the heat ( we couldn't leave the dog in the camper) we didn't go to the museum, but it is on the list to visit in cooler weather.
Bitche is also close by and has an interesting citadel.

We followed both the Meuse and the Mosel rivers. We even went to the sources of both.
In the Vosges there is good walking. In Alsace delightful villages, and good wine.

We will certainly be returning when it isn't so hot or so crowded. Lucky for us it is only 4 hours away.

bilboburgler

In Lille try to avoid the Interject Central, which pops you up, via a tunnel, in the middle lane of a 3 lane motorway. Feels a bit nasty.

May snow... nah

The main areas close to Lille for wine and the like are

Champagne (Rheims and Epernay are the main towns) the first is an ancient city with tombs of kings in the Cathedral and remains of Roman Forum with many grand maison in town (assume yoiu will have to pay for a visit and a taste. Epernay is more the farming town with similar champagne houses, I prefer this town.

Mosel/Rhine/Pfalz german wine area, very pretty though hints of mist. Rielsing is the master here

Alsace, especially the southern area with some fantastic Gewurtz, Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc, though Riesling can be very good here too.

Lots of good walking in these last two areas, but you may suffer from the odd chilly blast, generally Alsace will be the driest. However rooms and food are more expensive in French areas than German ones.

Now you are going to say, I want France not Germany. Well since the border does not really exist and the grapes are pretty similar I'd look at the last two areas as one as they both follow the Rhine north. If you stay in smaller towns and eat in local restaurants/bars you will see the food matches the wine.

bilboburgler

This might help

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...es-of-wine.cfm

kerouac

If you are interested in the battlefields and memorials of the Great War, there are dozens of things to look at around Arras and Amiens.

http://anyportinastorm.proboards.com...ies-pas-calais

http://anyportinastorm.proboards.com...-bois-delville

hetismij2

Plenty of war stuff down in Lorraine too - Verdun area is of course full of WW1 sites.

As for snow in May - we have seen snow in the Vosges in May. Not enough to impact on a trip or walking, but still snow, sometimes along the sides of the roads still from ploughing, but mostly in the hills. They are pretty high in places after all.

kerouac

It will nevertheless be more likely to encounter a freak heat wave in May rather than a freak snowstorm.

traveller1959

It makes more sense to drive from Lille to Alsace first and then continue to Annecy.

The direct route from Lille to Alsace leads through the Champagne and Lorraine. You may visit the cathedrals in Reims and Metz, the battlefields and memorials in Verdun and a winery in the Champagne region. (My favourite is the Champagne Museum of Launois in the village of Le Mesnil-sur-Oger. (There is a sweet Castle Hotel with very good cuisine nearby - Chateau Etoges. And if you want splurge, there is La Briqueterie south of Epernay - with five hotel stars and a Michelin star - but lunch is halfway affordable.)

Otherwise, I would recommend spending most of the time in Alsace - this region has a lot to offer - historic towns, picturesque villages, scenery, wine etc.

And,again, no snow in May - except on the mountain tops.

kerouac

Depending on the weather, you can choose to drive through the Jura with beautiful mountain scenery, or skirt the mountains to get to Annecy.

I spent some time in Annecy in late November last year and of course I could still see snow on the higher peaks. It's one of the reasons that one goes there.

bilboburgler

Good point about the Jura, fine walking up there.

Avidtraveller

Many thanks to all for what is a huge amount of information - I will settle down on the weekend and have a look at it all with a map.
Most appreciative.