Hello Folks,<BR><BR>Dare I impose on you to help me with travel dreams that may be years away? While Switzerland keeps drawing me back for the near future, I am also curious about some areas of France. <BR><BR>Because I hate to move from hotel to hotel and because I don’t like cities, I’m wondering if I can base myself in, say, the Ardeche, to explore as far north as Annecy and as far south as Arles? My goal is to do a quick reconnaissance-type sweep of Provence, Savoie, and the Haute-Savoie to see which views I’ll fall in love with and need to re-visit.<BR><BR>I found a wonderful-looking Relais &amp; Chateaux property between the villages of Baix &amp; Le Pouzin right on the Rhone. My viamichelin routing tells me that Annecy is 2.20 hours by car; Aix les Bains is 2.04; Grenoble is 1.17 hours; Vaison-la-Romain is 1.12 hours; and Arles is 1.40 hours. It seems that neither Le Pouzin nor Baix has a train station.<BR><BR>I’ve done a search here for “Ardeche,” but I didn’t see anything relating to the area as a base for such a wide exploration. Vincent of Romans, are you there? Can you advise me?<BR><BR>So, does this sound feasible? What am I overlooking? Is there a better spot to accomplish this? Is there, say, a small &amp; charming town on the Rhone or the Isere that has good rail connections so that I won’t need a car? Vienne? Valence?<BR><BR>Thanks for helping me fuel my daydreams.<BR><BR>s<BR>

Yes, yes, here I am... But there is something I don't understand: from the first part of your post I thought that you had a car; then you mention you'd like a town with a station. I am afraid Ardeche is now totally train free (I might be wrong, but I doubt it), at least the nice part of it. As far as Ardeche is concerned, the golden rule is: keep as far from the Rhone as possible. But then, you're in the middle of nowhere. Valence and Vienne I wouldn't recommend as quaint little towns, since, as all those outposts on the middle Rhone valley, they are little more than thoroughfares. I'd be more than happy to help you, but for that I need to know whether you'll have a car or not, and also in what season you intend to travel

Ah, Vincent, <BR><BR>Thanks so much for responding!<BR><BR>I prefer to travel without a car, but for this trip I'm thinking I should consider renting one. I tried a few train connections, but they were very long (Vienne - Annecy 4 hours), so that's why I did so much research on driving times.<BR><BR>I don't know what season it'll be . . . not even sure if I'll get there next year. I'm just playing right now!<BR><BR>I'm disappointed that you suggest staying away from the Rhone -- I really love water views and hoped that a small village on the river would be pretty and charming.<BR><BR>Anyway, these are just some thoughts.<BR><BR>Thanks for any suggestions you have!<BR><BR>s<BR>

Tournon-sur-Rhone is charming, in a rather faded way. It's lovely to look across the river and see the vineyards of Tain l'Hermitage with the alps in the distance. <BR><BR>The Ardeche and Provence would be in easy reach, as would Lyon and possibly parts of Savoie. <BR><BR>I understand the need to dream and the role that talking, writing, and reading about the places you hope to visit can keep the dream alive. . .

Keep in mind that these driving time estimates are just that. On the autoroutes you may do pretty well, but on the secondary roads it may, and probably will, be a different story. I would pick places that are fairly close and where you can return by a different route.

Elle, <BR>Thanks so much for the suggestion of Tournon-sur-Rhone; it does sound like a good possibility! I'll have a lot of fun collecting information &amp; images as I play with my options!<BR><BR>RonZ, <BR>Thanks for the note of realism here.<BR><BR>In the end, it probably makes more sense to split my time between Lyon &amp; Provence. But thanks all for your help!<BR><BR>s