Itinerary help: Provence+another location
Mar 12th, 2016, 11:46 AM
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Itinerary help: Provence+another location
Hello,
I am traveling to France late June-early July for a wedding in Provence. We have lodging set up for 5 days while in Provence and will be renting a car during that time. We have a 12 month old who will traveling with us. We have been to Paris several times already, I studied in Strasbourg and lived briefly in Rouen but most other areas are new to us. We are looking for ideas for 5 nights and are open to traveling elsewhere in Europe if it is affordable and manageable to do so. It would be preferable to go to one more location and base ourselves there. We love culture, food, art, beautiful villages, architecture, lakes, mountains, swimming/wading (but not too much beach).
We fly in and out of Paris to the US.
Areas I've thought of that would be nice to visit in France include: Nice, Lyon, and Annecy.
I would love some ideas!
I am traveling to France late June-early July for a wedding in Provence. We have lodging set up for 5 days while in Provence and will be renting a car during that time. We have a 12 month old who will traveling with us. We have been to Paris several times already, I studied in Strasbourg and lived briefly in Rouen but most other areas are new to us. We are looking for ideas for 5 nights and are open to traveling elsewhere in Europe if it is affordable and manageable to do so. It would be preferable to go to one more location and base ourselves there. We love culture, food, art, beautiful villages, architecture, lakes, mountains, swimming/wading (but not too much beach).
We fly in and out of Paris to the US.
Areas I've thought of that would be nice to visit in France include: Nice, Lyon, and Annecy.
I would love some ideas!
Mar 12th, 2016, 12:06 PM
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Our two favorite regions in France are Provence & the Dordogne. The Dordogne is about a 6 hr drive, with a 2 hr stop in Carcassonne half way there. Lots of castles, medieval villages, rivers, caves with pre-historic paintings & stalactites & mites.
Nice, of course, would be the most efficient place because it is next door to Provence, and our third favorite region in France. But it will be mobbed in early July & you might find it hard to get hotel reservations this late in the year.
Lyon doesn't have many of the "culture, food, art, beautiful villages, architecture, lakes, mountains, swimming/wading (but not too much beach)" that you are looking for, except for the culture, art, & architecture. Of course, it is "food central" - but I don't know how a 1 year old fits into your dining plans.
Annecy is 4 hrs away - but fewer "beautiful villages" than the other regions you are considering. Old Annecy is smaller than you might think it is.
Stu Dudley
Nice, of course, would be the most efficient place because it is next door to Provence, and our third favorite region in France. But it will be mobbed in early July & you might find it hard to get hotel reservations this late in the year.
Lyon doesn't have many of the "culture, food, art, beautiful villages, architecture, lakes, mountains, swimming/wading (but not too much beach)" that you are looking for, except for the culture, art, & architecture. Of course, it is "food central" - but I don't know how a 1 year old fits into your dining plans.
Annecy is 4 hrs away - but fewer "beautiful villages" than the other regions you are considering. Old Annecy is smaller than you might think it is.
Stu Dudley
Mar 12th, 2016, 04:20 PM
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With a lot of help from StuDudley (above, thanks Stu!) we spent a week last summer in Provence, then drove to the Dordogne via carcassonne. We were based in Sarlat and loved the area. Fantastic castles at Beynac and Castlenaud (and many others) canoeing on the river, walks, biking, local markets, prehistoric cave art and much, much more. It's a wonderful area and we ended by taking an easy train to Paris.
