3 weeks trip to France - Reporting
Jul 2nd, 2005 | 11:53 AM
#1
Original Poster
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 165
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3 weeks trip to France - Reporting
After 22 days of being away from home, 3600km of driving going from a low of 10C in Paris to a high of 37C in Avignon, we’re back tired but full of memories from an amazing trip. All the months of planning using this site (and other Internet resources) we made it there and back in one piece without any surprises. Good planning is really the key to a successful trip. We documented our experiences to help others in planning their trip to France.
As indicated in our previous posting (3 weeks trip to France) here’s a summary of our trip:
Paris 2 nights
Bayeux 3
Amboise 4
Carcassonne 2
Barcelona, 3
Arles, 3
Nice, 3
Paris/CDG, 1
PARIS:
Arriving early on Saturday morning the weather was cold and miserable. We stayed in the Hotel Sévigné in Le Marais district, the perfect location to start a visit to the City of Lights. The service at this hotel was excellent and the room as expected was cosy, but par for the course for a two star European hotel. As is the case with many of the older hotels, the elevator was snug with only enough room for one person and a suitcase, or two people and no suitcases. The winding spiral staircase is difficult to manoeuvre especially if you have large suitcases. Note that there are a few stairs to climb before reaching the elevator, requiring carrying your own luggage. Rates are reasonable for a two star hotel in Le Marais and breakfast at 6,40€ per person is a good option. Public transportation is across the street and is the best option to get around Paris. Don’t bother using a car in Paris since the traffic is chaotic. For a good Italian restaurant in the Marais district try Caruso, 3 rue de Turenne and for excellent bread and pastries try Miss Manon 87 rue Saint-Antoine.
Having visited Paris before on a few occasions, we skipped sight-seeing and instead spent time with friends. We did, however, visit Versailles, but since the weather was horrific with strong gusts of wind, the experience was somewhat dampened. Nevertheless, it’s worth doing. The best way to get to Versailles is to take the RER train “ligne C” – direction: Versailles/Rive-Gauche. At 2.60€ per person one way, it’s the best deal going.
BAYEUX:
This little down located in Normandie/Calvados area, is perfect for visiting the D-Day beaches (very popular) and Mont Saint-Michel. After reading all the reviews of other travellers, we stayed at the Hotel d’Argouges (two stars), a beautiful hotel facing the pretty Place St-Patrice.
The room (number 22) located in the front annex of the hotel was spacious with a well-appointed bathroom. Parking is on site and a bargain by European standards at only 2€ per day. Although there is no restaurant located in the hotel, breakfast is available served in a room that is reminiscent of turn of the century France. Overall, a very visually pleasing experience. For food try Taverne des Ducs, 41-43 place Saint-Patrice
Bayeux is exactly what one imagines a little French town looks like: narrow streets, friendly people and motorcycles/scooters everywhere. The tapestry of Bayeux is definitely a “must-see” as is the cathedral.
The drive to the D-Day beaches is short drive from Bayeux using country roads. As Canadians we first visited Juno Beach in Courseulles-sur-mer, which was a very moving and emotional experience. The museum located in a brand new building contained an extensive collection of memorabilia from the war era, depicting life during World War II. Outside the main building there are also the names of fallen Canadian soldiers engraved on plaques, next to a beautiful monument symbolizing soldiers. Located on the site is a granite stone “in tribute to the soldiers (Mike Green and Mike Red) of the Canadian Infantry Royal Winnipeg Rifles and Canadian Scottish who suffered casualties on the beaches of Graye-sur-mer.”
Moving on to Arromanches we visited the Musée du débarquement but most impressive and memorable were the remnants of the portable ports jutting out of the sea that were used by the Allied forces during the Normandie landing. Our next stop, Omaha Beach in Colleville-sur-Mer took us to the Normandy American Cementary, which we found to be a very moving experience. Row upon row of white marble crosses and star-of-David inscribed with the names of the soldiers who gave their lives for the liberation of Europe. People visiting this area should visit the two small monuments located on top of a cliff in memory of the U.S. 1st Division and 5th Engineer Special brigade. We happened to be present when two young men deposited a wreath at the U.S. 1st division monument, one wearing a tee shirt, mentioning a city in Iraq. He was probably a member of the same regiment that is fighting in Iraq now and participated in landing in 1944. What an amazing and moving experience!
On the following day we took the 1½ hour drive to Mont St-Michel. This is quite a unique site to see an enormous abbey located on top of a huge rock island, sitting in the middle of a vast bay. You park your car hoping that the tide won’t wash it away while you visit the site (only joking, since it’s quite safe). As an aside this is one of the strongest, highest and fast-moving tides in Europe. Make sure to park in a safe area near the causeway. At low tide the area is used by local sheep as a grazing ground and it’s not unusual for them to cross the road and block traffic to get from one side to the other, quite an entertaining experience. Be prepared on Mont St-Michel to climb…and climb…and climb some more until to reach the top but you are rewarded with a spectacular view of the bay, and the beautiful abbey and small garden at the top.
AMBOISE:
Located in the Loire Valley the town is ideally located for touring this amazing part of France. This time we stayed in the Novotel Amboise located outside of town (in the middle of nowhere) and very difficult for touring without a car. This hotel is as close as to a North American style (i.e. Holiday Inn) hotel. Parking is included in the rate and the temperature was warm enough to use their nice sized pool. It has a restaurant on the premises but breakfast at 11,50€ is no bargain. A better option is to seek out a local café and have a nice French breakfast – which we did. As an example, one morning on our way to Chateau du Chambord we ended up in the small village of Saint-Dyé-sur-Loire and fell upon Manoir Bel-Air. A find in the true sense of the word! This hotel/restaurant located in the middle of nowhere, is a gem. We were led to a table in a large and elegant dining room overlooking the Loire River and served one of the best breakfasts, with first-class service. All of this for a mere 7€ per person, TTC and service included. For food in Amboise try Restaurant La Florentine 50, place Michel debré.
After visiting seven Chateau we became “Chateau-ed-out” and blasé: Amboise, Chenoncau, Azay-le-Rideau, Villandry, Chambord, Cheverny, Chaumont. Our favourites were Chenoncau and Villandry and its gardens. The garden at Villandry is a “must-see” with individual sections devoted to flowers, fruits, herbs, a maze, walls and walls of roses, vegetables, laid out in visual splendour. A car is a necessity for visiting this region of France since each town is located in areas where public transportation is scarce. Even though we took in these seven Chateaux, there are dozens of others worth exploring but it’s an impossibility to see them all. For example we didn’t take in Blois, Clos-Lucé, Fougères-sur-Bièvre, Chinon, etc. Not being wine connoisseurs we didn’t spend time visiting the numerous caveaux offering wine-tasting of the local vin de touraine. We did, however, do our own wine tasting at supper time. Be advised that it’s much cheaper (and better) to have a glass of wine with a meal than a bottle of Coke. The drive on small country roads brings you to the heart of France with quaint small villages and acre upon acres of vines growing in the sun. The French country-side is truly a visual treat for the eyes.
CARCASSONNE:
Arriving in Carcassonne after driving 600Km we were greeted by a torrential downpour and chilly temps. We stayed at the Mercure Porte de la Cité, a three star hotel two minutes away from the walled Old City, La Cité, which is a medieval castle and fortressed city definitely worth a visit. The hotel is quite nice with parking included in the rate. As seniors we received an unexpected but pleasant surprise of a 6% rate reduction and a two-for-one breakfast (the regular rate of a full buffet breakfast is 11&euro
. We could see the walled city from our room lit up at night, quite an impressive sight. Since the weather was miserable we used the time to find a launderette and catch up on our washing. There are some good restaurants in town; the café du Dome, 35 rue des Trois Couronnes serves an excellent home-made cassoulet or you can also use the Casino Cafeteria serving a wide variety of food choices at a reasonable cost. You could try also Pizzeria la Divine Comédie, 29 blvd Jean-Jaures.
In as far as gifts are concerned there are numerous souvenir shops, boutiques and restaurants within the old walled city.
More to come…
As indicated in our previous posting (3 weeks trip to France) here’s a summary of our trip:
Paris 2 nights
Bayeux 3
Amboise 4
Carcassonne 2
Barcelona, 3
Arles, 3
Nice, 3
Paris/CDG, 1
PARIS:
Arriving early on Saturday morning the weather was cold and miserable. We stayed in the Hotel Sévigné in Le Marais district, the perfect location to start a visit to the City of Lights. The service at this hotel was excellent and the room as expected was cosy, but par for the course for a two star European hotel. As is the case with many of the older hotels, the elevator was snug with only enough room for one person and a suitcase, or two people and no suitcases. The winding spiral staircase is difficult to manoeuvre especially if you have large suitcases. Note that there are a few stairs to climb before reaching the elevator, requiring carrying your own luggage. Rates are reasonable for a two star hotel in Le Marais and breakfast at 6,40€ per person is a good option. Public transportation is across the street and is the best option to get around Paris. Don’t bother using a car in Paris since the traffic is chaotic. For a good Italian restaurant in the Marais district try Caruso, 3 rue de Turenne and for excellent bread and pastries try Miss Manon 87 rue Saint-Antoine.
Having visited Paris before on a few occasions, we skipped sight-seeing and instead spent time with friends. We did, however, visit Versailles, but since the weather was horrific with strong gusts of wind, the experience was somewhat dampened. Nevertheless, it’s worth doing. The best way to get to Versailles is to take the RER train “ligne C” – direction: Versailles/Rive-Gauche. At 2.60€ per person one way, it’s the best deal going.
BAYEUX:
This little down located in Normandie/Calvados area, is perfect for visiting the D-Day beaches (very popular) and Mont Saint-Michel. After reading all the reviews of other travellers, we stayed at the Hotel d’Argouges (two stars), a beautiful hotel facing the pretty Place St-Patrice.
The room (number 22) located in the front annex of the hotel was spacious with a well-appointed bathroom. Parking is on site and a bargain by European standards at only 2€ per day. Although there is no restaurant located in the hotel, breakfast is available served in a room that is reminiscent of turn of the century France. Overall, a very visually pleasing experience. For food try Taverne des Ducs, 41-43 place Saint-Patrice
Bayeux is exactly what one imagines a little French town looks like: narrow streets, friendly people and motorcycles/scooters everywhere. The tapestry of Bayeux is definitely a “must-see” as is the cathedral.
The drive to the D-Day beaches is short drive from Bayeux using country roads. As Canadians we first visited Juno Beach in Courseulles-sur-mer, which was a very moving and emotional experience. The museum located in a brand new building contained an extensive collection of memorabilia from the war era, depicting life during World War II. Outside the main building there are also the names of fallen Canadian soldiers engraved on plaques, next to a beautiful monument symbolizing soldiers. Located on the site is a granite stone “in tribute to the soldiers (Mike Green and Mike Red) of the Canadian Infantry Royal Winnipeg Rifles and Canadian Scottish who suffered casualties on the beaches of Graye-sur-mer.”
Moving on to Arromanches we visited the Musée du débarquement but most impressive and memorable were the remnants of the portable ports jutting out of the sea that were used by the Allied forces during the Normandie landing. Our next stop, Omaha Beach in Colleville-sur-Mer took us to the Normandy American Cementary, which we found to be a very moving experience. Row upon row of white marble crosses and star-of-David inscribed with the names of the soldiers who gave their lives for the liberation of Europe. People visiting this area should visit the two small monuments located on top of a cliff in memory of the U.S. 1st Division and 5th Engineer Special brigade. We happened to be present when two young men deposited a wreath at the U.S. 1st division monument, one wearing a tee shirt, mentioning a city in Iraq. He was probably a member of the same regiment that is fighting in Iraq now and participated in landing in 1944. What an amazing and moving experience!
On the following day we took the 1½ hour drive to Mont St-Michel. This is quite a unique site to see an enormous abbey located on top of a huge rock island, sitting in the middle of a vast bay. You park your car hoping that the tide won’t wash it away while you visit the site (only joking, since it’s quite safe). As an aside this is one of the strongest, highest and fast-moving tides in Europe. Make sure to park in a safe area near the causeway. At low tide the area is used by local sheep as a grazing ground and it’s not unusual for them to cross the road and block traffic to get from one side to the other, quite an entertaining experience. Be prepared on Mont St-Michel to climb…and climb…and climb some more until to reach the top but you are rewarded with a spectacular view of the bay, and the beautiful abbey and small garden at the top.
AMBOISE:
Located in the Loire Valley the town is ideally located for touring this amazing part of France. This time we stayed in the Novotel Amboise located outside of town (in the middle of nowhere) and very difficult for touring without a car. This hotel is as close as to a North American style (i.e. Holiday Inn) hotel. Parking is included in the rate and the temperature was warm enough to use their nice sized pool. It has a restaurant on the premises but breakfast at 11,50€ is no bargain. A better option is to seek out a local café and have a nice French breakfast – which we did. As an example, one morning on our way to Chateau du Chambord we ended up in the small village of Saint-Dyé-sur-Loire and fell upon Manoir Bel-Air. A find in the true sense of the word! This hotel/restaurant located in the middle of nowhere, is a gem. We were led to a table in a large and elegant dining room overlooking the Loire River and served one of the best breakfasts, with first-class service. All of this for a mere 7€ per person, TTC and service included. For food in Amboise try Restaurant La Florentine 50, place Michel debré.
After visiting seven Chateau we became “Chateau-ed-out” and blasé: Amboise, Chenoncau, Azay-le-Rideau, Villandry, Chambord, Cheverny, Chaumont. Our favourites were Chenoncau and Villandry and its gardens. The garden at Villandry is a “must-see” with individual sections devoted to flowers, fruits, herbs, a maze, walls and walls of roses, vegetables, laid out in visual splendour. A car is a necessity for visiting this region of France since each town is located in areas where public transportation is scarce. Even though we took in these seven Chateaux, there are dozens of others worth exploring but it’s an impossibility to see them all. For example we didn’t take in Blois, Clos-Lucé, Fougères-sur-Bièvre, Chinon, etc. Not being wine connoisseurs we didn’t spend time visiting the numerous caveaux offering wine-tasting of the local vin de touraine. We did, however, do our own wine tasting at supper time. Be advised that it’s much cheaper (and better) to have a glass of wine with a meal than a bottle of Coke. The drive on small country roads brings you to the heart of France with quaint small villages and acre upon acres of vines growing in the sun. The French country-side is truly a visual treat for the eyes.
CARCASSONNE:
Arriving in Carcassonne after driving 600Km we were greeted by a torrential downpour and chilly temps. We stayed at the Mercure Porte de la Cité, a three star hotel two minutes away from the walled Old City, La Cité, which is a medieval castle and fortressed city definitely worth a visit. The hotel is quite nice with parking included in the rate. As seniors we received an unexpected but pleasant surprise of a 6% rate reduction and a two-for-one breakfast (the regular rate of a full buffet breakfast is 11&euro
. We could see the walled city from our room lit up at night, quite an impressive sight. Since the weather was miserable we used the time to find a launderette and catch up on our washing. There are some good restaurants in town; the café du Dome, 35 rue des Trois Couronnes serves an excellent home-made cassoulet or you can also use the Casino Cafeteria serving a wide variety of food choices at a reasonable cost. You could try also Pizzeria la Divine Comédie, 29 blvd Jean-Jaures.In as far as gifts are concerned there are numerous souvenir shops, boutiques and restaurants within the old walled city.
More to come…
Jul 5th, 2005 | 12:32 PM
#3
Original Poster
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 165
Likes: 0
PART 2
A word of caution regarding reaching the Mercure Hotel in Carcassonne by car. The roads near the old city are very narrow and very difficult to manoeuvre.
On our way to Barcelona…
The easiest way to travel by car from Carcassonne to Barcelona is to go east on highway A-61 ‘til Narbonne, then south on A-9 and AP-7 on the Spanish side. We decided to take a side-trip to Banyuls-sur-mer on the coast (south of Perpignan take highway N-114 that turns into N-260 on the Spanish side). Banyuls is a small, beautiful resort and the scenery is spectacular. This road is very narrow and winding and care should be taken while driving. The road is twisting with very few straight stretches of flat road. It’s a good test of driving ability. On the Spanish side to the little village of Colera the road becomes even narrower and more twisted for the next 25km. We were lucky not to have encountered a truck or bus coming along in the opposite direction since the road would never have been adequate to accommodate both vehicles. Over all it’s a million dollar view of the mountains and the sea and well worth trying.
BARCELONA
Entering Barcelona one is struck by the wideness of the avenues and streets and all the hustle-bustle of this booming city, a very impressive city overall. In our eyes it’s even nicer than Madrid. Following Maribel’s guide we booked our stay at the Astoria Hotel (three stars) located off avenue Diagonal in the Eixample district. Located in an ideal part of Barcelona and accessible to all the stores, transportation, restaurant and sightseeing, the interior of the hotel is decorated in the Art-deco mode with sculptures and furniture representative of that era. Our room was nicely decorated with black and white floor tile and a nice sized bathroom. The buffet breakfast at 12€ is over-priced and you’d be better off seeking out the small cafés around the area. We used Bar Paris Cafeteria down the street, which was very popular with the locals. Note that parking is very expensive and since we didn’t need the car for our three day stay opting instead to use public transportation or walk, we parked at a garage recommended by the hotel (located very near by) and left it there at a cost of 20€ plus 7% tax/per day.
In order to get a sense of the city we opted to use the Bus Touristic on the first day, which gave us an overview of all the main tourist attractions. At 17€ per person, per day, it’s the best bargain in town. You can get on and off whenever and wherever you want and then continue your journey without having to pay again. There are three different routes available: the blue one that takes you to the southern part of Barcelona, Montjuic and the port, the red route goes to the northern part of town. There is the shorter green route that we didn’t use. The blue and the red routes take a minimum of two hours per trip, each, excluding visiting the various sites along the way. For example the stop at the Sagrada Familia, the unfinished cathedral, might prove to be a lengthy stop since this controversial project that started 100 years ago still has an estimated 30 years to completion.
On day two we walked from the hotel down to Diagonal, right on Passeig de Gracia, to see Casa Batllo (the Gaudi House) and La Pedreda, another amazing building. Walking all the way down to the Plaça de Catalunya and on to the (in)famous, La Rambla, we strolled along this street packed with people, con games and mimes – quite an atmosphere. At the bottom of the Rambla we reached the Columbus Tower and proceeded to the old part of town, Barri Gotic district, with its beautiful but narrow streets full of small boutiques and restaurants. Worth seeing is this sector is the cathedral on the Plaça de la Seu.
Barcelona has lots of good restaurants and excellent shopping with all the major designer names. We ate well at the Trobador Restaurant at 122 Enric Granados (off Diagonal). Note that most of the street and publics signs and restaurants are written in Catalan, Spanish and occasional English.
ARLES
Sometimes you come across a find that makes all the travelling worthwhile. This time we stayed at the Calendal Hotel located across the road from the Roman Arena (Amphitheatre), which is worth exploring in its own right. Our room with its own terrace was decorated in the French style of yellow and blue, and overlooked a beautiful garden where breakfast is served daily in a terraced garden decorated with beautiful flowers, palm trees and small tables covered with real linen tablecloths. The perfect way to start a day. Parking is available at 7€ per day at the municipal parking down the hill from the hotel.
The city of Arles itself is located on a hill overlooking the Rhone River. It’s picturesque and right out of a postcard with an abundance of restaurants and boutiques. Try Lou Caleu Restaurant on rue Porte de Laure and Le Pistou on Ront-Point des Arènes for a delicious meal. Pass on Au Brin de Thym on rue du Dr. Fantom, where service is offered with “an attitude.” The city of Arles is the perfect place to start a visit to the Provence region of France.
We visited the famous city of Avignon where the well-known Pont d’Avignon is situated, and don’t miss the Palais de Papes. At the time of our visit the temperature rose to 37C, not exactly the ideal temperature to go sightseeing. On a side trip we drove by St. Rémy- de-Provence during their annual summer art display where local artists display their work and visitors have the opportunity to get some original paintings and sculptures. Bargaining here is part of the experience so take advantage for the best deals. The entire village is turned into an art gallery. Nearby don’t miss Les Baux-de-Provence with its impressive cliffs and Castle ruins. A visit to the Pont du Gard where a 2,000 year old Roman aquaduct is still standing and is quite an impressive sight and worthy of a visit.
More to come...
A word of caution regarding reaching the Mercure Hotel in Carcassonne by car. The roads near the old city are very narrow and very difficult to manoeuvre.
On our way to Barcelona…
The easiest way to travel by car from Carcassonne to Barcelona is to go east on highway A-61 ‘til Narbonne, then south on A-9 and AP-7 on the Spanish side. We decided to take a side-trip to Banyuls-sur-mer on the coast (south of Perpignan take highway N-114 that turns into N-260 on the Spanish side). Banyuls is a small, beautiful resort and the scenery is spectacular. This road is very narrow and winding and care should be taken while driving. The road is twisting with very few straight stretches of flat road. It’s a good test of driving ability. On the Spanish side to the little village of Colera the road becomes even narrower and more twisted for the next 25km. We were lucky not to have encountered a truck or bus coming along in the opposite direction since the road would never have been adequate to accommodate both vehicles. Over all it’s a million dollar view of the mountains and the sea and well worth trying.
BARCELONA
Entering Barcelona one is struck by the wideness of the avenues and streets and all the hustle-bustle of this booming city, a very impressive city overall. In our eyes it’s even nicer than Madrid. Following Maribel’s guide we booked our stay at the Astoria Hotel (three stars) located off avenue Diagonal in the Eixample district. Located in an ideal part of Barcelona and accessible to all the stores, transportation, restaurant and sightseeing, the interior of the hotel is decorated in the Art-deco mode with sculptures and furniture representative of that era. Our room was nicely decorated with black and white floor tile and a nice sized bathroom. The buffet breakfast at 12€ is over-priced and you’d be better off seeking out the small cafés around the area. We used Bar Paris Cafeteria down the street, which was very popular with the locals. Note that parking is very expensive and since we didn’t need the car for our three day stay opting instead to use public transportation or walk, we parked at a garage recommended by the hotel (located very near by) and left it there at a cost of 20€ plus 7% tax/per day.
In order to get a sense of the city we opted to use the Bus Touristic on the first day, which gave us an overview of all the main tourist attractions. At 17€ per person, per day, it’s the best bargain in town. You can get on and off whenever and wherever you want and then continue your journey without having to pay again. There are three different routes available: the blue one that takes you to the southern part of Barcelona, Montjuic and the port, the red route goes to the northern part of town. There is the shorter green route that we didn’t use. The blue and the red routes take a minimum of two hours per trip, each, excluding visiting the various sites along the way. For example the stop at the Sagrada Familia, the unfinished cathedral, might prove to be a lengthy stop since this controversial project that started 100 years ago still has an estimated 30 years to completion.
On day two we walked from the hotel down to Diagonal, right on Passeig de Gracia, to see Casa Batllo (the Gaudi House) and La Pedreda, another amazing building. Walking all the way down to the Plaça de Catalunya and on to the (in)famous, La Rambla, we strolled along this street packed with people, con games and mimes – quite an atmosphere. At the bottom of the Rambla we reached the Columbus Tower and proceeded to the old part of town, Barri Gotic district, with its beautiful but narrow streets full of small boutiques and restaurants. Worth seeing is this sector is the cathedral on the Plaça de la Seu.
Barcelona has lots of good restaurants and excellent shopping with all the major designer names. We ate well at the Trobador Restaurant at 122 Enric Granados (off Diagonal). Note that most of the street and publics signs and restaurants are written in Catalan, Spanish and occasional English.
ARLES
Sometimes you come across a find that makes all the travelling worthwhile. This time we stayed at the Calendal Hotel located across the road from the Roman Arena (Amphitheatre), which is worth exploring in its own right. Our room with its own terrace was decorated in the French style of yellow and blue, and overlooked a beautiful garden where breakfast is served daily in a terraced garden decorated with beautiful flowers, palm trees and small tables covered with real linen tablecloths. The perfect way to start a day. Parking is available at 7€ per day at the municipal parking down the hill from the hotel.
The city of Arles itself is located on a hill overlooking the Rhone River. It’s picturesque and right out of a postcard with an abundance of restaurants and boutiques. Try Lou Caleu Restaurant on rue Porte de Laure and Le Pistou on Ront-Point des Arènes for a delicious meal. Pass on Au Brin de Thym on rue du Dr. Fantom, where service is offered with “an attitude.” The city of Arles is the perfect place to start a visit to the Provence region of France.
We visited the famous city of Avignon where the well-known Pont d’Avignon is situated, and don’t miss the Palais de Papes. At the time of our visit the temperature rose to 37C, not exactly the ideal temperature to go sightseeing. On a side trip we drove by St. Rémy- de-Provence during their annual summer art display where local artists display their work and visitors have the opportunity to get some original paintings and sculptures. Bargaining here is part of the experience so take advantage for the best deals. The entire village is turned into an art gallery. Nearby don’t miss Les Baux-de-Provence with its impressive cliffs and Castle ruins. A visit to the Pont du Gard where a 2,000 year old Roman aquaduct is still standing and is quite an impressive sight and worthy of a visit.
More to come...
Jul 5th, 2005 | 01:11 PM
#4
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 1,401
Likes: 0
Jet,
Enjoying your trip reports. Glad to hear you enjoyed staying in the Marais...so did we! However, we went to MISS MANON bakery too and encountered a rude girl working there. So we decided to go elsewhere and discovered the greatest little patisserie/boulangerie on rue des BLANCS MANTEAUX in the Marais. Great pastries, croissants, coffee and excellent sandwiches (loved their duck rilletes sandwich...yum!). I think we have a photo taken in this bakery because they wrapped up one of the pastries so beautifully -- in a pyramid shape...vive la France!)
Wow! You really did go all out with the Loire chateaux!! We knew we could only handle one major chateau as a daytrip from Paris...and we chose Chenonceau. I was there 17 years ago, and fell head-over-heels in love with the beauty of Chenonceau. I knew I would return someday with my sweetheart...and we did, this past June. This time, they offered a fancy iPod tour. Did you do the iPod tour? I enjoyed it overall and picked up a bottle of wine on their wine estate as a present for my cousin. Really love the Loire Valley. It's so peaceful, and offers great food and wine.
Barcelona was a blast too. Gaudi's architecture always puts me in a great mood. The energy...
Cheers,
Betty
Enjoying your trip reports. Glad to hear you enjoyed staying in the Marais...so did we! However, we went to MISS MANON bakery too and encountered a rude girl working there. So we decided to go elsewhere and discovered the greatest little patisserie/boulangerie on rue des BLANCS MANTEAUX in the Marais. Great pastries, croissants, coffee and excellent sandwiches (loved their duck rilletes sandwich...yum!). I think we have a photo taken in this bakery because they wrapped up one of the pastries so beautifully -- in a pyramid shape...vive la France!)
Wow! You really did go all out with the Loire chateaux!! We knew we could only handle one major chateau as a daytrip from Paris...and we chose Chenonceau. I was there 17 years ago, and fell head-over-heels in love with the beauty of Chenonceau. I knew I would return someday with my sweetheart...and we did, this past June. This time, they offered a fancy iPod tour. Did you do the iPod tour? I enjoyed it overall and picked up a bottle of wine on their wine estate as a present for my cousin. Really love the Loire Valley. It's so peaceful, and offers great food and wine.
Barcelona was a blast too. Gaudi's architecture always puts me in a great mood. The energy...
Cheers,
Betty
Jul 6th, 2005 | 08:38 AM
#6
Joined: Mar 2004
Posts: 6,117
Likes: 0
I'm enjoying your report. You drove 300 more km than we did in the same time period so I know how exhausting that must have been! You went to some of the same places; sorry about your weather experience. However, you got to see more chateaus since we spent part of a day in the Loire lost. Enjoying watching the Tour de France now on some of the same roads.
Jul 6th, 2005 | 11:54 AM
#7
Original Poster
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 165
Likes: 0
PART 3
A final note regarding the Calendal Hotel: this is the only hotel that offers FREE Internet access to guests, which is a plus on their part. The other hotels didn’t offer it or charged a hefty fee for the service, in which case seek out the Internet cafés, which are located everywhere at a cost of 1€/15 minutes. Also worth mentioning take note that most keyboards in France use the AZERTY (not the usual QWERTY as used this side of the Atlantic). Allow extra time to find the right characters to avoid !”/$%?
COTE D’AZUR
Nice
The drive from Arles to Nice is an easy three hours. To say that Nice is nice is an understatement. A beautiful and very trendy city, we stayed at the Hotel Aria (*** hotel) located near the main train station, which is very convenient if that’s your choice of travel. The neighbourhood is pleasant and the hotel faces the Place Mozart park and five-level parking is located under ground beneath the park, at 13€ per day. Breakfast is available at 9€ is no bargain and you’d be better off opting for the small café next door. This hotel is acceptable but certainly nothing to write home about. It should be noted that the shower stall did not even have a curtain with a hand-held shower head used for rinsing. It’s located a 10 minute walk away from the Promenade des Anglais, the main promenade stretching along the beach. Take note that there is no sand on most of the beaches on the French Riviera and instead there are soft stones (not so soft, actually). Along the way to the beach you cross rue de France and rue Masséna, a busy and bustling “rue piétonneé (pedestrian walk).
Play the role of real tourist and take the Trains Touristiques de Nice to get the overall picture of the city and the sites. It will take you to the Vielle Ville and La Colline du Chateau for an amazing vista of the entire city. It’s a well spent one hour ride.
For food try Restaurant Voyager Nissart, 19 rue Alsace Lorraine. Excellent food and a very reasonable price. Try also the Le Cenac on rue Biscarra but skip Le Côte Grill on avenue Georges Clémenceau.
Monaco
Monaco is a short thirty-minute drive from Nice. To get there use the Moyenne Corniche with a stopover on the way to Eze/Village…quite a site. The first thing that strikes visitors upon entering this magnificent but small city/state is the cleanliness of the streets and the wealth of the place. Never have we seen so many Rolls Royce(s) and Maseratis, Ferrari etc. Unfortunately and even though we tried to break the bank gambling at the Monte Carlo Casino, the slot machines didn’t pay off as we had hoped. Since they charge 10€ per person just to enter the “other” game room i.e. roulette, baccarat, etc. we skipped this option. One of the favourite events is the changing of the guard at the Palais Princier daily at exactly 11:55 a.m. It’s an impressive sight with the guards dressed entirely in white going through their routine for the large gathering of tourists lined up to see the show – including us. To get an idea of the wealth floating around, drop by the Port Hercule (harbour) to see the most amazing collection of luxurious yachts, one larger than the other. This is definitely the way to go for us! If only we could have won at the Casino. Maybe next time. To return to Nice use the Basse Corniche (Bord-de-Mer) for a more scenic trip back. Don’t miss the view of the Beaulieu-sur-Mer port.
Cannes
This is “the” place to see and be seen for people-watchers. Along the main promenade, La Croisette, fashionistas will recognize the major fashion designers like Hermes (Oprah’s favourite store) and expensive jewellers. La Croisette is a beautiful tree-line boulevard along the beach and a great place to walk. Unlike Nice the beach in Cannes consists of fine sand but unfortunately a large section of the Croisette has been reserved by the major (i.e. expensive) big hotel chains. The general public uses the Plage du Midi located west of it. For a quick bite try Cool’heure Café on rue Teisseire – friendly and frequented by locals.
Grasse
A must see is the drive on highway N85 to Grasse, perfume capitol of the world. Many of the perfumeries offer free tours through their plants. For no particular reason we chose the Fragonard perfumery and visited their museum and plant to get an idea what goes into making perfume. The drive back to Nice on D2085 is quite unique…
Antibes
The last day of our vacation was spent visiting this lovely up-scale resort with its beautiful but pricey boutiques. Like everywhere we visited on the Riviera the streets were teeming with people, especially since it was market day. There is nothing like sitting on the terrace of a café on a hot sunny day, eating a typically French sandwich (baguette) and drinking wine watching the world go by.
Obviously with a limited three night stay on the Riviera, choices had to be made regarding what to see and visit. Perhaps on another occasion we’ll be able to go into more detail instead of just driving by places like: Villefranche-sur-Mer, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Juan-les-Pins, Saint-Paul…etc.
Dropping off our car at the TT Car Transit Depot we flew late afternoon on EasyJet back to Paris/CDG for an overnight stay at the Campanile-Roissy Hotel (nothing special to report) for a morning departure back to Montreal on Zoom Airlines.
More to come…
A final note regarding the Calendal Hotel: this is the only hotel that offers FREE Internet access to guests, which is a plus on their part. The other hotels didn’t offer it or charged a hefty fee for the service, in which case seek out the Internet cafés, which are located everywhere at a cost of 1€/15 minutes. Also worth mentioning take note that most keyboards in France use the AZERTY (not the usual QWERTY as used this side of the Atlantic). Allow extra time to find the right characters to avoid !”/$%?
COTE D’AZUR
Nice
The drive from Arles to Nice is an easy three hours. To say that Nice is nice is an understatement. A beautiful and very trendy city, we stayed at the Hotel Aria (*** hotel) located near the main train station, which is very convenient if that’s your choice of travel. The neighbourhood is pleasant and the hotel faces the Place Mozart park and five-level parking is located under ground beneath the park, at 13€ per day. Breakfast is available at 9€ is no bargain and you’d be better off opting for the small café next door. This hotel is acceptable but certainly nothing to write home about. It should be noted that the shower stall did not even have a curtain with a hand-held shower head used for rinsing. It’s located a 10 minute walk away from the Promenade des Anglais, the main promenade stretching along the beach. Take note that there is no sand on most of the beaches on the French Riviera and instead there are soft stones (not so soft, actually). Along the way to the beach you cross rue de France and rue Masséna, a busy and bustling “rue piétonneé (pedestrian walk).
Play the role of real tourist and take the Trains Touristiques de Nice to get the overall picture of the city and the sites. It will take you to the Vielle Ville and La Colline du Chateau for an amazing vista of the entire city. It’s a well spent one hour ride.
For food try Restaurant Voyager Nissart, 19 rue Alsace Lorraine. Excellent food and a very reasonable price. Try also the Le Cenac on rue Biscarra but skip Le Côte Grill on avenue Georges Clémenceau.
Monaco
Monaco is a short thirty-minute drive from Nice. To get there use the Moyenne Corniche with a stopover on the way to Eze/Village…quite a site. The first thing that strikes visitors upon entering this magnificent but small city/state is the cleanliness of the streets and the wealth of the place. Never have we seen so many Rolls Royce(s) and Maseratis, Ferrari etc. Unfortunately and even though we tried to break the bank gambling at the Monte Carlo Casino, the slot machines didn’t pay off as we had hoped. Since they charge 10€ per person just to enter the “other” game room i.e. roulette, baccarat, etc. we skipped this option. One of the favourite events is the changing of the guard at the Palais Princier daily at exactly 11:55 a.m. It’s an impressive sight with the guards dressed entirely in white going through their routine for the large gathering of tourists lined up to see the show – including us. To get an idea of the wealth floating around, drop by the Port Hercule (harbour) to see the most amazing collection of luxurious yachts, one larger than the other. This is definitely the way to go for us! If only we could have won at the Casino. Maybe next time. To return to Nice use the Basse Corniche (Bord-de-Mer) for a more scenic trip back. Don’t miss the view of the Beaulieu-sur-Mer port.
Cannes
This is “the” place to see and be seen for people-watchers. Along the main promenade, La Croisette, fashionistas will recognize the major fashion designers like Hermes (Oprah’s favourite store) and expensive jewellers. La Croisette is a beautiful tree-line boulevard along the beach and a great place to walk. Unlike Nice the beach in Cannes consists of fine sand but unfortunately a large section of the Croisette has been reserved by the major (i.e. expensive) big hotel chains. The general public uses the Plage du Midi located west of it. For a quick bite try Cool’heure Café on rue Teisseire – friendly and frequented by locals.
Grasse
A must see is the drive on highway N85 to Grasse, perfume capitol of the world. Many of the perfumeries offer free tours through their plants. For no particular reason we chose the Fragonard perfumery and visited their museum and plant to get an idea what goes into making perfume. The drive back to Nice on D2085 is quite unique…
Antibes
The last day of our vacation was spent visiting this lovely up-scale resort with its beautiful but pricey boutiques. Like everywhere we visited on the Riviera the streets were teeming with people, especially since it was market day. There is nothing like sitting on the terrace of a café on a hot sunny day, eating a typically French sandwich (baguette) and drinking wine watching the world go by.
Obviously with a limited three night stay on the Riviera, choices had to be made regarding what to see and visit. Perhaps on another occasion we’ll be able to go into more detail instead of just driving by places like: Villefranche-sur-Mer, Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Juan-les-Pins, Saint-Paul…etc.
Dropping off our car at the TT Car Transit Depot we flew late afternoon on EasyJet back to Paris/CDG for an overnight stay at the Campanile-Roissy Hotel (nothing special to report) for a morning departure back to Montreal on Zoom Airlines.
More to come…
Trending Topics
Jul 6th, 2005 | 01:44 PM
#8
Original Poster
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 165
Likes: 0
Actually and thinking back, there is no Hermes store in Cannes or in Nice. The only Hermès store that we saw during our trip was in Barcelona and Monte Carlo. However, one thing for sure is there sure are a lot of pricey boutiques along the Croisette.
Jul 9th, 2005 | 09:25 AM
#9
Original Poster
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 165
Likes: 0
LAST PART
Regarding driving in France…
We chose Renault EuroDrive and used their Lease/buy-back program. We drove 3,582KM using a Scenic 2, a small mini-van fully loaded, auto. A/C, cruise control, etc. with a trunk large enough to accommodate our two suitcases. In our case the lease program was better than renting a car since you get a brand new car of your own choosing (instead of a category), fully insured with no deductible. There’s a minimum lease of 17 days and a maximum of six months. Depending on the duration of your stay and the amount of driving you plan to do, the lease option should be considered. It’s also offered by Citroen and Peugeot. We had an unexpected bonus in that the car came equipped with a GPS system. Touring a foreign land this is the best “perk” since the invention of the wheel. During the planning of our trip we printed out numerous maps from Mappy and ViaMichelin. Once we began using the GPS system we discarded the print outs relying solely on the verbal instructions from GPS system that speaks to you in any language of your choosing, telling you exactly where to go. It also provides a small electronic map of your surroundings. You should also consider driving either a gas or a diesel engine. The cost of the latter is higher but you pay less for the fuel.
It should be noted that the French autoroute system is one of the best, with smooth rides everywhere. It was as if they were laying new asphalt in front of us as we drove. Be warned that they are all toll roads and quite expensive. You will be using your credit card continuously. Check on the French Autoroute site for more info (http://www.autoroutes.fr/index.php). Although the speed limit is 130km/h, drivers speed by driving at speeds of 140/150 but after a while you get used to it. Take note that in Spain the speed limit is 120km/h. France does not require an International Driver’s permit but it’s the law in Spain for tourists from outside the EU.
Traffic circle/roundabout/rond-point
At the beginning dealing with them requires some adjustment. The people on the traffic circles always have priority therefore as you approach a traffic circle, you should slow down or stop before entering. In some ways it’s preferable to our STOP sign system since if there’s no traffic in a circle, you can drive right through without stopping. We also found that the “priority on your right approach” is even more tricky but like always, you get used to it after a while. The price of gas is very high in France. At the regular gas stations or on the autoroutes during the months of June, the price for regular no-lead was €1.26. You’d be better of gassing up at discount supermarkets such as Carrefour, Leclerc, Giant etc. where you will pay between €0.10-12 cheaper. The high price of gas explains why diesel fuel is so much more popular in France mainly due to the lower price (around €0.15). 70% of all new cars sold in France are diesel engines. Fuel costs in Spain for some reason is less than in France. Perhaps the government charge less in taxes.
There’s a major difference in the approach to road signs in that on French roads, the name of the town you’re driving to is mentioned, but the highway number is always an after-thought and added on top of the sign. In North America it’s built in the road sign itself as a source of major information. Motor bikes and scooters are used everywhere driving at top speed cutting off the traffic, on top of being extremely noisy. You always have to be on your guard.
This concludes our notes and comments on our trip to France. Hopefully, it will be useful for future Fodor travellers. Feel free to comment or give us feedback and we’d be pleased to respond to any other questions.
BON VOYAGE
Regarding driving in France…
We chose Renault EuroDrive and used their Lease/buy-back program. We drove 3,582KM using a Scenic 2, a small mini-van fully loaded, auto. A/C, cruise control, etc. with a trunk large enough to accommodate our two suitcases. In our case the lease program was better than renting a car since you get a brand new car of your own choosing (instead of a category), fully insured with no deductible. There’s a minimum lease of 17 days and a maximum of six months. Depending on the duration of your stay and the amount of driving you plan to do, the lease option should be considered. It’s also offered by Citroen and Peugeot. We had an unexpected bonus in that the car came equipped with a GPS system. Touring a foreign land this is the best “perk” since the invention of the wheel. During the planning of our trip we printed out numerous maps from Mappy and ViaMichelin. Once we began using the GPS system we discarded the print outs relying solely on the verbal instructions from GPS system that speaks to you in any language of your choosing, telling you exactly where to go. It also provides a small electronic map of your surroundings. You should also consider driving either a gas or a diesel engine. The cost of the latter is higher but you pay less for the fuel.
It should be noted that the French autoroute system is one of the best, with smooth rides everywhere. It was as if they were laying new asphalt in front of us as we drove. Be warned that they are all toll roads and quite expensive. You will be using your credit card continuously. Check on the French Autoroute site for more info (http://www.autoroutes.fr/index.php). Although the speed limit is 130km/h, drivers speed by driving at speeds of 140/150 but after a while you get used to it. Take note that in Spain the speed limit is 120km/h. France does not require an International Driver’s permit but it’s the law in Spain for tourists from outside the EU.
Traffic circle/roundabout/rond-point
At the beginning dealing with them requires some adjustment. The people on the traffic circles always have priority therefore as you approach a traffic circle, you should slow down or stop before entering. In some ways it’s preferable to our STOP sign system since if there’s no traffic in a circle, you can drive right through without stopping. We also found that the “priority on your right approach” is even more tricky but like always, you get used to it after a while. The price of gas is very high in France. At the regular gas stations or on the autoroutes during the months of June, the price for regular no-lead was €1.26. You’d be better of gassing up at discount supermarkets such as Carrefour, Leclerc, Giant etc. where you will pay between €0.10-12 cheaper. The high price of gas explains why diesel fuel is so much more popular in France mainly due to the lower price (around €0.15). 70% of all new cars sold in France are diesel engines. Fuel costs in Spain for some reason is less than in France. Perhaps the government charge less in taxes.
There’s a major difference in the approach to road signs in that on French roads, the name of the town you’re driving to is mentioned, but the highway number is always an after-thought and added on top of the sign. In North America it’s built in the road sign itself as a source of major information. Motor bikes and scooters are used everywhere driving at top speed cutting off the traffic, on top of being extremely noisy. You always have to be on your guard.
This concludes our notes and comments on our trip to France. Hopefully, it will be useful for future Fodor travellers. Feel free to comment or give us feedback and we’d be pleased to respond to any other questions.
BON VOYAGE
Jul 11th, 2005 | 03:58 AM
#12
Original Poster
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 165
Likes: 0
Betty,
The Loire Valley is definitely one of the most beautiful parts of France. The countryside is a visual treat for the eyes and and each chateau is nicer than the previous one visited.
We agree that Chenonceau is probably one of the nicest with its beautiful garden and the overview of the river, although the interior is nothing to write home about.
We chose not to do the iPod tour preferring instead to discover things at our own pace and sequence.
The Loire Valley is definitely one of the most beautiful parts of France. The countryside is a visual treat for the eyes and and each chateau is nicer than the previous one visited.
We agree that Chenonceau is probably one of the nicest with its beautiful garden and the overview of the river, although the interior is nothing to write home about.
We chose not to do the iPod tour preferring instead to discover things at our own pace and sequence.
Jul 11th, 2005 | 02:48 PM
#14
Original Poster
Joined: Mar 2003
Posts: 165
Likes: 0
Betty,
You're right in that "Les Cuisines" was an interesting visit. Other than that the rest of the Chateau is an empty shell for the most part, a similar situation with most castles in France with the exception of Cheverny and Fontainebleau, due to the looting during the French Revolution.
"La Galerie" in Chenonceau is an attractive but empty hall located accross the Cher River, and the top gallery in the Chateau is used as an art gallery.
Many French chateaux are sparsely decorated with a few pieces of furniture, paintings and tapestry. Period. This doesn't take anything away from the overall beauty of the various sites and the historical value.
You're right in that "Les Cuisines" was an interesting visit. Other than that the rest of the Chateau is an empty shell for the most part, a similar situation with most castles in France with the exception of Cheverny and Fontainebleau, due to the looting during the French Revolution.
"La Galerie" in Chenonceau is an attractive but empty hall located accross the Cher River, and the top gallery in the Chateau is used as an art gallery.
Many French chateaux are sparsely decorated with a few pieces of furniture, paintings and tapestry. Period. This doesn't take anything away from the overall beauty of the various sites and the historical value.
