2 Weeks + in France

Old Jul 12th, 2006, 03:18 PM
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2 Weeks + in France

With help from the forum members, I think my trip to France is coming together a little at a time (previous post "2 weeks in France"). Thank you all so much for your suggestions.

The plan as it stands now is to spend a few days in Burgundy then drive to Normandy and end in Paris (5 nights) in order to ship the car to the US. We will fly back to Los Angeles on Sept. 18th.

We are picking up the car we purchased in Germany on Sept 1st, and driving to France the same day. I am not sure what time we will get out of Munich, so I don’t know if we will make it to Dijon or have to stay somewhere along the way. Suggestions?

The length of our trip has been increased to 2.5 weeks from 2. We will have 11 days for the Burgundy/Normandy segment of the trip. But now I am a little concerned that this is too much time. Am I crazy?

Is there some place we should see between Burgundy and Normandy? What are the "must sees" for Burgundy and surrounding area?

Your help and suggestions are always appreciated. Your Paris hotel recommendations were most helpful.

Sue
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Old Jul 12th, 2006, 06:37 PM
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You might restate here what your likes/dislikes are..history, architecture, small villages, museums, nature?
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Old Jul 12th, 2006, 08:32 PM
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With that extra time you will have a very nice period to explore Burgundy and Normandy; you might fit the Loire Valley (to see a few châteaux and then dip into Brittany for several days. I think that would all make for a fine trip.

If you're interested, send me a message at [email protected] and I can send you my two articles on Burgundy and three on Brittany.
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Old Jul 13th, 2006, 06:42 AM
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Go to alsace for a few days or as Underhill said visit the loire valley. Alsace has a lot of cute towns and you could really see alot of it in 2-3 days.
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Old Jul 13th, 2006, 06:50 AM
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klondike,

I love traveling and I am interested in everything: small villages, food, history, architecture, food, museums, cities, castels, food. Whatever there is to see or do in an area, I am interested in it.

My husband is very interested in history and wants to see the WWII sites. I know he will find plenty of those in Normandy.
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Old Jul 13th, 2006, 10:51 PM
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If you do go to Normandy-- one of the funner things we did for variety (you can only take so much WWII day after day) was stopped at Le Domaine St. Hippolyte right outside of Lisieux. It is a working farm/dairy cooperative that gives tours to the public. Wonderful walk through the fields, across the bridge which crosses the bubbling brook, to observe the dairy cows, work horses etc before visiting the cider press buidling and the cheese-making factory. If you arrive early or stay late, you can watch milking take place too. There is a small chateau which is not visited, but can be rented out for a marriage or special occasion. They, of course, sell food items but of excellent quality. Their crème de Calvados is worth the trip alone!
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Old Jul 14th, 2006, 04:17 AM
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Hi sg,

> I am not sure what time we will get out of Munich, so I don’t know if we will make it to Dijon ...<

It is about 6:30 hr from Munich to Dijon via the autoroutes.

I suggest stopping off at Lake Constance. Lindau is a pretty town.

You can then drive to Dijon on the scenic roads through Germany ia Titisee, avoiding Switzerland and the 35E road tax sticker, before picking up the autoroute near Mulhouse.

Enjoy your visit.

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Old Jul 14th, 2006, 07:28 AM
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Decisions, decisions, decisions. So many places, so little time.

Alsace was in my first draft, but got lost somewhere along the way. I will revisit that idea. The Loire Valley also sounds wonderful--Brittany too.

6.5 hours to Dijon: So, there is a strong possibility that we won't get to Dijon the first day. Stopping along the way with a leisurly drive the next day sounds like a better plan than racing to Dijon.

Thanks everyone.

.
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Old Jul 14th, 2006, 08:09 AM
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Ok - i'm extremely jealous!

Please check out this wonderful little restaurant in Paris Au Petit Tonneau. Small and charming - wonderful fresh food. Tarte Tatin was amazing!
 
Old Jul 14th, 2006, 08:37 AM
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Will we have a difficult time finding hotel rooms in Burgundy, Normandy, etc. without reservations.

Paris was quite difficult, will the rest of France be the same?
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Old Jul 14th, 2006, 08:43 AM
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I would rather have some reservations rather than using vacation time to hunt for a hotel. September is a sort of "high season" for Paris with the beginning of the fashion shows. You may or may not have trouble elsewhere but with the internet it is so easy to find places--and be near good things rather than out on the edge of time.
If you want a squeaky clean, spacious room/bath and CHEAP in Bayeux, try the Hotel Bayeux. Secure car park. Five minutes from the Cathedral and the Tapestry.
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Old Jul 14th, 2006, 08:48 AM
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That would be "out on the edge of TOWN". Geez!!! I seem to be in the former!!
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Old Jul 14th, 2006, 10:10 AM
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I know it is always best to have reservations, but I am not sure where we will be and when. I would like to make unscheduled stops, and the freedon to stay some place, if I am enjoying it, or move on if not.

Does it sound reasonable to bring some phone numbers with me or use a guide book and call a few hours or a day ahead?
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Old Jul 14th, 2006, 10:20 AM
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We have done that--and gotten "caught" with no place to stay. The regions you are visiting are easy to stay in a central town and make day trips--even long ones. If you get a good map--Michelin--and plot your approximate route with what you want to see it should be comparatively easy to decide on towns.
For example if you drive from Burgundy to Normandy, you might want to go to Rouen for a night, stopping at Giverney for a tour there. Then on to Normandy, staying in Bayeux. Coming back to Paris you might want to stop in Chartres before the short trip into Paris.
Or as someone else said, stop in the Loire en route to Bayeux, for example.
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Old Jul 15th, 2006, 07:59 AM
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My husband is really the one who wants to leave (all) our options open. That's because we have done it so successfully in other countries, and had such fun doing it. I know it makes sense to reserve at least some rooms, but that means that we must be in those places on those days. There is no flexibility and no spontanatity. Since we haven't been to any of these places, we don't know how long we might want to stay. On the other hand, I don't want to sleep in the car. I will try to talk him into getting some reservations.

Gretchen, What did you do when you couldn't find a hotel room?
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Old Jul 15th, 2006, 10:34 AM
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Well, I did overstate, but it was not ideal circumstances. And it was a LONG time ago--and we had our 3 children with us. However, at that time you could go tothe train station/tourist office and they could get you a room. The tourist office option may still be extant.
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Old Jul 15th, 2006, 01:14 PM
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Tourist offices are helpful in finding people rooms like Gretchen says, so that's where I'd go to get one.
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Old Jul 15th, 2006, 01:41 PM
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WE have found the tourist offices in France very helpful in finding rooms, sometimes, free, sometimes for a small fee. You just walk in, tell them what you want [type of room, no. of nights] and they will have a list of vacancies and prices. then they maks a 'phone call, and you go round to inspect/book in. I've never had to turn a suggestion dowm - operhaps they are very good at matching customer to room.
The only time they wouldn't help was in Versailles, when the french transport strike was on, and every bed in the palce was full. Foruntately we had a paris area hotel list with us, so as we were determined to do a day in Paris the next day, we phoned ahead to St. Germain en laye [knowing that the RER goes from there] and found rooms there. Twice what we wanted to pay, but for one night it was worth it. Our daughter, unused to this cavalier way of going about things, was most relieved. The nect day, we did our day trip [free as there was no-one to coeect our money for tickets] and walked/used the boats to get round Paris. The only snag came when we wnated to return to St. Germain, where our car was, and the first entrance to the metro was closed! foruntately, the next one wasn't so we got "home" ok.
The moral of this rather rambling tale, is that if you are travelling on spec, you need to have a Plan B [or even Plan C] and access to some alternatives - eg a Michelin REd guide. But in september,with just two of you, you may not get in at your first choice, but in the unlikely event that it is full, you should be ok at the next place up the line.
Whilst I agree with Gretchen that you can waste a lot of time looking for accommodation, it has rarely taken us more than 30 minutes to get sorted [having done our homework about location, prices, etc., ] and we have found some real gems. Our rule is that the shorter the trip, the more we book ahead; with 2 1/2 weeks, i wouldn't bother, except for Paris, when I would book in advance as you could spend a lot of time not finding somewhere you liked.
Finally [and apologies for the length of this posting] I second the Rouen /Giverny suggestion. we loved Rouen.
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Old Jul 15th, 2006, 01:44 PM
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We went to someplace similar when driving in Italy. I don't think it was called a tourist office, but they would locate a room based on what one wished to pay and any other requirements. We stayed in some ordinary but adequate rooms, but also in some wonderfully charming places--a office building in Florence (one floor was a hotel) , a private residence in Sienna, etc. It was a real adventure and lots of fun.

Thanks.
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Old Jul 16th, 2006, 12:12 AM
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I think you should reserve in Normandy, and on the beaten trail in Burgundy, on weekends in September. It's a favorite short-getaway time for French people and September also brings many older non-French vacationers, those without school-age children.
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