My husband and I would like you help in organizing our trip. We are flying into Montpellier June 3rd 7:40 PM (flown from LA-Paris-Montpellier). We wish to get a car the next day or so and drive and stay in the following areas after Montlellier. We have 3 weeks to explore when we have an apartment in Paris June 28th. Help!
Banyuls-sur-mer
Carsassonne
Touslouse
Biarritz
Bordeaux
Sarlat
La Rochelle
Paris

Hi Curious:

There are tons of threads about this area. Stu Dudley and StCirq especially have written extensively about these areas. Here is a possible routing and some thoughts to get you started...

If you are starting in Montpellier then you are perfectly positioned to drive up through the Aveyron and the Lot to work your way up to the Perigord. Search around for those areas to see what there is to see there-it is a very rich area.

Basically your areas kind of group like this:

Med side:
Banyuls-sur-mer
Carsassonne
Touslouse
Biarritz

Atlantic side:

Bordeaux
La Rochelle
Biarritz

And then Sarlat is in-between.

You can spend a few days exploring the "Med side choices and then drive from Toulouse over to the Atlantic side. Are all these choices mandatory-or are some of them open to change? I ask because they aren't particularly easy to link in one trip. Also, unless you really want to be in Bordeaux, I would stay elsewhere near the beach closer to La Rochelle. Here is an excerpt from a thread I just responded to that gives some info about the area around La Rochelle (I reference the train here but you would be driving":

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...e-to-paris.cfm

"To expand on the idea of the beach, we have a family home in a little village called St. Palais sur Mer and that area of Charentes Maritime is really great in May. Not very well known by US tourists, it has lovely beaches. So you could easily spend a week in that area, stay a few nights at the beach, visit Cognac, and explore the Ile de Re, which is a very fun cool island where the very rich French tend to go in the summer

The last day you could have a lovely seafood lunch at the port at La Rochelle and take the TGV non-stop back to Paris from there. It is 3 hours non-stop."

Here are a few links to look at to give you an idea:

This is a nice converted villa in St. Palais down the street-a really nice place near the beach.

http://www.mamaisondemer.com/home.php

Our favorite seafood place for lunch before the train in La Rochelle. It shows nice photos of La Rochelle:

http://www.les-flots.com/contenu/,les_flots,10?

An aerial view of Ile de Re-great for biclycle rental by the way:

http://tiny.cc/kvpGO

Try and include Nimes into your tour. It's a fatastic city and being near the Spanish border it has a bullring which has concerts etc in addition. The city is only aout 15 miles from the world hertitage site of Pont du Gard www.pontdugard.fr/index.php?langue=GB - 31k a fantatsic roman aquaduct which used to supply the water to the city of Nimes.
There are numerous outdoor cafes and street entertainers.

If you click on my name you'll find a report on a weekend spent in La Rochelle which might be useful for you. I do not think that hotel reservations are essential for La Rochelle.

Well, the places you've chosen are, as mentioned, not terribly easily linked: You'll need to go west, then east, then north, or east, then west, then north. It's just not a natural grouping. I guess I don't understand why you're going to Montpellier to begin this trip.

But since you are, I would drop Banyuls and Bordeaux for starters. Stay in Montpellier for 2-3 days and visit Nîmes (yes, a very nice town, but not particularly "near the Spanish border," and there are bullrings all over Provence; it's nothing special) and Aigues-Mortes (one of the prettiest town squares in all Europe IMO). Go to Bouzique for oysters on the beach. Check out Sète if you want to see a nitty-gritty still-functioning Med fishing village (perhaps the last one in France).

Then head west to Narbonne and Carcassonne and Toulouse. Take 3-4 days for that (Carcassonne only needs half a day), checking out Castelnaudary and Villefranche-de-Lauragais on the way. Don't take the route to Mazamet. See if you can make a detour to Albi while in Toulouse.

Then head to Cahors and into the Périgord. Base yourself in or near Sarlat and spend as much time there as you can. There are innumerable threads on Fodors about what to do and see in this area.

Then head northwest through Angoulème, Cognac, and Saintes to La Rochelle and stay there for a few days. Visit the Ile de Ré while there.

I would drop Baynuls & Bordeaux, like St Cirq mentioned - they really don't fit into a nice efficient itinerary. We were in the Baynuls area the first 2 weeks in June in '04, and it was not really beach weather then. Buynuls is in a corner - if you really want to explore that area, stay in Ceret instead, which will give you better access to the Pyreneese.

I have a 35 page itinerary for the Languedoc region, and another 20 pager for the Dordogne. If you would like them, e-mail me at [email protected] & I'll attach a copy to the reply e-mail.

Stu Dudley

Hi; You have the people advising you that have the most experience in that part of France. Stu has sent me a report, something I would never have the patience to do. But we have been there a few times and driven that area last September. Stay [one night] in Carcassonne, an easy drive from Montpellier. You will be well rewarded. Everyone is different; we have been there twice. Then [four nights] in Toulouse. As St. Cirq suggested, Albi is worth a visit, as is Castres, both an easy drive from Toulouse. If you are then going to Biaritz, It's probably a four hour drive [two nights]. If that's your route, then Bourdeaux is the next logical choice for [three nights]. A full day wine tour from Bourdeaux picks people up in St. Emilion. It was just a quick tour for tourists, but we enjoyed the vineyard and had a lovely lunch. Stay in St. Emilion. Sarlet is then an easy drive from St Emilion. You could spend as much time as you want and still not see everything near Sarlet. [Four nights]. For me, I would skip La Rochelle and if you have not been to the Loire, spend three or four days] there. From Salart to the Loire you would be heading north in the direction of Paris. Get yourself a map and see what a logical route would be for your trip. Enjoy iris1745/dick

Hi C,

If you plot a route through your cities at www.maps.google.com you will see that either Sarlat-la-Caneda or Biarritz don't fit.

I would drop Biarritz for this trip.

What draws you to Bordeaux?

Within three weeks you can do a lot. It will depend on your personal preference, of course. Here some thoughts:

When you are flying into Montpellier, stay a couple of days in the area. Nimes is just a 40-minutes drive from Montpellier and boast IMO the finest Roman ruins outside Rome. And if you are there, add a few minutes to see Pont du Gard.

Aigues-Mortes is even closer to Montpellier. Sete is a nice port town. In the hinterland, St. Guilhem-le-Desert, le Cirque des Navacelles and several caves are attractions.

When you head southwards, Carcassone is a number-one attraction - another completely walled medieval city. The Pyrenees would be a daytrip or a detour. I agree that Ceret is a most charming town and makes a good base to drive up Mont Canigou.

Sorry, I can't tell about Toulouse - I have never made it there.

From Toulouse, I would drive to Biarritz. Explore the Corniche Basque and drive over the border to Donostia. If you are fond of contemporary architecture, you might even do a daytrip to Bilbao (I see you are based in L.A., so it won't be new for you).

The Cote d'Argent between Biarritz and Arcachon is one of the most beautiful coastlines in the world. Highlights are the Courant d'Huchet and the great sand dune of Pilat.

If you are a wine lover, a tour to the grand Chateaux of the Medoc is mandatory. St. Emilion is very different - a cozy small town and small wineries.

From the Bordeaux area, you may drive to Sarlat. It is a historic town, however VERY touristy. Nearby Domme is also a worthy destination. Do not miss at least one of the caves in the area, IMO Pech Merle is the best.

Do not miss Perigieux. The romanesque cathedral is very impressive.

From Sarlat, you may drive directly to Paris. However, if you have at least one day left, make the short detour to the Loire and visit some of the chateaux there.

This will be a most rewarding trip that combines everything: breathtaking scenery, beaches, medieval towns, Roman heritage, culture, museums, food, wine..

Thank you for the suggestions. As an after thought to our outbound flight from LA to Paris we realized we really wanted to start from the south..hence Montpellier. We are using the original list as a first draft. We love to explore and you have the fine references. We wish to be away from tourist hype and don't need fancy hotels either. I am going to e-mail to Stu Dudley for his itinerary. We welcome suggestions for places to stay as well as restaurants. Caves, castles, tiny villages, back roads, and your favorite 'what evers'. We are all about learning what has worked for you and we will synthesize it into our style. For our 30th anniversary in 2005 we spent one week in Paris and then 3 weeks driving and staying in: Rouen, Honfleur, on Mont St. Michel, Amboise (in a chateau), Clermont-Ferrand (1 night), Hyeres (1 week), Paris 2 more days. Fabulous trip. We love adventure and look forward to more of your ideas.