MarilinSD

My husband and I are planning our first trip to France in Dec/Janaury of 2012.
we will have 16 days total - 2 of these days will be spent travelling from the U.S.

Does anyone have any advice as to where we should spend our time and how long in each place. We are from southern CA but prefer to see Paris in the Winter and don't mind rain/snow. We are not looking for sunny beaches in winter.....
We love french wines and champagne and are interested in visiting some of the wineries (are they open in December?)

Do you recommend renting a car or taking the train to travel to other areas outside of Paris?

I have been told that to experience Paris, we must spend a minimum of 5 to 6 days. Which is GREAT with us, but I would like to hear other's thoughts on this subject.

Do you have any recommendations as to which part of Paris we should stay in.

Last - we are planning our trip far in advance so that we have time to learn French. If we travel to smaller towns and villages in France, will it be necessary to speak French fluently?

Thank you very much for your assistance (in advance). This forum has been quite helpful.

Michael

The French countryside can be quite dreary in the winter. I would take the train and stick to cities--Strasbourg, Dijon, Beaune, Lyon, Nice, etc.

StCirq

Yes, I would spend at least 5 days in Paris. No, I wouldn't go driving around the French countryside in mid-winter; it's definitely dreary and, depending on where you go, certain things will be closed. I agree that taking the train to a couple of cities is a good idea. Strasbourg is great in winter; cities in the south are too, as is Lyon.

You'd have to check with particular wineries to see if they accept visitors during your dates. I believe there are wine tours offered in most regions even in winter (they are expensive).

Unless you are doing a daily immersion course or already have a good grounding in French, you won't be fluent a year from now - able to get by passably, probably, but far from fluent. In most major cities it won't matter anyway. In small villages, it could be a problem (but people always seem to manage to communicate when they have to, don't they?) - even if you managed to get reasonably comfortable with French it's likely you wouldn't be able to do that much conversing anyway, what with all the local accents and variants and dialects.

cocofromdijon

Hi Marilin and welcome on board I agree with that taking the train would be much more secure since we can have snow or icy roads in winter. As for wine tours they are expensive but everyone agree they're worth the price (starting from 48€/pers). You may already check some of them on the Dijon TO website. www.visitdijon.com. With the Dijon Pass you'll get a discount.
As for speaking French fluently, it is another story but if you can already say a few words like bonjour, merci, au revoir... We French are a bit touchy with politeness
Even if you cannot say a lot more you've done half the way and people will be more willing to hep you. I accommodate many English speakers and about 90% of them don't speak a word of French (except the ones I mentioned above) and they get along fine even at the market where they have fun.
However you might need a small dictionary to help you choose a dish at the restaurant if you don't want to get veal brain (ris de veau) instead of rice and veal (riz + veau).
Bon voyage!
coco

jamikins

Sounds like a great plan! I would recommend spending NYE in Paris, we spent a week there over new years 2009/2010 and this is our trip report with pics:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...stmas-2009.cfm

The city was beautifully decorated and tourist things were still open.

We love Dijon and it is definitely worth a couple of days, and you can also do a day trip to the wine town of Beaune via train (Sat they have a huge market - might want to check if that is open all year round).

We also spent several days in Strasbourg around xmas 2008 and it was great. Lots of German influence, and the xmas markets were wonderful. http://www.noel.strasbourg.eu/ (its in french but maybe use google translate to get the english). It looks like its open until 31 Dec.
Enjoy!

Gretchen

I would spend more than 5 days in Paris personally. The other ideas of doing cities sounds logical--and fun. There are day trips from Paris that you may want to make to extend your stay there--Versailles (no gardens, of course) and even Rheims, for a champagne tour. Depending on how you finally "line out" your touring, I'd like to come back to Paris for a really nice farewell dinner before returning to US.

mamcalice

Most of us who will respond to your post have traveled frequently to Paris and will recommend at least a week in Paris. After 8 trips, I would love to spend all 14 days there, perhaps taking day trips on a few days. In winter, cities are best because of lots of indoor activities and shorter days.

That said, perhaps a trip south to include Lyon, Avignon and Nice would be nice.

MarilinSD

Thank you all so very much. This is excellent information and I am most appreciative. Especially regarding the language barrier. As an American, I have seen how foolishly that "we" are portrayed when visiting Europe, especially when "we" don't know the language. I feel it is important to learn as much French as possible, to make my visit more pleasant and to try and dispell the notion that American's are arrogant and expect Europeans to capitulate for our laziness. I would expect no less from Europeans that visit the United States. Stasbourg, Dijon and Lyon look lovely and we will definitely include them in our trip. Many thanks to you all.