chubbymamma

We will be visiting France in mid-April with our boys ages 11 and 15 for 9 full days, not including travel time. This will be their first trip to France. They like moderate doses of history interspersed with bouts of wandering around and eating. My 11 yo surprised me by saying that he would like to enjoy a day or two in the country. Although this will be my fourth trip, I last visited 20 years ago so my knowledge is dated. I can't choose between the following:
1) Spending all 9 days in Paris, and taking 2-3 day trips (Versailles, Chartres). The advantages here are that we won't have to pack and unpack, and we will have plenty of down time.
2) Upon arrival, take the TGV to Avignon, then rent a car and spend the rest of the time in Provence. We could go to Paris for a day or two before our return flight. I hear mixed reports about the weather in Provence though (from sunny to rainy to windy), besides we are planning another trip in late June when the lavender will be in bloom. A part of me does not want to wait though, and I would treat this as a sampler.
3) Upon arrival, go to Bordeaux. Stay there for 3 days, and then rent a car and spend the rest of the time in the Dordogne. I've always wanted to visit the Dordogne, but not sure if the timing is optimal in terms of weather or greenery.
4) Upon arrival, take the TGV to Toulouse. Stay in Toulouse for 4 days, then go to Paris.

Any thoughts on these plans or other recommendations are greatly appreciated.

StuDudley

Is this for Easter???? If so, you had better make some plans soon.

IMO, there is no reason to visit Provence if you will be there again (with the kids?) in June. I would certainly focus on Paris and not any other large city (Toulouse, Bordeaux, etc). How about Paris & the Chateaux of the Loire??? My second favorite region in France (tied with Provence) is the Dordogne - but I have no idea of what it is like in April. Consider the Cote d'Azur & Paris.

Stu Dudley

chubbymamma

Thanks Stu, yes this is for the week before Easter.
We visited the Cote D'Azur (back in 99).
I was also wondering which arrondissement to stay in in Paris, the 4th-6th seem to be the most recommended. We don't mind staying in a safe neighborhood away from the center if it means larger, more comfortable rooms, plenty of restaurants (that are less touristy).
Loire for 2-3 days may be interesting, although I was saving that as an extension of a business trip in the fall. My kids would be interested in a drive-by but not inside tours of the castles.
.

StuDudley

>> My kids would be interested in a drive-by but not inside tours of the castles. <<

Then why would you go to Versailles??? If you plan Versailles wrong - your family could be waiting in line to get in for 2 hrs or more, around Easter. We visited Versailles twice last year - once to just see the gardens & fountains on a weekend when the fountains were turned on, and another day at the crack of dawn (it was totally dark when we arrived at the Chateau) on a week-day to take a guided tour of the King's apartments. The wait to get into the Chateau (different line for the gardens) was at least 2 1/2 hrs on the weekend when we departed the gardens area. There was no wait for the guided English Grand Apartments tour. We toured the remainder of the chateau after the Grand Apartments, and it was shoulder to shoulder inside. This was early October.

If you don't want to visit Provence, the Cote, or the Loire - and you take my advice to not visit another big city - I would take the TGV from CDG to Bordeaux, rent a car, and visit the Dordogne. Return to Paris by train via Brive la Gaillarde or Bordeaux.

Stu Dudley

kerouac

The international kite festival takes place in Berck from 6 to 14 April this year. It is a stunning event for children but also for their parents. Unfotunately, it isn't always as warm and sunny as in my photo report.

Berck kite festival 2011 | Any Port in a Storm

StCirq

The weather in April in the Dordogne is typically mild, though it can be rainy...or not. Not sure what you mean about greenery; the Dordogne is always plenty green.

I can't see going to Provence if you're going back soon after.

I also can't see going to the Loire Valley to drive by castles; the Loire doesn't have exceptional scenery, so minus castle visits it doesn't have much of a wow factor.

There are plenty of safe arrondissements in Paris that aren't in the 4th-6th. Also plenty of websites describing them in detail.

Of the choices you mention, I'd easily pick the Dordogne, but you might investigate Languedoc-Roussilon, too, which has some elements of the Dordogne plus seaside.

menachem

I've migrated a lot when in Paris, but nowadays I usually stay around Rue Petit in the 19th, which I really like. For me the jewish infrastructure is important (beyond the viaduct, Rue Petit is now what Rue des Rosiers was 30 years ago) but I like the general mood there and that it's near Parc des Buttes Chaumont. It's not touristy there at all.

chubbymamma

Do the leaves not shed in the fall? Here in the North Eastern part of the US, the leaves start coming back in mid-April usually but it is not until the end of April that there is full greenery.

Good to know that the Loire Valley is not exceptionally scenic and that the chateaux are the main draw, that is the kind of information I was looking for.

StCirq, is Toulouse not in the Languedoc Roussillon?

Christina

no, Toulouse is in the Midi-Pyrenees region. In fact, I think it merged with Languedoc Roussillon and now the whole area is one big Occitanie region.

Fort some outdoors, I'd go to Toulouse, I think that's the best idea. I think going to provence when you are going again in a bit is pointless. I don't see Bordeaux as any big attraction for kids, not sure why.

Toulouse has some great areas around it easy to see as a day trip, like Carcassonne or Albi.

I think 9 days in Paris alone is overkill, I prefer to see more things with my time and money, but if you have unlimited vacation time and money and really want to do that (and so do your kids, but I doubt it), fine.

StCirq

chubbymama, typical weather patterns in the Dordogne are governed by the Atlantic. That means that, almost without exception the Dordogne is relatively green all year long (yes, even in dead winter in a year like this when it has been exceptionally frigid and even when temperatures soar in mid-summer). Weather, and foliage, in the Dordogne bears absolutely no relationship to weather in the northeastern USA. For the most part we don't have trees that turn color at all, and there is nothing like the massive shedding of leaves that you see in many parts of the USA. For example, we have no, or exceedingly few, maple trees. OTOH we have loads of acacias and a species of oak that does not turn color or shed much (the ones you find truffles under). We have forests full of chestnut trees, but they don't really turn color or shed, either, though fall is chestnut picking time.

The fruit and nut trees, of which there are thousands, will be budding in April, but not blooming until May and not bearing fruit until late summer or fall. Unless it's a particularly unusual early spring, though, and it could be given weird weather all over the world these days, there will be plenty of greenery in the Dordogne in April, certainly a lot more than in Paris.

Yes, Toulouse is in the Languedoc-Roussillon (actually, as of January 2016 LR merged with the midi-Pyrenées to become the administrative district of Occitanie). And Toulouse is a wonderful city. I just wonder if boys 11 and 15 would want to spend half their time in a big city like Toulouse and the other half in a big city like Paris, especially when Occitanie is huge and offers so much more - like Carcassonne and Albi and thereabouts and all the Mediterranean towns like Perpignan and Narbonne and Collioure.

PalenQ

9 days in Paris could get tedious for the kids or anyone - a busy loud city. Taking a high-speed train would be a thrill for anyone not having ridden one - the Avignon area IMO would be great place to rent a car and stay in a smaller town and have easy drives to so many famous neat sights - Les Baux-de-Provence; the Pont du Guard - Avignon's Palace of the Popes and its famous bridge which ends in the middle of a river - the Camargue - you can take pony treks into the wilds and see wild horses and flamingos the area is famed for - so many neat places. Try to get a hotel with a pool - kids always like that. Arles is a nice bigger small city to base in - Roman theatre and copies of paintings put up right at where van Gogh and Cezanne originally painted them.

Book train tickets well in advance for discounted fares at www.oui.sncf or www.trainline.eu -which matches the rates the SNCF or French Railways site does and many say is easier to use. www.seat61.com has super helpful tips on booking your own discounted tickets online - general info French trains check www.ricksteves.com and BETS-European Rail Experts.

StuDudley

>> 9 days in Paris could get tedious for the kids or anyone <<

Gee!! We were there for 3 weeks this past Sept/Oct, 2 weeks about 3 1/2 years ago, for pre-Christmas for 10-12 days in both 2009 and 2011, 3 weeks in 2006, 1 week in 2004, 2 weeks in both 2002 and 2004, and many visits for anywhere from 1 night to 5 nights at the beginning or end of a long vacation "elsewhere". It has never been tedious for us. We usually have "themes" for each visit. Last year it was "Quiet corners & hidden gardens" based on 3 books on these subjects. In 2015 it was "Passages" and "Historic Brasseries" - again based on books & various articles. On all of the above trips, I always had ambitious travel plans for several one-day outings outside of Paris. We never went on a single one - except Versailles twice last year.

The OP will be in Provence this June - so may responders (including me) advised her to skip Provence for this short trip.

Stu Dudley

chubbymamma

PalenQ

Both places are super crowded in summer and the week before and after Easter can be crowded too as schools are often on break then.

chubbymamma

PalenQ those are the only dates we have, that is when the kids have their school break.

PalenQ

I did not mean that being crowded was a reason to not go - just that both will be - probably less in April than summer.

chubbymamma

Thanks!

bakerstreet

If it's the first visit for your boys to France, definitely spend some good time in Paris. The first time I took my son there he was 10, and I remember that some of the things he enjoyed the most were: Napoleon's tomb and the war museum; going to the tops of things (the Eiffel, of course, and Tour Montparnasse), taking a break from fine Parisian dining (he did not enjoy Taillevent; clearly my mistake for taking him so young, but we were meeting friends) by visiting crepe stands on the street, Relais de l'Entrecote, and even - yes - Hippopotamus); and the Catacombs. With 9 days you can do a lot! Have a great trip.

PalenQ

One place my then about 8-yr old son loved in Paris was Aqua Boulevard, Europe's largest urban water park:

https://www.google.com/search?q=aqua...iw=645&bih=613 Not far from Eiffel Tower.

Yes Bakerstreet gives lots of reasons to staying in Paris some days.

StuDudley

We've visited Provence in June for a total of 20 weeks, Only once did we go there outside of June for 2 weeks. I never felt it was overcrowded - as long as you know how to avoid crowds. Don't visit the "must see" little villages like, Gordes, Roussillon, St Remy, Les Baux etc anytime between 10:30AM & 4PM. Make sure you know the market day for various villages you want to visit - and don't go there anytime before 2:30 PM unless you want to visit the market.

As I mentioned above, we've vacationed in Provence for 22 weeks, and the Dordogne for 13 weeks. I developed an itinerary for each region which describes our favorite villages, scenic drives, sites, lavender fields (Provence), markets, caves (Dordogne), restaurants, etc. The Provence itinerary has a section on Provence fabric. I've sent my various itineraries to over 6,000 people on Fodors. If you would like a copy, e-mail me at [email protected] & I'll attach one to the reply e-mail . Specify that you would like the Provence and Dordogne itineraries - I have others - including the Languedoc.

Stu Dudley