suze

<Should I just get over it already?>

Paris is a HUGE city. I can't imagine that "fashion weeks" effects the entire place! I certainly wouldn't change plans in order to avoid those dates.

PalenQ

Arles or Avignon - do both- Arles is a nicer base maybe because it is a smaller town but Avignon is one of my favorite cities in Europe - base in one but do not neglect the other. The Palace of the Popes is an extraordinary structure --- monumental and worth the trip alone - the famous Bridge d'Avignon is cool too - can walk out on it till it ends midway in the river.

cypresstree

Hi everyone! Thanks again for your helpful responses.

Quick question: If my flight lands in Paris (CDG) at 8:30 am, what would be a good time to book a TGV to the Avignon/Arles area? There is a train at noon out of CDG - would that be enough time? The next train is at 3 pm, and that seems like a LONG time to wait around. Please let me know... I dont have a good sense of how long things probably will take once I arrive in CDG.

BTW, this is the current itinerary I'm working on booking:

Arrive Paris, TGV to Arles
1. Arles for 4 nights (including bus trips to Avignon, Pont du Gard and Uzes, another smaller village)
2. Aix for 4 nights (including bus trip for full day in Cassis)
3. Beaune for 3 nights
4. Lyon, Dijon, or Annecy (still havent decided) for 3 nights
5. Final week in Paris

Thanks again!

StuDudley

I like at least 3 hrs between flight arrival and TGV departure. So your 3 1/2 hrs should be fine.

Traboules in Lyon
https://www.francetoday.com/archives/lyon_s_traboules/

Stu Dudley

cypresstree

Thanks - very helpful as usual! Yeah, Lyon is probably going to happen on this trip.

PalenQ

Itinerary looks sweet.

pempem

I've been living in Paris for a year, and I once did a day trip to Lyon. If you are spending a week in Paris, it's worth it to check out another place instead of Lyon. Lyon is great, but it's just another city that is similar to Paris. What they are known for are ancient Roman ruins and cuisine, and you'll find ruins in Arles/Provence and cuisine all over France.

If you are craving nature, then I would go for somewhere like Annecy (haven't been but I heard it's beautiful) which has an alpine vibe, and it might be a nice respite before Paris.

Dijon is also in Burgundy (haven't been, but I've been to Beaune and I love it there) so you'll be just seeing another Burgundian town.

Let us know what you decide!

frenchaucoeur

FWIW, I'd go for Annecy for your three TBD days. As others have said, you can easily visit Dijon from Beaune if you like. And Lyon is a city, even if all cities are different. But Annecy is like nothing else on your itinerary, and it's incredibly beautiful. Yes, it's touristy--but you're a tourist, and pretty much all the places most of us go are touristy. The old town is small, but you can get to many other places, from Chamonix to Aix-les-Bains, by public transportation if you like, or just visit some of the small local villages or the Semnoz plateau.

It just seems a shame to miss such a glorious place when you'll be so close!

StuDudley

>>you can get to many other places, from Chamonix to Aix-les-Bains, by public transportation if you like, or just visit some of the small local villages or the Semnoz plateau.<<

Yes - but if the weather is bad in late Sept/early Oct, there isn't much to do in Annecy or surrounds. The OP is only going to be there for 2 1/2 days, and travel to Chamonix, Aix les Bains, & Chambery is time consuming. We were in the Chamonix area a month ago - and it was quite cold & even showed a bit. I would only visit Annecy if I had a car & could explore the Alps by car.

I would stick with Lyon, or keep flexible and only go to Annecy if the weather is good, when you leave your prior destination.

Stu Dudley

PalenQ

Weather in the Alps can be very very fickle - can change suddenly and poor weather can set in for long periods at times - keep schedule in flux if doing Alpine areas at that time of year.

cypresstree

Dear friends,

Thanks again for all your help... Ive taken all your advice into consideration. I've gone ahead and reserved all my airbnbs and my trains - here is what my schedule looks like:

Arrive in Paris, take TGV to Avignon from airport

Avignon for 6 nights: with bus trips to Arles, Pont du Gard, Uzes, L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue

Aix for 3 nights: with bus trip to Cassis

Beaune for 3 nights (including Saturday market day)

Lyon for 2 nights

Paris for final week (with possible side trip to Reims?), fly home from CDG

Merci encore!

PalenQ

with bus trips to Arles,>

Take the train from the center of Avignon - 20 minutes and dirt cheap and frequent -the rest are only by bus

PalenQ

A great day trip from Avignon goes to St-Remy-de-Provence and neighboring Les Baux - the Dead City up top - ruins of a medieval hill top fortress.

St-Remy is a sweet smaller town but the attraction for me was the mental hospital where van Gogh committed himself after slicing off his ear in Arles - he was given free reign of the area and put many local bucolic scenes around the asylum on canvas - copies of them have been set up where he executed them. Buses from Avignon to both.

Chartres is another smashing day trip from Paris -not only for the great Gothic cathedral - a template for many other Gothic churches but for the sweet regional town it is - about an hour by train from Paris. Check on Malcolm Miller's spellbinding tours thru the cathedral - a classic.

PalenQ

https://www.google.com/search?q=les+...HYCmD88QsAQIGw

Les Baux!

HappyTrvlr

I imagine rhe poster's comments about Fashion Week is referring to limited and higher priced accommodations. We had to change the dates of our visits to Paris and Milan because of Fashion Weeks.