raepaul

My husband and I are planning our first trip to France from May 1 - 12, 2013. I would love some input and advice for planning our first trip here. We've been to Spain before on a trip similar in length.

We arrive in Paris (CDG) from the US at 6:30 am on May 2 and leave Paris to fly home at 5:30 pm on May 11.
We were thinking of starting our trip in Paris for a few days and ending there too, but after reading some forums on here, now perhaps we will TGV from the airport to the south (Marseille) and work our way up?
Some places we are concidering:
Avignon, Cassis, Arles, St. Remy, Lyon, Aix, Roussllion, Chateauneuf de Pape

We would like to rent a car and explore the south and perhaps end our trip in Paris for 2-3 days.

Any must see stops along the way? We love to explore by car so driving is not a deal breaker, but would prefer to see as much as possible. Our interests are historic districts, food and wine, cafes, quaint villages, landscapes, seeing the country through the eyes of locals, not tourists...

Any help is much appreciated!

cigalechanta

Provence always makes my heart leap when I see it written.
For Me two weeks in psris was not enough to see to experience.
But if you move one to Provence, a small car is needed to visit all the perche villages and the lower ones who have narrow streets. Diesel is less expensive than petrol.Buy a good Provence guide book to get a feel of the different areas.
On your list, I haven't been to Lyon, a place we had planned to visit but my husband died. Lyon has the famous buchons,
these are designated eating places who serve the true regional food.

Michael

The Michelin Green Guide for the Provence would be a good way to figure out what to see in that area.

Unless you have already booked your tickets, consider an open jaw landing in Paris and leaving from Nice, dropping off your car at the Nice airport.

Micrae

Try for 3 days in Paris. Even then you'll only scratch the surface, but that's okay, as you can have a great day in Paris just walking along the river as there are so many of the major sights beside the Seine. And you can enjoy cafe life along the way. In our last trip to Paris we stayed in the Latin Quarter and I would highly recommend it. Don't know your budget, but we stayed at the Hotel Diana, which was modest, but clean and comfortable and extremely well located. And, it's under $200/night which is good for Paris.

We had 5 days in Provence and split them between Arles and Avignon, with day trips to St. Remy and a Chateauneuf de Pape vineyard. St. Remy on market day is fun, albeit touristy. If the market doesn't interest you, I'd consider giving St. Remy a pass. Les Baux is also worth several hours on a day trip. It's touristy in the town but if you hike above the town to the ruins, I think they will appeal to your historical interests. Our favourite attraction was the aqueduct at Pont du Gard, it really is a must see IMO. Arles was a delight for us as well, with lots of very cool Roman ruins and its excellent Museum of Antiquity. It also has a smaller and less polished feel than Avignon.

Anyway, a few things to consider....enjoy your trip.

StCirq

I would take the TGV from CDG directly to Avignon, not Marseilles. Base yourself somewhere in the Bouche-du-Rhône area (St-Rémy is a popular choice) and visit Avignon and Arles and the Pont du Gard and Uzès and Les Baux and the Camargue for 4 days, then drive to Lyon, drop the car, and enjoy that city and its wonderful food for 2 days, then take the train back to Paris for the remainder.

StuDudley

I count only 9 nights, perhaps 8 3/4 days.

I would do what St Cirq recommended. Immediately take the TGV at either 8:30 or 10AM from CDG to the Avignon TGV station (3 hr relaxing trip), rent a car, stay in St Remy for 5 nights and explore Provence. Then take an early TGV from Avignon back to Paris & spend 4 nights there. I don't think you will have enough time for Lyon, however. Lyon needs 2 nights and I wouldn't reduce any time in Paris or Provence. You'll see enough "big city" with Paris, Avignon, and Aix.

We've vacationed in Provence for 18 weeks, and I've developed a 27 page Provence & Cote d'Azur itinerary that describes our favorite villages, markets, sites, scenic drives, etc. I've sent it to over 3,000 people on Fodors. If you would like a copy, e-mail me at [email protected] & I'll attach a copy to the reply e-mail.

Stu Dudley

oliolin

Agree with StCirq's route.
For a 1st trip to France, I would suggest including Lyon, as it is beautiful and has a lot of unique history (the canut revolution in the croix rousse with elaborate secret passageways, the picturesque cobblestone old city) plus truly delicious french food practically anywhere you eat.

If you spend 3 days in Paris (enough for 1st trip), 2 days in lyon, and 3 in Provence I think you'll get a great mix of cities and countryside. My personal pick would be to stay longer in Lyon and only pass through Avignon and Aix - where you can hit the main attractions (e.g. the popes' palace, Avignon's bridge) quite easily without spending a whole day there.

You can stay in some of the small towns in Provence that were mentioned above, or find a nice villa to be your base for 2 nights.

Another few stops to recommend in Provence is the beautiful clifftop village of gordes, and the picturesque abbey de senanque. You'll also likely see lots of fruit markets in the towns and villages - sample some of them as they are some of the most delicious you can find.

On your way north from Provence to Lyon you'll be passing through the Cotes du Rhone - and there are a lot of excellent vineyards there. Especially closest to Lyon there is the Cotes Rotie - where the vineyards are built on steep hills, which give them a unique look and feel, and produce exceptional wines. It's well worth a visit to some of the vineyards - either the small ones you can find in someone's garage, or the big producers like E Guigal etc.
Another short stop on that route could be Tain L'hermitage - besides having some large wineries, it is also home to the exquisite Valrhona chocolate factories which you can visit.

raepaul

WOW - you all have given us some great suggestions! I like the idea of staying in one place in Provence as a base and taking day trips. Perhaps we will lose Cassis...

One other question - is it true that some villages charge a toll to get in? Seems strange?

Michael

<i>is it true that some villages charge a toll to get in? Seems strange?</i>

I did not run into that, but in some instances it's paid parking in the lots closest to the village.

annhig

One other question - is it true that some villages charge a toll to get in? Seems strange?>>

the only one i know of is in the UK - Clovelly in North Devon.

going back to your questions, I also agree that getting the TGV to the south and working your way back is the best way to go, and after all that travelling, i think that I'd want to stay in one place in each area, making it 3 stops in all, if you spend a couple of nights in Lyon on the way back to Paris.

StuDudley

>>One other question - is it true that some villages charge a toll to get in?<<

There are a few that charge to get into the city - Locranon in Brittany I think - but perhaps they only charge for parking and there is only 1 place to park. We had to pay & get a "sticker" so we could visit the village. Same with Conques in the Lot area too (I think). Gordes charges to use the lot & often that is the only place you can park unless you want a long walk followed by an uphill climb. Roussillon has a "paying" lot, but there are other places to park near-by.

I'll reiterate - only 2 locations - Paris & Provence. You only have 8 1/2 days if you deduct the 8 hrs involved in getting to Provence from CDG, and then back to Paris. No time for Lyon or a "wander" in the vineyards around Lyon. You'll need a car for that, and I would certainly not recommend that you try to drive from Provence to Lyon (ugly drive on the autoroute, once past Provence) and then try to navigate to a hotel in Lyon (very difficult). If you drive to Lyon & stay 2 nights - it will consume about 2 1/4 days. That only leaves 6 1/4 days for Provence & Paris. We all have our own opinions, but I think 3 days in Paris and 3 in Provence is not nearly enough time there. Why leave many "must sees" in Paris & Provence, "pay" for it with a day or half-day lost in travel, so you can see some "must sees" in Lyon? I like city & countryside - you'll see that in Paris & Provence. If you had 14 or more nights instead of 9, I would concur with an additional "stop" - Lyon, Dijon/Beaune/Burgundy, Annecy/Alps, & Cote d'Azur would be good third stops.

Stu Dudley

Christina

I would lose Cassis but think flying into Marseille would be a good idea, that's what I do when I go down there. It is a much larger airport than Avignon, so more flights, and I suspect better selection of cars at the car rental places. And it is not IN Marseille, it is outside and very easy to drive away from and go north (I have stayed in Aix when flying into MRS, for example).

I would do that and make your way north a bit (perhaps staying near Aix a couple days and then farther north a couple days). YOu could end up with staying in Avignon itself for a day or two, and ditch the car at that point, and then easily take the TGV from Avignon to Lyon/Paris. Or you could just drive to some place and stay there the whole Provence time (I dislike St Remy but many others like it, hard to know what you'd like, but it's a decent location for what you want).

You'd have to figure out the advantages/disadvantage to flying into Avignon vs. MRS in terms of costs, schedules and other things.

IdyllicItaly

We are splitting our trip in September between Paris and Provence, flying into Paris, taking the TGV to Avignon, renting a car, and keeping it until we fly home (to Boston) from Marseille on an 11 am flight. The Marseille airport is about a half hour from Aix en Provence (in the best of drive times, I suspect), which is where we'll be staying for the last few days of our trip. I was very pleased about the departure time from the Marseille airport and its proximity to Aix en Provence.

Best wishes with your trip!