lavaflow

Just for fun... If you had the following regions to choose from, in which order would you rank them?

1. Normandy
2. Provence
3. Dordogne
4. Loire Valley

cocofromdijon

Burgundy! ;-)

StCirq

1. Dordogne
2. Provence
3. Normandy
4. Loire Valley

But there are so many OTHERS!

grimmy

1. Dordogne
2. Provence
3. Burgundy
4. Languedoc

Underhill

You asked about only four, so here are mine:

1. Provence
2. Normandy
3. Dordogne
4. The Loire Valley

Judy

Of those four, I would rank them:
1. Provence
2. Dordogne
3. Normandy
4. Loire Valley

ira

Paris,
Paris,
Paris,
Paris.

SuzieC

Boy I can't wait to participate in this. Unfortunately, I haven't yet BEEN all over. But so far,

Paris
Burgundy

laverendrye

Of these four I would rank them:

1. Dordogne

2. Provence

3. Normandy

4. Loire Valley

I would certainly put Alsace and Burgundy near the top of the list as well.

BTilke

1. Berry
2. Loire Valley
3. Burgundy
4. Haute Savoie

sheila

Of those 4 (did anyone mention there are others?)

1. Provence
2. Normandy
3. The Loire
4. The Dordogne

sheila

PS Are we achieving anything here?

lavaflow

Yes, you're helping me decide which region to drop from our itinerary. At this point, it looks like we could probably do without the Loire Valley.

I am aware there are many other wonderful regions of France, but those are the regions we are selecting from during this trip. Thanks for all your help.. I was not trying to waste anyone's time!

Kavey

But lavaflow, how can we be helping when you don't know whether we have the same preferences/ interests as you?

Ho hum... but if you think it's going to help, I'm happy to oblige!

1) Loire
2) Dordogne
3) Normandy

(haven't been to Provence, nearest I got was Nice)

lavaflow

Kavey-- Very true. But, I thought this would give me a general sense of what region was more popular than another. This might in fact confuse me even more! Oh, the joys of planning your first trip to France...

Here's our dilemma.. We're starting in Paris, ending in Nice. (after much research, I'm not sure I would have done this in hindsight, but we already have the airline tickets) I'm interested in Normandy, for historical reasons. Loire Valley sounds interesting because I would hate to miss the stunning chateaux. Then, we're stuck deciding between Dordogne and Provence, before heading to Nice. Dordogne interests me because of the hill towns, gorgeous, lush scenery, river, and exploring the caves. But, Provence is also so popular.

We are "on the go" type travelers, so I don't mind seeing a whole lot and moving on.. but I think we might have to eliminate one or two regions for sake of time. Now, you have the "background" to my crazy question I've posted!

Kavey

How long is the trip and how long are you spending in Paris and Nice? I.e. how many days are we talking about for the bit inbetween?

lavaflow

We have a total of 2 weeks. At this point, this is how we have it mapped out. (Tell me if I'm crazy, because at this point, it seems doable) As a caveat, I know we'll only be scratching the surface by doing it this way:

>5 nights in Paris
(rent car and drive to Bayeux)
>2 nights in Bayeux
(D-day Beaches, Mont St. Michel)
>1 night in Amboise
(to see some chateaux)
>3 nights Dordogne
(staying in Domme?)
>1 night near Uzes
(get up in the morning to see Pont du Gard.. drive to Nice)
2 nights in/around Nice

Kavey

What I'd suggest is breaking it down in more detail so you can include how much time will be spent driving on any given day and work out whether ANY of that day will be left over for sightseeing in the area.

You may find that you drive all day and arrive in Amboise late at night and then need to leave first thing to continue to the next location.

Don't underestimate how long it can take to drive these distances, even on the toll fee autoroutes.

Michael

Kavey's right. It takes the better part of the day to get to Amboise and to go to the Dordogne. So when do you think you'll be seeing the chateaux?

lavaflow

I've checked out the driving times on both mappy.com and viamichelin.com

Paris to Bayeux (2 hours, 47 minutes)
Bayeux to Amboise (3 hours, 49 minutes)
Amboise to Domme (4 hours, 19 minutes)
Domme to Uzes (5 hours)
Uzes to Nice (3 hours)

We would leave Bayeux early in the morning and get to Amboise around noon to see the chateaux. Then have dinner. The next morning would leave for Domme.

Am I underestimating how long it would take to see 2 chateaux?