You might have some success if you post number of bedrooms and price range and specific dates

We arrive in Paris 9/21 leave for Provence 9/25 then off to Switzerland 10/4 returning to Paris 10/7 leaving for SF 10/9.

robjame: check out La Mascotte in Montmarte. The shellfish platters will astound you. It's a wonderful place. Just don't sit in non-smoking..you'll miss all the fun.

Pam...shellfish...sounds like my kind of place! I will put that on my list right now.
Thanks

Arrive CDG Sunday 9/16 from MSP for a 5-week trip.

National Car at airport and drive to La Chaine d'Or in Les Andelys.

3-nights L'Ecrin in Honflour

3-nights Hotel Churchill in Bayeux and tour with Battlebus tours next day

3-nights in Dinan at Le d'Avaugour. Planning on Mont St. Michel from here

Sorry hit the button.

1-night in Rennes where we drop off car and TGV directly to Lyon with transfer to Annecy for 3-nights at Hotel Splendid. Our travel buddies have some business here.

TGV to Avignon where we pickup car for 6 days. Drive to St. Remy de Provence.

6-nights at La Mas des Carassins. Partners would prefer to stay in one spot even though we will be doing alot of our sightseeing in the Luberon area. Hope it works out for us.

Train to Beaune for 3-nights at Le Cedre. Have stayed here before. It's on the ring road and very convenient to everything. Planning on biking on the trails and possibly a day tour of the vineyards with Colette Barbier of Cabotour.

3-nights in Paris at Relais Bosquet in Rue Cler neighborhood. Have stayed in St. Germain de Pres on multiple occasions, so my DH would like to be closer to Tour Eiffel.

3-nights in Brugge at Cote Canal which looks like a wonderful B&B and then our
final 3-nights in Amsterdam at our very favorite The Canal House in the Jordaan with a side trip to Delft.

We have packed alot into this trip and it may be our last as a travel group so want it to be special.

Everything is booked except the trains and I will either do that as soon as I arrive in France or from here. Need to make the TGV from Rennes to Lyon because it doesn't go through Paris and is non-stop.

Sorry for rambling on robjame, but you asked.

We leave Dallas Texas for Paris on Sept 16 and return Oct 1. Staying at the hotel Bellevue et du Chariot d'or in the 4th. We are still working on our to see and do list.

helpmepls: for apts. with balconies, here are a few to try...First, many Paris Perfect apts. have balconies, also vrbo #101520, Perfect Places #7880, and Parisian Flat on rue Casimir, also Franceforrent has a nice one on rue de Bievre. Anyway, this can get you started. Just google away and then ask the helpful fodorites on this board once you've narrowed down flats that are available for your dates. Have fun. EJ

We're 95% sure we'll be going this fall! There's one job related uncertainty we're waiting to clear up. We'll hopefully know for sure by July. If we go, it will be mid-October through late October...6 days in Paris and 5 days in Bavaria. It'll be our first trip to Europe. This board has been such a great resource. Thanks everyone!

Actually I've just come back from Paris (and Anwerp). But I'm already booked to go back in September with plans to attend 4-5 concerts in Versailles on the weekend of the 21th. The CMBV is celebrating it's 20th anniversary by organizing a wonderful 3-day festival which will be dedicated to late 17th - early 18th French baroque music played, sung and danced by some of the best performers around.
So if all goes well I'm in Paris again this September and hoping to take 1-2 day trips out of town, too.

..of to Paris Sept 25th and leave Oct 9th. Although the first 4 days are work I will have the rest of the time off. Will probably be in Paris most of the time but might be away for a weekend...all the details will fall in place eventually! I have friends to visit so I tend to get told what I am doing!!

My husband and I are visiting France Sept 7th through the 30th. Our trip includes 4 days in Bayeux, 4 in Dinan, one week in a gite in Roscoff, 4 days in Locmariaquer and four days in Paris.

I have been looking forward to a trip to Brittany since researching the region for a French class project I did several years ago.

Safe travels to everyone, Deborah

Just an update on our October trip to Paris.

Since it will be our 20th wedding anniversary while there, I have arranged for us to renew our vows at the American Church in Paris. From what I can gather, it is a charming church on the Quai d'Orsay, established in 1814. Right on the Seine, it sounds charming. Anybody been there?

An added bonus is that it contains the only Tiffany windows in Europe. Since my DW is a glass artist, I might even be able to persuade her to accompany me to the ceremony, and to even persuade her to take on the job of tending me as a full time job.

:-)

Any new or revised plans for France this fall?

I leave in Oct! First solo trip, first trip to Nice for 5 days, 10th trip to Paris for 10 days to celebrate the big 40. First time renting an apartment. I am staying in the 6th near metro Oden. I prepared a detailed itinerary for Paris to convince myself I can go solo. I've never stayed longer than 3 days in Paris and always as a tour guide (do not need to go up the ET for the 10th time). After living on this forum, I come to realize there so much more to the city I love, so 10 days of discovering Paris on my own! Museums, chateax, shopping, opera, Bofingers, Angelina's, Anne Simone's, fashion show, I can't wait!

Clea

So happy to be sharing this chat! We are going for two weeks in September and renting a car to drive around Normandy and possibly the Loire and Indre. My husband wants to stay in one place and relax, but we're not sure where. So we're going to wing it and hope we find the right spot and good weather. We've accumulated masses of information (and how to organize it and take it all along is a big problem since there's so much and we don't know what will be
relevant--and at this point it's still just bookmarks on the internet). I will be working on my French pastry life list (if you haven't read "Paris by pastry," please do!) We hope to see a few gardens, go to a market every day, walk, find some great things to do on the Journees de Patrimoine weekend, buy seeds and gardening tools and chocolate. I hope I dare to order 7 cheeses when the cheese course comes around (I thought 3 was a bold move, but I once saw another diner order 7, and get them!) Last year we were fascinated to get behind a garbage truck in a small village and watch how the one guy handled everything, working with both arms at once. We marvel at the stone roofs and concrete light poles and the way pastries are wrapped. So you see we're not hard to please. I can hardly wait to see the lovely rivers with each bridge decked out in flowers.

Great thread robjame, everybody has such diverse plans, it is really interesting. There is so much to do in France, you really can't do it all in one trip. All the more reason to go back.

Now to follow up on my earlier invitation: If anyone would like to meet up with DH and I on the 21st at le train bleu or any other time during our short Paris stay of Sept. 19-22 please email me at
[email protected]

Have a great trip everybody, and don't forget to write your trip reports.

happy - count us in.
Sandra and I would look forward to such a get together.

We'll be spending a week in Paris at this apartment: http://www.parisbestlodge.com/rivoli.html. We arrive on October 6 and depart on October 13. My wife's birthday falls on the 11th, so I'm trying to plan something special for it. I have some ideas, but if anyone has a suggestion, I'd love to hear it.

We (four couples) are heading to Villefranche-Sur-Mer Oct. 16-26.

Many plans are being made, and we have three cars reserved. If for some reason each of the four couples wants to head in adifferent direction one day, one couple will just have to take the train or bus.

This will be the eighth trip to Europe for the group, although we have been Europe on individual trips, too.

While none of us would ever consider taking a "tour," we travel together very nicely, thank you, and have so much fun.

And we are all still friends.

Byrd

.."happyto..", wish I could meet you and others. I wont be in Paris for any extended time until Sept 25th..will then be there for 2 weeks if anyone interested or around then, I would welcome a GTG.

Hello everyone!

My husband and I will be leaving for Paris on Wednesday, October 3. We will be staying for four nights, departing on October 8. From Paris, we are taking the TGV to Lyon, renting a car and driving to Chamonix Mont-Blanc. We will be staying for three nights in Chamonix at the Croix Blanche. On October 11, we will driving (yikes) to the Sous Les Figuiers in St. Remy-de-Provence, where we will stay for six nights. On Wednesday, October 17, we will drop off our car at the TGV in Avignon and take train back to Paris, where we will stay another three nights before heading back home to Houston on Saturday, October 17. Twelve weeks, minus one day before we leave. I'm really excited, but nervous about the driving portion from Chamonix to St. Remy.

I will be in Paris from Nov 1-8. Have an apartment in the 2nd. I am still planning on daytrips. But if anybody is going to be there at the same time, I am up for a GTG.

Tom

We are heading to France for a month starting in late September.

Paris:9/24-9/29
http://www.hotelmarronniers.com/index.html

Bonnieux: 9/29-10/20 (apartment rental)

http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/rentals/bonnieux/5050

Paris: 10/20-10/21

We have one night before our flight from CGD- our flight is at 2:00PM. Any thoughts on where we should stay?

Thanks,

Margret

Happy Bastille Day French lovers! Today is also our 34th wedding anniversary, which is wonderful for a couple who adores France!

2 months from today we'll arrive in Barcelona for our drive up into France, and a September visit to the Languedoc area of France.

Yes, I will be doing a river cruise in early November beginning in Paris...

DH & I will be in France around mid-Oct. Attending a wedding in the Loire valley for the first 2 days. After the wedding, my parents will join us in tourint the Loire for 3 days. Then to Paris for 3 days before returning home.

am i dreaming?????
is it possible to just rent a car from Paris, drive to Bayeux...see the crosses (cemetary) and then just hang??? we will just be able to stumble upon a quaint b and b along the coast to spend the night? has hollywood tainted my dreams of France?

It's very possible! Here's a B&B we're booked to stay at in the spring:

http://www.lemasnormand.com

It has great reviews on Trip Advisor.

Clea, I too am trying to convince myself that, yes, I CAN go to Paris solo - I'm hoping for this September - checking airfares daily. Any particular tips/suggestions you ran across that you might share? I will also go to the Dordogne for a few days where I have family but one week in Paris just for me! What a terrific group on this post! If I am in Paris on any of the above dates, I too would love a GTG.

Has anyone stayed at any of the apartments on Parler Paris? I am always so glad to find this newsletter in my mailbox.

Happy travels to all.

ONly in my dreams...
Jealous of all of you who are going.

Have a great trip. I am with you in spirit.

Our kids are off to college and we'll be spending 3 weeks in Bourgogne, backpacking from Fontainbleau to Beaune via Auxerre and Dijon, then training it back to Paris. I love not knowing where we'll spend the night or where we'll dine. Any other avid walkers out there? We leave Sept. 29 and come back Oct. 19 and should hike for just over 200 miles. Can't wait.

(Hello again, robjame!)

I'll be in Paris a bit earlier than everyone... I arrive on the 15th of August and leave for London on the 14th of September. I've rented an apartment near the Pompidou for a bit of a writing retreat.

And I'm now scouring your posts for ideas on places to eat, events to attend and unusual things to do!

We are arriving in Paris September 14 and renting an apartment in the Odeon neighborhood. Will spend 10 days doing leisurely museum tour and eating at some of the Fodorites favorites. We will rent a car on the 24th and drive to Loire Valley. We are staying at Manoir Saint Gilles de la Cirottiere (http://www.manoir-st-gilles.com/pages/main.html), northeast of Saumur. Karen Brown recommended this place and it looks lovely---best of all, it is 75E/night including breakfast. Has anyone else stayed here? I can find no other information on it.

We'll be arriving in Bordeaux on Sept. 1. With 2 small children, we're doing our first house rental just north of the city. We plan to tour the Gironde, and possibly south to Pays Basque.

We will spend our final days relaxing at Sources de Caudalie.

Josh,

Pays Basque is so beautiful!! We loved it this past May. Do try and make the trip if possible!

going to Provence in September....
Arrive Barcelona on 9/25, spend 4 nights in La Seu d'Urgell, Spain and then 7 nights at a gite on the grounds of a winery in La Baume-de-transit--about 30 mins. from Nyons. Leave from Marseille on 10/7.

I posted awhile back that we were 95% sure we were going. Well, make that 100%! Tickets are purchased, hotels reserved, etc. We'll be in Paris for 5 days, then head over to the Bavaria/Tirol/Salzburg area for 6 days. It's a shorter trip than we'd like to do, but with a limited budget and limited time off (boyfriend just started a new job), it was all we could manage. We plan to make the most of it.

This is a suggestion for several people who have been writing in this post. We love to spend time in Dijon. It is a charming city that we have visited more than once. We stayed at a lovely apartment that you can see at www.myhomeindijon.com

We're going to Nice Sept 27th for a week. It will be our 4th visit there. On our other trips we've started and ended in Nice but have stayed other places in the middle. This time we'll just stay in Nice but probably do a day trip or two. We've never been to St Tropez so we're planning to rent a car and go there for a day.

We're leaving for Dublin on 9/13, flying to Paris on 9/17 and taking the train to St Victor La Coste (NW of Avignon) to participate in La Sabranenque restoration project for two weeks. Then back to Paris where we'll stay close to Chateau de Vincennes in a timeshare for a week. Train to Milan for two nights and then on to Venice where we'll board the Emerald Princess for a 17 night transatlantic journey. Perhaps we'll cross paths with some Fodorites and we'll never know....

If you had a choice of spending a day in Dijon as opposed to Lyon, which would it be and why?