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Need advice please. First time visiting France next year

Need advice please. First time visiting France next year

Old Sep 2nd, 2014, 10:42 AM
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Need advice please. First time visiting France next year

We are visiting France next year. What a privilege!!
I have started looking at places and this is kind of what I have decided on. We will have 26 nights altogether. We are first time visitors to France.
Paris 6 nights
Train to Strasbourg.
Strasbourg for 4 nights
Rent a car. Drive to Beaune.
Beaune for 4 nights
Drive to Lyon
Lyon 2 nights
Drive to Provence
St Remy 6 nights
Train to Nice.
Nice 4 nights.
Fly home

I know there is lots more to see and do in France but I want to also be practical with our time. We like driving around but also love down time where we relax etc.
How does this look?
Are they good places to stay.
Advice and opinions welcome. Thanks so much
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Old Sep 2nd, 2014, 10:51 AM
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We always like to end our trips in Paris, unless we're heading down to the Pays Basque and Béarn (www.bearn-basquecountry.com), but starting in Paris if fine. The rest of the itinerary looks doable, except you may want to add some more time in Lyon. It's an equal to Paris in many respects and offers some to the best cuisine in France.

See Anthony Borudain Parts Unknown - Lyon for a little more information.
http://edition.cnn.com/video/shows/a...yon/index.html
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Old Sep 2nd, 2014, 10:53 AM
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Your itinerary looks very good, well planned.
We can recommend hotels if you state your hotel budget per night. I like LeCep on Beaune but need to know what you plan to pay.
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Old Sep 2nd, 2014, 10:59 AM
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Was there something wrong with your other thread? http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...y-465328-2.cfm
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Old Sep 2nd, 2014, 11:17 AM
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HI.
Thanks
No Gretchen. Wasn't anything wrong. Because I had changed from going to canal and had a better idea of what I wanted ,just started new thread. Hopefully ok.
We'll have to be staying mostly self-catering. That's the most affordable for a family of 5. If anyone has any suggestions for that, please let me know.
Robert, where would you take away time from to add to Lyon? One less day in Paris?
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Old Sep 2nd, 2014, 12:37 PM
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No, don't take away from Paris...take it from Strasbourg. IMHO
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Old Sep 2nd, 2014, 01:13 PM
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St Remy or Strasbourg.
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Old Sep 2nd, 2014, 01:22 PM
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No, nothing wrong, but now you'll be getting replies on two threads, which to people replying, can be annoying.
look up gites in France
AND NEVER take time away from Paris!! LOL
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Old Sep 3rd, 2014, 10:41 AM
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I would slightly modify your itinerary to make it more kid friendly.

Paris 6 nights

Train to Strasbourg or Colmar
Rent a car. Drive to Riquewhir
Riquewhir or another village for 3 nights

Drive to Burgundy( Beaune)
Beaune or surroundings for 4 nights

Drive to Annecy (French Alps)
Annecy 3 nights

Drive to Provence
St Remy or Uzes 4 to 6 nights

Drive to the Luberon
Luberon 2 to 0 nights

Drive or Train(from Avignon) to Cote d'Azur( Nice)
Nice 4 nights.

Fly home

Notes:
ALSACE- I recommend staying in one of the small wine villages rather than Strasbourg or Colmar. I have done both. I stayed in Riquewhir last year and rented an apartment from Les Ramparts des Riquewhir http://i-love-riquewihr.com/
Chateau du Haut-Koenigsbourg is a neat castle to visit along with other nearby wine villages-Equisheim, Kayserberg, Ribeauville, etc. Love the storks.

BURGUNDY- If you want a break from self catering I can recommend La Saura in Lusigny-sur-Ouche about 10 km on a road direct from Beaune.
http://www.la-saura.com/en/index.asp

Great rooms, excellent breakfasts, bathrooms like a spa, nice swimming pool, and a friendly helpful hostess.
The kids may like seeing Chateau de Guedelon which is a medieval castle under construction using construction techniques of the 12th century. I also liked Vezelay, Abbey of Fontenay, and the Hotel Dieu( medieval charity hospital) in Beaune. You might even splurge for a dinner in a castle.

FRENCH ALPS- I recommend Annecy over Lyon. Lyon has gastronomy, bouchons, and a world class textile museum and a lot of culture. But you have just seen Paris. Go to the French Alps instead. The French alps have Europe's highest mountain Mont Blanc (from Chamonix), and drop dead scenery. A little of the great outdoors would be perfect for your family.

PROVENCE- One or two locations would both work. Last year we spent our 6 nights in Provence in one location. While technically Uzes is not in Provence it makes a good location to explore the west of Provence. Arles, Avignon, Les Baux, Pont du Gard, Nimes, Camargue are easy day trips. We day tripped Aix-en Provence and the Luberon hill towns but they may be too far for some people. To me it is a much nicer area than St Remy. I love the area and especially the Mas Laurent. http://www.maslaurent.com/en/ When I was implementing a spur-of-the-moment trip last year seeking a last minute reservation Deborah called me by phone to confirm, that is a telephone call France to Southern California. That is service!
They do have a family suite. Also a public self catering area in another building-frig, sink, dining table, etc. They have great breakfasts. Deborah and Tim, from Australia, are fantastic hosts.
If you decide on a second location in the Luberon, for a splurge(you will need 2 rooms) I recommend Le Mas Perreal
http://www.masperreal.com/
Again Elizabeth and Kevin (American) are great hosts. You will wake up to a gourmet breakfast and an "I am in Provence" high. Browse their website for a ton of info.

COTE d'AZUR- May be a bit hectic in midsummer but say la vie.
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Old Sep 3rd, 2014, 11:07 AM
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Overall I think a plan that gives you a taste of a lot of different parts of France and is not too rushed. Can't comment on st remy - since we haven't been there - but every place else is well worth spending the time that you have allocated. You will have time to relax and sit in a cafe watching the world go by as well as seeing major sights.

As for taking a day away - NOT from Paris or Strasbourg. I would from st remy - but as I said - have not been - we just didn;t get to that area yet. But Strasbourg, Colmar and the wine road in between are fascinating.
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Old Sep 3rd, 2014, 11:48 AM
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Looks like a good plan. You will be back again, someday, if you really want to. (And you just might )
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Old Sep 4th, 2014, 06:16 AM
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I don't know if you have read the other posts here about France, so in case you haven't here are some general tips:

You will need cash as well as credit cards - in our experience some supermarkets and specialty stores don't accept foreign cards - our only guess as to why is that there can be so much fraudulent use that they can't be bothered with them. Ours are PIN cards, but sometimes we are asked to sign, sometimes not.

The toll roads in France never accept our credit cards - we've tried on numerous occasions with a variety of cards, with zero success. On one trip we had my French cousin with us; each machine we tried wouldn't accept our card, but was fine with his.

When you enter the door of any shop or business, you will always be greeted with a 'bonjour', and you are expected to reply the same. We've never had a problem with making ourselves understood, even though we speak very limited French. I think if you show that you are prepared to have a go at their language, you get a much better response.

We generally have self contained accommodation either in big cities or remote areas. In the latter people are less inclined to know (or to be confident enough to use) much English - but that's half the fun of visiting foreign places. By buying your own foods rather than eating in hotels and restaurants all the time, you get a much better taste of living in France rather than just visiting to see the sights.

We are in France now, and really enjoying ourselves. So have fun planning and travelling, Di
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Old Sep 4th, 2014, 07:46 AM
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I think your itinerary looks great! Have a wonderful trip!
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Old Sep 4th, 2014, 08:35 AM
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I think your plan is great except I agree, drop Lyon and go to Annecy instead. Additionally, I think there are much better options than St Remy, ie: Rousillon, Gordes. I am envious!
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Old Sep 5th, 2014, 04:07 AM
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Wow, thanks so much for all the great ideas. Love them. I am going to look into Annecy. Hadn't thought about that. Another question: Bearing in mind we are from South AFrica and thus used to heat, how essential is a pool in Provence? Does it get really hot there or not so bad. Compared to Rome say?
Thanks
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Old Sep 5th, 2014, 04:22 AM
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Also, for Annecy - if you have been which place do you recommend staying in?thanks
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Old Sep 5th, 2014, 04:36 AM
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Annecy looks beautiful. Going to definitely look into it. Bearing in mind we are driving, is it very far to drive there from beaune and then again to Provence.
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Old Sep 5th, 2014, 05:13 AM
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I'll make a suggestion about using tourist office websites for any place you are planning on visiting. You can google the tourist office websites for any region, département, city , town or village you may want to visit. You will find loads of info on these websites including hotel/accommodation and restaurant info as well as what to see and do in the area. Occasionally the websites have English versions. In doing a google search enter the words "office de tourisme" followed by the name of your region, département, city, town or village and this will bring that place to the top of your search. Here is the tourist office website for Annecy to get you started:

http://en.lac-annecy.com/

If you want ideas about what to see and do near Annecy you can look at a photo report I made about my two week vacation there:

http://tinyurl.com/k9y7s9w

In regards to self catering accommodation there are many websites where you can search for self-catering accommodation in France. The three that I always use are:

www.gites-de-france.com
www.abritel.fr
http://www.homelidays.co.uk/

Here are links to several more (in no particular order):

www.airbnb.com
http://www.gite.com/holiday-homes/index.php
http://www.fleursdesoleil.fr/
http://gitelink.com/
http://www.french-country-cottages.co.uk/
www.clevacances.com
www.holiday-rentals.co.uk
www.frenchconnections.co.uk
www.papvacances.com
www.cheznous.com
www.vacationinfrance.com
www.francelodge.com
www.vrbo.com
www.ownersdirect.co.uk
www.sawdays.co.uk
http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/
www.cottages4you.co.uk
http://www.french-guesthouse.com/
http://www.logishotels.com/en.html
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Old Sep 5th, 2014, 07:33 AM
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Thanks. Extremely helpful.

Been relooking my itinerary and here is what I come up with

Paris 6 nights
Alsace ( Strasbourg, Colmar or Riquewihr) 3 nights
Beaune 4 nights
Annecy 3 nights
Provence[possible St remy) 6 nights
Nice 4 nights

What do you think?
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Old Sep 5th, 2014, 07:41 AM
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>>Bearing in mind we are driving, is it very far to drive there from beaune and then again to Provence.
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