fun4all4

Hi All,

After being "all over the map" on what we might want to do next summer, I think I have finally focused on France. For the first time, I have enough miles to get FF tickets if I act promptly.

Before I commit on tickets, does this basic structure work?

4-5 nights Paris (train to Bordeaux and pick up car?)
3-4 nights Dordogne
1-2 nights Provence (on way to Nice)
3 nights Nice

We will be going in the first half of July 2007. DH and I will travel with our then 13 year old son. Our 16 year old son will most likely be away for 5 weeks on his own at that time (probably Israel or a program in South Africa). It is possible that we may add him onto the trip if his plans don't come together.

DH and I were in Paris 25 years ago (separately)and that was our last visit. We love history & architecture, culture, good food/wine and the outdoors with some city time and some country time, including hiking, water, biking or similar outdoorsy stuff. For example, one of our best trips ever was this past June where we hiked in the Berner Oberland (stayed in Wengen), visited Milan, spent several days on the North end of Lake Garda with boating and swimming, and then finished in Venice. We are looking for a similar combo of city and small village/outdoors.

I would love some input from our France "experts" on whether this basic structure is a good plan so I can get tickets. I will then work on the details. I have already started reading posts from Stu, St. Cirq, Ms.Go, and many others. I have also gotten a few guidebooks and been on trip advisor.

So, would this be a good trip? Any variations I should consider?

Thanks so much!!

Dukey

When is your proposed return date?

kerouac

Bordeaux is perhaps the most boring major city in France, even if the region is nice.

fun4all4

Thanks for the prompt replies!

Dukey - probably around the 18th or 19th of July, depending on what we can get. Why?

kerouac - I wasn't planning on staying in Bordeaux, just picking up car and driving on. Is there a better way to get to Dordogne from Paris?

Dukey

Because right now you can book a return flight for no earlier than 17 July on most airline computers (Cotinental being a notable exception) so you've got a day or so to think about it.

ira

Hi F,

I suggest that you skip Provence and Niceh this trip.

Add 1 night to Paris and the rest to the Dordogne.

I also suggest that you fly into Bordeaux, via Paris, and train to Paris from Brive La Gaillarde, Perigueux or Libourne.

Leave from Paris.

Have nice trip.

fun4all4

Thanks for the replies.

Yes, Dukey, I realized I was getting down to just a couple of days so wanted some input as I pondered my choices. Thanks so much!

Hmmm, Ira, thanks for your input. I will take it into consideration. I do so value your comments and I don't want to be crazy, but we do like to move around some and see a few different areas. However, I looked on mappy and some of those distances were pretty long. Are there enough water and hiking activities in the Dordogne to keep our active family interested? I suppose that is a silly question by the time we canoe, visit castles, hike and explore the caves, I am sure there is plenty. It is so tempting, though, to spend a bit of time on the coast. It is always a fine line/balance between enjoying and having time for what we do see and wanting to do everything!

By the way, why the Dordogne first, then Paris?

Any other observations or suggestions?

Thanks to all and Happy Travels!

kerouac

Take the train to Limoges rather than Bordeaux.

beaux

We flew last month from Paris (Orly) to Brive on Airlinair.com for something like 50 euro a ticket. It was a good way to get to the Dordogne. You might want to consider that.

Kate_W

It might have been suggested that you fly straight to the Dordogne instead of stopping in Paris because it might be that the connecting flight would be included in the miles already required for your plane ticket to France. Therefore, you'd save the cost of a train ride from Paris to wherever. And it is a little easier (and maybe a little cheaper, I think) to buy train tickets once you're already in France.

You also should keep in mind the holiday migration patterns of the French when you plan your travel days. Half of Paris will get on the road on or around July 14 (Bastille Day) to drive to a coast to start their summer holidays. (The same thing happens throughout the country - it's just at its worst in Paris.) We drove to Normandy on this weekend this year, and it was a zoo on the main autoroutes (but quite quiet on the backroads, especially since we left Paris early on July 14). There is likely to be another huge exodus (and nightmare travel weekend) around July 28 (as those who didn't leave on July 14 start their August holidays).

By the way, I just spent a long weekend in Bordeaux with my husband and father and didn't find it boring at all. It is, however, practically impossible to drive within the city of Bordeaux. It took us 5 minutes to drive from the train station to within 100 metres of our hotel, and another 35 minutes to cover the remaining distance. Eventually, the only way we were able to exit an impossible maze of one-way/no-way streets, pedestrian streets and streets blocked due to construction was to a) drive down a pedestrian street (they didn't seem to mind) and then b) drive the wrong way down a one-way street, all to get us to the street we'd reached half an hour earlier. And we still didn't get to drive up to the hotel, but we did reach the parking lot.

You might look at spending a day or so in the Bordeaux area and signing up for a wine tasting class and tour of some of the vineyards. It's easy to organise such activities once you get to Bordeaux.

ira

Hi fun,

>By the way, why the Dordogne first, then Paris?<

You won't have to backtrack.

You might find my trip report useful.
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34676645

Photos at http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...&y=-pla2au

fun4all4

Thanks to beaux and kerouac for those routing suggestions. I will look into them.

ira - Your report is spectacular! And, I am convinced that Paris and the Dordogne/Lot region will be enough for our time. Perhaps it would be possible to spend a day at Plage Narbonne during our stay? And, we will just make sure to find a hotel(s) with a pool.

I was actually thinking of spending our first 5 nights or so in Paris, then heading to the countryside for the last 7-8 nights or so.

I thought I could just fly into CDG and out of Bordeaux instead of into Bordeaux and out of CDG - no difference on the backtracking issue.

HOWEVER, Kate W's description of the rush to the south combined with our timing might make it necessary to start in the South then head north to Paris. We plan to arrive in France around July 6th or 7th and depart on the 18th or 19th.

So, if I went to Paris first, I would be heading to the Dordogne region right about the 11th or 12th of July for the week - would that be madness? The other choice would be to stay in the south from around July 7- 14, then go to Paris. It will still involve travel during a holiday, but would I be "going against the traffic?"

I wish we could go in June which is when we went to Italy this past year, but it doesn't look as if our schedule will allow it - this is due to school schedules and my older son going out of the country as well. June was so pleasant and not too crowded...sigh. But, it is better to go in July than not go at all!

Any and all suggestions welcome! FF tickets are available starting tomorrow or the next day. My husband did run into a scheduling conflict at work which he is trying to work out today - keep your fingers crossed that we are free to get tickets instead of having to wait. [-o< I am now so excited about the possibility of this trip. Once we get tickets, I can fine tune where to stay and such.

Thanks for all your help!!

ira

Hi fun,

Glad my report helped you.

>I thought I could just fly into CDG and out of Bordeaux instead of into Bordeaux and out of CDG - <

The disadvantage to this is the connection at CDG. If you miss your plane, you are stuck in France until the next flight home.

If you go South first, if you miss your plane, at least you are in France until the next flight to Bordeaux or wherever.

From CDG, you can fly to Bordeaux, Montpellier, Perpignan and Toulouse on AF.

My suggestion is to fly to Montpellier or Perpignan, pick up a car and head for the beach.

Then work your way up to the Dordogne, drop your car in Libourne or Brive la Gaillarde and take the TGV to Paris. - 25E pp PREMS fare.

Others will probably suggest other ways back to Paris by train.

Enjoy your visit.

fun4all4

I really appreciate all your detailed suggestions -thanks!

If I fly to Bordeaux, my connection is actually through Munich! I already checked as we have done the "miss our flight connection through CDG thing" before. I will look at the other flights and locations. Time to get out the detailed map!

I'll be back.

Judy

We once got ff tickets round trip from Norfolk, VA to Bordeaux with a stopover in Paris. Flew from Norfolk to CDG to Bordeaux, picked up a car and spent a week in Le Bugue then a couple nights in St. Emilion. We then flew from Bordeaux to Orly, stayed a few nights in Paris then home from CDG. This was with Delta miles flying Air france. This way, we had all transportation costs covered.

fun4all4

OK, hubby has the go ahead from work and I need to work on these tickets tomorrow. Yippee.

So, my big decision is whether to fly into Bordeaux or Toulouse, maybe spend a couple of nights near one of those, then spend rest in the Dordogne.

Any recommendations on the Bordeaux wine thing and/or an Atlantic beach/plage? OR Go into Toulouse and visit Carcassonne and which beach near there? OR Give up the beach already!! Just enjoy the river and pool.

Sorry to still be so confused. I have been reading and researching for a couple of days, but this trip came up quickly. And, like I usually find, the more I read the more I want to see and do - so many awesome choices. Once we secure our airline tickets, I can be more orderly and diligent about my research. At the moment, there is so much to absorb and think about that I don't have a clear picture yet.


Bottom line: Fly into Bordeaux or Toulouse for a 7 night stay in the area?

Thanks!

ira

Hi fun,

If you fly into Bordeaux, you can visit the beach at Arcachon.

If you fly into Toulouse, Montpellier or Perpignan you can visit the Mediterannean beaches - recommended.

You can visit Carcassone as a daytrip from Narbonne Plage or the other beach towns.

On the way to Sarlat, stop off to see the Grotte Peche Merle and the Lot Valley near Cahors.

fun4all4

Excellent as it looks like my best flying option will be to go into Toulouse. My FF miles are with United - they go into Toulouse or Bordeaux, but not Montpellier or Perpignan.

The best flight times, as well as avoiding the connection through CDG, mean going into Toulouse.

We will then rent a car which we will return to Libourne (most likely) or Brive La Gaillarde.

It sounds like even if we don't visit the beach, the chance to go up through the Lot valley makes a nice trip. Bordeaux also sounds good, but if we have to choose, it looks like the Toulouse option.

Would you stay in Narbonne Plage area and visit other? Or, stay closer to Toulouse and visit the beach?

Thanks so much!!! I will secure those airline tickets, then focus on where to stop and stay.

fun4all4

Will I be able to return our rental car on Saturday, 14 Juillet (Bastille Day). We will arrive on 7 July and would like to spend 7 nights in the area.

We want to return the car, probably in Libourne, on that day and then take the TGV to Paris.

Opinions?