DDj30t

Will be in the Provence area for three nights late June. Any tips on where to stay?

Sassafrass

Depends on what you want to see, how you are traveling (car, train, bus), where you are coming from, where you are going, how many in your group, budget, etc.

DDj30t

We are flying into Paris, 3 nights, train to Bordeaux for 2 nights, train to Provence, rent car three nights, drive to Beaune area 2 nights, then drive to Strasbourg 2 nights, train back to Paris. 13 nights 14 days. There will be four of us. Never been to France, coming from Boston. Moderate budget if possible. Thank you for any help you can give. late June to early July.

rosemaryoz

I'm still not sure which town in Provence you are training to, but I really like villages such as St Remy de Provence, L'Isle sur la Sorgue or Lourmarin as good bases. Small enough to get around on foot in summer, but each has all amenities & good restaurants etc. For three nights in June you'll need to investigate chambres d'hotes or small hotels, as gites will want weekly rentals only at that busy time.

ira

Hi DD,

You might find these useful.

Ira Returns From 22 Loverly Days in Europe - Sep, 2009
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-in-europe.cfm

Ira Visits Zurich, The Bodensee, Alsace and Paris – May 2008
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...2&tid=35136218

Ira Visits Europe – May, 2007 (Salzburg, Fuessen, Bodensee, Burgundy, Alsace)
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...2&tid=35014078

Enjoy your planning.

StCirq

Do you realize that taking a train from Bordeaux to "Provence" will take about 11-13 hours?

Where in Provence are you headed? Provence is enormous.

Christina

It can't take 11-13 hrs to take a train from Bordeaux to Provence as you can get from Bordeaux to Paris in about 3.5 hrs and from Paris to Provence (Avignon) in about 2 hrs by train. If you go through Nimes, it's a little shorter time, actually (Bordeaux to Nimes is about 5 hrs).

If you are renting a car, I think it would be easiest not to stay in one of the biggest cities (ie, Avignon or Aix), other than that, it's personal preference, there are many choices.

KathyWood

I think it's great that you're making your first trip to France... it's such a wonderful country. But I have to say that I'm worried about your itinerary, since you really will spend most of your time in transit.

You should check the train schedules/times and can do that using www.raileurope.com (just plug in dummy dates about 10 weeks from now). And you can check the driving times on www.viamichelin.com or even google maps... just add at least 10% to the estimated times to allow for stops, traffic, going through tolls etc.

It will take you about half a day to get from Paris to Bordeaux. Then you'll spend most of a day (I'm getting a schedule involving one change and about 7 hours total) from Bordeaux to Provence. Driving from Avignon to Beaune, a good half day and Beaune to Strasbourg, about a half day. Strasbourg to Paris by train, 2 hours 20 minutes on the high-speed train.

Keep in mind that it will take time to check in and out of hotels and that you'll need to arrive early at the station and then to travel from the station to your accommodation. Some of your time will also involve getting to and from the Paris airport. Do you really want to spend so much of your time on trains and on the autoroute?

I'd definitely suggest dropping Bordeaux. It's too out of the way with the rest of your itinerary. You might also consider starting in Paris, taking the train to Strasbourg, car to Beaune, car to Provence. Then fly out of Marseille or Nice (depending on where your base in Provence is) and avoid doubling back to Paris.

If your itinerary is still flexible, I hope you'll consider staying longer in fewer places...

Kathy

StuDudley

Ditto Kathy

Less is more!!

Stu Dudley

voyager61

I agree that you are trying to cover too many destinations with not enough time in between to actually enjoy them. Paris, Burgundy and Provence are plenty for your trip duration. Better itinerary: 4 nights Paris, 3 nights Burgundy (Beaune), 5 nights Provence, 1 night back to Paris for flight home. Provence is made of of several unique villages/towns that take time to explore, hence the extra time.