Lauricelli

I am going crazy. I originally wanted to go to France in May this year but it is not working out so we decided to go the last 2 weeks of Sept. We are going with another couple. Their friends, who are French and from France, said there would be much more people travelling in Sept. than May.
So now, we are considering postponing the trip to France till next year May and going somewhere else in Sept. I didn't think the last two weeks in Sept would be that crowded. Would going in May be such a difference? Thanks. I need to nail this down.
Laurie

klondike

I suppose to a certan degree it depends on what areas/cities you are visiting but we almost always travel September and never have a problem with crowds (3 exceptions: Mont St. Michel, Honfleur, Riquewihr--but these are understandable). There may be even less people in May, but IMO the weather is "iffy-er" in the spring too.

StuDudley

You might tell us where in France you will be traveling.

Provence is more crowded in Sept than Alsace, for example.

We travel to France in June & Sept every year. May is less crowded, but even in Provence or the Riveria, it starts to clear out by the third week in Sept.

I think the best solution is to go in both Sept this year, AND May next year.

Weather will most likely be better in Sept.

Stu Dudley

Lauricelli

Stu, I think your solution is fabulous!
Thank you klondike, I'm all for better weather.

We will be going to Paris, Alsace, Burgundy, and Provence in that order. Was planning from Sep 10-Oct 2. I feel if this doesn't get booked it will be forever in the planning stages.
Oh, and their friends also nay sayed Lyon. Do you think Dijon is a better stop?
Thanks, L

Underhill

Both Dijon and Lyon are interesting cities to explore. Lyon is especially noted for its food, but I find Dijon the more appealing of the two, perhaps because it is a more comfortable size.

kevin_widrow

Speaking at least for Provence, end of September won't be a problem for crowds. In fact, just the opposite - it is one of the best times of year to come as the crowds are thinned out, weather is still great, vineyards are starting to get autumn colors.

-Kevin

tedgale

We've travelled to France, generally in September, for over 20 years.

Often we go south to Provence. But we have also visited the Dordogne, Burgundy, Brittany and Normandy, the Cote d'Azur, the Languedoc -- and traversed many bits in between.

Paris hotels are -- or used to be -- crowded for the Saison des Salons (fashion and trade shows) right after the rentree (the return from August holidays)

As everyone returns to Paris, everywhere else empties out.

I have noticed in recent years that there are more September travellers, especially from other EU countries.

But this affects us only to a small degree. We are now so "at home" that we often book accommodation only a day or 2 in advance. Some B&Bs, understandably, have been booked up -- so we choose another.

May, by contrast, seems to have a lot of national Holidays and booking accommodation has sometimes been frustating.

cocofromdijon

Hi,
Of course I agree with Underhill about the "compactness" of Dijon center where you can easily walk from a church to a museum or park.

It would be hard for me to choose what month I prefer. May makes me feel so good because it is warm, not hot, flowers are growing, days are longer, one can have a drink on a terrace...
September is very different but so nice, less hot, still long days, colors are changing on the trees and in the vineyards, the light is very good, less aggressive, you can still take a drink outside. It is more nostalgic for me because it means winter is coming, holidays are over.

Stu is right about going both months!

happy travels!
coco

ira

Hi L,

Most of our visits to Europe have been in Sept-Oct.

I also recommend Dijon over Lyon.

Have a nice visit.

cocofromdijon

Hi Ira,
Didn't you write recently : <I am planning a visit to Dijon in late May 2007>? ;-)
Do as you please!

ira

Hi coco,

Yes, I did, but that in no way affected the advice I gave to L.

I want to state categorically that I am in no way in the pocket of the Dijon Lobby, and my staff has returned all of their campaign contributions.

As soon as I can raise the money, I am paying for all of the visits to Dijon.

Bonjour_Voyageurs

We (husband, 20 yr. old daughter & I)are planning to be in Provence in May 2006. We have revised our itinerary as follows:
May 18-19 Les Baux with day trips to ?
May 20-22 Loumarin with day trips to ?
May 23-24 Cassis (boat trip to see les calanques)
May 25 visit Aix then stay overnight in Lyons
May 26 surrender car in Lyons take train to Beaune
May 26-27 day trip to vineyard, visit Hotel Dieu, market?
May 28 Train to Paris from Beaune. Stay overnight in Paris, then fly home on the following day. (We will have spent May 12-18 in Paris).
We welcome everyone's comments, critiques, suggestions so that we may finalize and book places to stay.
Merci!
Michèle

Lauricelli

Thanks for all your responses. I think we're going to plan for September.

How do I find out when they're having the fashion shows etc. in Paris. What website can I use to find out what's happening in Paris in September?
Thanks a lot.
L

cocofromdijon

I don't know if it is very accurate but this website shows there are no défilés in september
http://www.modeaparis.com/vf/dates/index.html

http://en.parisinfo.com/

Christina

The Paris fashions shows in the fall (for next Spring/Summer collections) are usually the first week to ten days in October. I wouldn't focus just on that, as Paris is a very busy business city in the Fall, and there are going to be lots of trade shows, conventions and general business in Paris in Sept-October in every week, aside from the dates of the fashion shows. Just as big is the Paris Auto Show which is 9/30-10/15/06. There are a variety of different fashion shows, also, and there seem to be various ones in lots of weeks around the main ones (eg, ones for accessories, shows, then there is both mens and womens' RTW, and I suppose haute couture, etc.).

It really shouldn't matter that much to you except that it means you are going to have to be sure you have hotel reservations way in advance, that's all. There isn't any way you will be able to avoid being in Paris during some kind of trade shows in Sept/Oct. I imagine if you stick to your itinerary of going to Paris first, rather than last, that might be a good idea.