Camamars

Hello! I'm in the beginning stages of planning a 7-9 day (depends on how flights work out) trip to France. The trip would be easier for me to take early/mid August, but I could also make it work in mid October if that is better! This will be my first major trip, so I'm looking for some advice! I'm hoping to hit Paris, Loire Valley, and Marseille or Nice. I plan to fly in and out of Paris. So, what are your suggestions on:
1)length of time spent in each location, 2) method of travel between each location, 3) where to base myself in Loire Valley 4) deciding between Marseille and Nice and 5) if it's worth it to wait till October instead of August.
Any other bits of advice would also be welcome!

di2315

Lucky you, Camamars!

With such a short break, I wouldn't try to visit more than one of those places. You need to allow the best part of a day to travel from one place to the next (no matter what form of transport you use), then there's your flight time into and out of Paris . . . not a lot of time left for actually getting around and having a feel for a place.

Of course, if you have a bucket list and only want to snap a photo then move on, you'd be OK. But that's not my idea of travel. Why go to all that effort and expense if you don't allow yourself time to smell the roses?

Di

Southam

Each time you move will cost you at least a half-day, what with packing and unpacking, navigating to the train station and then to the next hotel, only to have a few hours left in an unfamiliar city. First tactic to become more efficient, if you are arriving on an intercontinental flight, is to fly home from a different city, which will save precious time. For instance, arrive in Marseille and work your way back to Paris by train. This can be arranged by using a multi-destination search function (it's not two one-way tickets) at close to the price for a simple round trip.

schnauzer

With only a short time I'd keep it to two destinations only. Paris and one other...if 7 days then four in Paris and three in Loire.. If 9 then Paris four/five and Nice either 4/5. Remember you'll lose a day travelling. In Nice you can ride the bus or train and see lots of the coastal and hilltop villages. Fly from Paris to Nice or vice versa. So if you're flying in and out of Paris look at Easyjet for flights to Nice. You could get to Marseille from Nice. Or base in Antibes perhaps... It's got a good vibe.

I'd prefer October to Aug...

ninasdream

Hi Camamar - how exciting. Planning my return trip to Paris was how I came to Fodors now 12 years ago. My friend whom I was visiting strongly advised me against August. It's hot, and if they have a heatwave it will be uncomfortable, locals flee the cities for cooler climes. How about Paris plus day trips by train? Versailles, Giverny, Bruges. Book your train tickets 14 days in advance online for 50% off fares. Good luck planning, which is half the fun, and keep us posted.

Christina

I don't consider 7-9 days such a short break that I can only be in one city. I almost always visit 2-3 places in that time frame when I travel to Europe. None of your options are at all difficult to do in that time frame given you can get to any of those by train fairly quickly, in just a few hours for all but Nice. Now that one is farther by train, of course, so it depends how important that is to you. I also would do more than just day trips from Paris, which isn't quite the same as being in a totally different city for a few days.

I've been to all those, Marseille or Nice would both be great, they are just different, hard to decide. Nice is farther, though, if that matters. Both have big enough airports for leaving (which will likely connect in Paris to wherever home is, unless home is UK or within Europe, of course).

Definitely take the train to whichever city you choose. There is an issue that if you go to the Loire, you might want to rent a car, though, whereas it isn't necessary at all for a few day stay in Marseille or Nice (in fact, might be a pain). Loire is a big agricultural area, more rural for the most part, I suppose you want to see chateaux, most people do. You can go to a couple by train though, if that's all you want. But most people perceive the Loire as a more rural holiday.

Personally, I would much rather be in Marseille or Nice than the Loire, but I've never found visiting chateaux to be that interesting, at least not as the sole purpose of a stay. Your interests may vary.

MmePerdu

Since it's your first time in France and time is short, I suggest you stay in Paris and plan to do a day trip or 2 if the glory of Paris begins to dim, although I doubt it will.

I believe you'll get a much better feel for France without the moves, travel for most of us even more about the sense of place than particular sights. The same goes for the other locales on your list, they & you deserve more than a couple of days, so save them for another visit, when hopefully you'll have more time. This time, stay in Paris.

WoinParis

Paris and Loire in August.
Paris is empty in august and weather is great in Loire.

Nice and Marseille in october : still nice weather.
I would not stay in Marseille (never liked this city) but more in Cassis or something like that. (not Toulon...).

Paris in october can be miserable, Nice and Marseille in august is packjammed with tourists.

Gretchen

Two places would be my suggestion. You could take the TGV to Provence directly from CDG and spend 4 days. Rent a car. Take TGV back to Paris and spend 5 days.
Adjust for your actual amount of time.
Paris and the Loire is a good idea.
Paris and Normandy would be another.

Kathie

If it were me - and I know it isn't - I'd spend the whole time in Paris. We spent 10 full days in Paris (11 nights) and couldn't tear ourselves away to do a day trip. There is so much to see and do in Paris - and if you get bored or need more variety, there are plenty of day trips available to you.

I think you would be better off taking this trip in October than in August.

PalenQ

at best I'd do Paris and Nice or Avignon area. Loire has castles galore but little else of interest - can do a day trip there from Paris if you want (hook up with mini-bus tours from Tours train station)

Trains are the best for inter-city travel IMO -for one thing you see the France in between say Paris and Nice and it really does not take that much longer. Check www.voyages-sncf.com for discounted fares for general info on French trains check also www.seat61.com; www.ricksteves.com; and www.budgeteuropetravel.com.

Nice would have much more to see and do of interest in its area than Marseilles IMO.

Camamars

Wow, thank you all so much for your responses! I definitely have some more planning to do, and all this advice is going to help so much!

traveller1959

I agree that 2 or 3 destinations will be enough for your timeframe.

If you travel in August, Paris and Loire would make a perfect combination. From Paris, take the TGV train to Tours and rent a car there. A car would be most helpful to visit all the castles and other attractions in the region.

Base yourselves in a small town somewhere in the area around Tours. Amboise would be an excellent base. Use a hotel search engine to find accomodation that pleases you. Why not staying inside a castle? E.g. this one: http://www.tortiniere.com/en/

If you have 9 days, you can add a third destination which is not too far from Paris, e.g. Auxerre, a beautiful medieval town in the wine region of Bourgogne (close to Chablis) or the Seine Valley with Rouen (another historic town), Jumieges, Honfleur (picturesque port town on the sea).

Or you skip the Loire altogether and visit the magnificent castles near Paris instead: Fontainebleau, Chantilly, Versailles. Daytrips from Paris are possible, but maybe you want to stay in the countryside as a diversion from Paris, e.g. here: http://www.abbayedecernay.com/en/

In any case, do NOT drive in Paris. But in the area around Paris, you may rent a car.

I would not go to the Côte d'Azur in August - it is terribly crowded.

If you travel in October, you will have beautiful weather on the Côte d'Azur. In this case, I would suggest skipping the Loire Valley and combining just Paris with the Côte. Take the TGV from Paris to the Côte and rent a car there (technically you can use the buses for sightseeing, but given your limited amount of time, a rental car would be much more efficient and more comfortable, too).

For a first trip to France, I would never recommend Marseille. And instead of Nice, base yourselves in a more beautiful spot than in this large city with its ugly beach. The section between St. Raphael and Cannes (Côte de l'Esterel) with towns like Agay, Antheor, Theoule-sur-Mer is most scenic and a good base to explore the region.

jtpj777

Given the short time you will have on the Cote D'Azur, I would recommend Nice as a base. It is the transport hub of the whole area and will allow you to get to some of the smaller places, both east and west of the city, relatively easily.

I would also say that there seems to be a bit of "received wisdom" on here about the Cote D'Azur in August being over-run with tourists. In my experience, yes, it is busier than at other times of the year as the French themselves are on holiday; however, it is not swamped by tourists the way some other places can get, particularly if you go east of Nice - west being more built up. Nice is a large town and can accomodate a large number of people, plus there is not the same evidence of groups of tourists being guided around as in many other tourist places in Europe.

Of course, I wouldn't go then for a quiet holiday!

nytraveler

If you have only 7 days (and how many nights is this - are you counting the day you arrive and depart??) I would stay in Paris and do 1 or 2 day trips. There are a gazillion places that can be easily reached via TGV abd that way you don't lose a lot of time trekking to and from with you luggage.

However, if you decide to do more than one place definitely do NOT fly to and from Paris - that will waste a whole day getting back there for the return flight. Fly into Paris and back from Nice.

As for weather, Paris in August can be VERY hot so I would head for October - but then I hate hot weather, esp when there is no AC in many places. (We try to do Paris in May or Oct unless for business.)

PalenQ

I would also say that there seems to be a bit of "received wisdom" on here about the Cote D'Azur in August being over-run with tourists.>

I agree - the area is swamped with tourists in some places but you can find others that are not so - but the Loire too is swamped with tourists in August- many people are turned off about Amboise in August because it is such a zoo but there are many other places to stay - if you have a car as public transit is poor to many castles- by train I'd go to Amboise.

But if you have never been to France before there are IMO many more areas that are more attractive -the Loire has a ton of castles -though most folks see only the main few - but the countryside is just so-so - Provence around Avignon/Arles or the Dordogne are IMO much more gorgeous and towns older looking.

The Loire is nice besides its castles but for a first trip to France I'd chose somewhere else- like the French Riviera or Provence of Avignon/Arles.

A day trip to the Loire is easy by train as I said above- train to Tours station and hop mini-bus tours to 2-3 of the great chateaus and bop back to Paris.

fuzzbucket

If you're used to living with air conditioning when the temperature goes over 80F or so, you will be absolutely miserable in France in August.
Hotels will be air conditioned, but the rest of the world will not be.

If high temperatures don't bother you - we're talking 98F with no cooling down at night - then Paris will be pretty much empty and a good base for day trips.

Otherwise, if you don't mind a little light rain and some cloudy days, I'd vote for October. Better to go during the middle of the month, if possible.

I'd go to Cassis instead of Nice and would definitely skip Marseille. Albi is a lovely town, if you're thinking of heading that way.

PalenQ

Cassis is neat but there is a whole lot more varied things to see and do in the Nice area- too far for meaningful day trips.

menachem

Paris is empty in august? Never noticed it. Actually, apart from the possibility of a serious heatwave (or days of torrential rain) I quite like Paris in August. Paris Plages is full on, there are lots of open air concerts and small festivals to occupy those Parisians (the overwhelming majority) who don't have a vacation during august. You will find shops closed though, but not anything major. There's a weird atmosphere in the city that I've really come to like.

really. people parroting "received wisdom"

fuzzbucket

10 years of living in Paris full-time leads me to the conclusion that Paris is pretty empty in August. Maybe not when you were here, though.

Granted, the city does not shut down for a full month as it used to, but plenty of tourists are disappointed if they don't research the things they expect to see and do.