matt miller

My soon-to-be wife and I are going to France, Belgium, and Spain for 18 days at the end of October. Our "draft" iterinary looks likes this: Paris (6 nights, with day-trips to Champagne and possibly Fountainbleau); Amboise, in the Loire Valley, (1 day and night); Brugges (1 day and night); Beaunne & Dijon, in Burgundy, (2 1/2 days and 2 nights; and Madrid (6 nights). We have a Europass and intend to travel by train. However, if necessary we will rent a car for the day. With this in mind, I have the following questions: (1) Has anyone stayed at the Castex Hotel in Paris?, Any other suggestions; (2) Is one day in the Loire Valley with a car enough?; (3) Does anyone have any suggestions for a place to stay in Beaunne for about $75 a night?; (4) Do you really need a car in Amboise and in the Burgundy area?; and (5) Is one day and one night in Brugges enough?

adina

I can only comment on Burgundy-- I think that you definitely need a car to really see the countryside-- Chateuneuf, La Rochepot, Noyers-sur-Serein, the wine routes, Vezelay and Fontenay. It's beautiful in the country and worth at least 3 days.

lisa

I did the Loire Valley in only one day, as a daytrip from Paris, by taking the TGV from Paris to Tours. While I would have liked more time there (possibly up to 3 days on a longer trip), I would not have wanted to cut down any of my time in Paris to add time in the Loire, because there are so many wonderful things to see in Paris. Looking at your itinerary I would not cut down any of your time in Paris to add more time to the Loire, particularly since you are already taking 2 daytrips from Paris so you will lose 2 days in Paris of your 6. Just my opinion. The Loire is glorious though.

greg

I can comment on Amboise. Whether you need a car or not has to do with how much you care to see. If you stay in Amboise alone, you do not need a car. Since we were castle to death during our previous trip to UK, we decided to visit only few chateaus. We stayed in Amboise but went to Chenonceau by taxi, about 120FF one way. No rental agreement or losing time getting lost. As you add more chateaus, you'll need a car or take one of the day bus trips if the destinations match your interest. <BR> <BR>Only you can answer whether one day is enough. Some do not get tired of visiting one chateau after another. We limit visits to a representative one from each genre.

Kris

We took a train from Paris to Tours, picked up a car and spent three days driving around. I'm with Lisa on this one though, I wouldn't cut any time out of Paris, esp. if it's your first visit. Be sure to leave yourself some unstructured time in Paris, wandering around Paris with no itinerary is wonderful. <BR> <BR>The train ride down to Tours was a little over an hour, from there you can easily see a couple of chateaux and not end up with chateaux burn out. Chenonceau is the most visited chateau with good reason, it's beautifully situated over the Cher river, has a beautiful garden and an interesting history. You wouldn't need a car if you just went to Amboise, but I didn't think the chateau at Amboise was one of the best we saw and it would be a shame if you didn't see at least one other. We also enjoyed Villandry for its gardens (at the beginning of September)and Azay le Rideau for it's peaceful setting. <BR> <BR>There's a good website on the Loire Valley at www.lvo.com.