Travelin_Canuck

Hi,

I've long lurked on these forums gaining advice for travel ideas and trips I've taken. Today I'm venturing to post myself.

By way of background, my wife and I spent 6 weeks in Italy in 2007 with our 6 month old daughter and loved every minute of it. Now we're thinking of attempting the same type of trip in the fall of 2010...

The plan is to do France this time, with our daughter who will be nearly 4 and hopefully a healthy and happy 4 month old... (Yes I'm a planner...)

We would be looking to stay a week or so at a time, renting flats, in each area/location and do daytrips to interesting places. We don't intend on renting a vehicle unless absolutely necessary.

So far I know that I want to spend a week in Paris, a week in Provence and a week or a bit less in Normandy (D-day beaches, Bayonne, Mont St. Michel etc.) I know that Normandy will require a car and that Paris & Provence won't and am planning accordingly.

Any other ideas of where to go, what to see, what towns/villages/sights not to miss? What areas are particularly good for regional train travel?

Don't bother to post if you're just going to tell me not to travel with Children. I love my kid, I love travel and I think there is more to be gained from the experience (for me and them) if I take them along. Nuf said.

I look forward to your thoughts, advice and expert opinions.

DalaiLlama

After all that flatland vacationing, a week in the French Savoyan alps would be marvellous in fall. Staying in somewhere like Aix-les-Bains, Chambéry, Annecy, Chamonix, taking the incredibly charming little train down to Martigny in Switzerland and the regular trains back along the lake Geneva... Schedules at www.rail.ch (Swiss) and www.voyages-sncf.fr (French).

The Loire valley with its famous castles is quite well served by trains, from Blois over to Tours. And there are good local buses linking the villages.

Not mountaineous but hilly - the Dordogne is beautiful. Train services can be sketchy depending on where you're looking. Périgeux is a bit over an hour from Bordeaux, Brive de la Gaillarde is another hour inland. Lots of peaceful country living, local markets, ancient caves to visit - rent a gite in walking distance (or bus serviced) from a train station and take it easy: www.gites-de-france.com and others.

Travelin_Canuck

DalaiLlama: Thanks for the thoughts.

I've seen Annecy mentioned a couple of times and am seriously considering some time spent in the foothills of the alps.

My wife and I did a bike trip in the Loire Valley before we had kids and loved it...we are considering spending time there again but can skip it if something better presents itself.

dfr4848

I was also thinking the Loire Valley and the Dordogne. With the kid(s) you'd have a very different experience than when you biked the Loire.

I'd also consider a multiday barge trip through Burgundy. We also liked the coast around Nice.

[You won't get any flack from me on taking the kids. We've been traveling with our daughter since she was 3 months old (she's now 20 yrs) and we wouldn't have it any other way. The things you learn and experience through their eyes is priceless].

Mimar

Well, I think you need a car for Provence and especially the Dordogne. What do you think of as Provence? The Riviera is doable without a car. Inland Provence, little villages in the Luberon and lavendar fields, require a car. If you based someplace like Avignon (not my favorite place), there are buses and trains.

bombasticlife

After Paris, Avignon is my favorite place (so far)in France.

If you love to dine, there are a ton of great restaurants there. I have reviews of some of them at http://www.bombasticlife.com

As for traveling with a child, bravo to you. There is no better education for children than being exposed to all the world has to offer.

Congrats and have fun!

suze

Does it have to be in France?

Six weeks is a long time. My suggestion is to add a week in Switzerland.

ParisAmsterdam

My wife and I spent 6 weeks in France, the Low Countries and the UK back in 1986 when our older daughter was 2 years old.

After a week in Paris we picked up a rented campervan. It was really useful because no matter what, there was always a place to sleep and prepare some food for our daughter. Or change a diaper.

We stayed in hotels 2/3 of the time and never once regretted the larger more expensive vehicle. (well, once... when we could not find a place to park in Monaco and had to retreat back to Nice!)

Friends and relatives were aghast that we'd take a 2 year old to Europe but we had a ball!

Rob

bubbahop

I really enjoyed my stay in Chamonix. It is simply a beautiful little village and you catch take a lift up Aigu di Midi (mispelled) and spend the day hiking down possibly. You have excellent views of Mt. Blanc. There is also a glacier in the area to go inside. I also agree with the other posts here that Annecy is another stop

suze

I think a few days in the resort town of Annecy is a good addition.

Travelin_Canuck

Suze,

I guess it doesn't have to be France, it's just that we prefer vacation rentals (flats with a kitchen) over hotels so we can cook dinner at a reasonable hour for the children and we've found it to be cheaper and we get that much closer to local life...

dfr 4848,

I like the idea of a barge trip - I'll look into it.

bombasticlife,

Avignon is a must for us, my wife is set on seeing the south of France this time, and friends have raved about it.

Bubbahop,

I've heard that Chamonix is a bit kitschy (touristy???) but would love to check it out...

StCirq

I don't understand why you think Provence is so do-able without a car. That hasn't ever been my experience. And with two youngsters in tow, I'd never go there and plan to rely on public transportation unless the idea was to hunker down in a big city and just do local things.

I think the French alps or the Dordogne would be a nice addition. Or, continue on from southern France into Italy for a week or so.

suze

Well there's certainly apartments like that in the smaller towns on Lac Leman outside Geneva, gorgeous area.

knoxvillecouple

IMO Provence without wheels isn't an option. How would one get from Isle-sur-la-Sorgue to Gordes to Roussillon to Lourmarin to Oppède le Vieux without a car? Some of the towns simply are not accessible any other way - particularly if you want to stick to anything resembling a reasonable schedule.

Sam

bachslunch

At some point, would definitely suggest a day each in Chartres (to see the cathedral) and Versailles (to see the palace). Both are easy day trips from Paris.

Have not been, but would think the French Riviera (Nice, Monaco, etc.) might be a good place to spend a week. Or you could take the train to London, Brussels, or Amsterdam.

StCirq

I have to disagree about the Riviera with a 4-year-old and 4-month old. Can't picture that being much fun, except for the beaches, and unless they like pebbles, they'd be happier in Sète and thereabouts, and spend a lot less $$.

Barbara_in_FL

I think parts of Provence require a car, but that doesn't mean you can't base yourself carefully and do some exploring by train. Presumably you realize that relying on trains and buses rather than a rental car will rule out some scenic locations, and you still want to use a car as little as possible, so I'm not going to try to convince you otherwise!

I wouldn't feel the need to go anywhere but France. A week each in Paris, Normandy, the Loire, Dordogne, Provence/Riviera, and then the Alps would give you incredible variety.

You will travel more slowly with a four-year-old than with a baby, in my experience, so I don't think you would have a hard time spending a week in any of those regions, including Normandy.

There was a thread not long ago about an extended stay without renting a car -- if you poke around for that or similar threads you might get some additional ideas on where to stay.

I am jumping on the Dordogne bandwagon because it is so lovely... But we also liked Bordeaux and Toulouse, and if you're trying to avoid driving, you might think about one of those instead. I think there are a few days trips you can do from either city by train and bus that would help a week go by quickly. Albi is an obvious day trip from Toulouse. I believe you can also visit Carcasonne from Toulouse, but when we did it we were driving, and I don't remember what bus/train connections would be available.

Have fun planning!

sheila

There are two areas of France I'd suggest you consider further, but I fear both will need a car at least some of the time.

The first is Brittany. The area is drop dead gorgeous, cliffs and beaches and ancient history and a culture slightly different from the rest of France.

The other is the Pyrenees. Me, although I love the central area, I'd probably choose, for more to see, either end. The area round Biarritz in the Pays Basque is magnificent. Different cuisine and culture all over again.

Then, at the other end of the range, you have Cathar country in the Languedoc, and the beaches on the Mediterranean.

I wouldn't think twice about spending 6 weeks in France. I saw one of the wisest things I've read on here (Poster since 1999) just yesterday. Europe is regions not countries. There are a lot more than 6 regions in France.

dreamon

Last October my family visited France for a couple of weeks. I had asked for advice about whether we would need a car and the response was a resounding YES! However, our children (aged 9 and 12) loath travelling in a car and my husband and I prefer to take local transport and the additional interaction with locals that this entails. We stayed in Provence for 5 nights. Our original plan had been to stay all these nights in St Remy but as we had to take an early train from Avignon, we ended up splitting the stay with 3 nights in St Remy and 2 in Avignon. We could easily have stayed longer in both.

The point is that while it is certainly true that you can't rush around sightseeing every village using local transport, it is far more relaxing to take it more slowly. The local bus schedules are all available online and will give you some idea of frequency, etc. One of the places we wanted to visit was Les Baux and the local bus stops running at the end of Sept so we caught a taxi (less than 20euro) and walked back. From Avignon, Arles, Ille sur la Sorgue, Nimes and the like are easily accessed. There are also tours run into the local villages if you fancy that.

Don't feel compelled to hire a car if you don't want to. But accept that you'll have to take things more slowly and plan ahead a bit (e.g. know what time the last bus home is).

btw St Remy was great and we'd go back in a heartbeat (if we could afford the price of the tickets!).

Have fun!

dreamon

ps. Just one other thing... When we travelled with our kids when they were very young, we found a baby backpack very convenient. They get to see more than everyone's knees and they are often much more convenient than a pusher. For tiny babies, you can get one that you can carry on your front or back.

And at the risk of preaching to the converted... travel as light as you can. Small cases and backpacks are best. There's very little you can't buy when you're away and nothing worse than trying to squeeze on to a bus with a large case.