best countryside in France
 

Really looking forward to stay for 2-3 days (end June, with wife/kid) at a lush green french countryside. Any suggestions?

From where? Why? Information?

you need a river to be certain of the green, do you want to stay on campsites or hotels, If campsites then dig out http://www.eurocamp.co.uk/ or similar to get some ideas

You should go to the Dordogne, near the beautiful village of Aubeterre sur Drone, it's a very nice area and you can swim in the river.
Or you can also go to the inland of Brittany!

No, you shouldn't go to the Dordogne if you only have 2-3 days. It will take most of that time to get there and back to anywhere.

Perhaps if you care to provide a bit more essential information, such as where you're coming from, how you're traveling, what your interests are, what your budget is, and what it is about French countryside that appeals to you, someone might be able to suggest something reasonable.

Thanks a lot guys. I work in Saudi Arabia and my eyes crave green!! Have planned a two week vacation to France which includes 1 week in Paris, around 3-4 days at Lyon (or Geneva as it is easier to access Chamonix/Mont Blanc from Geneva)and was thinking of keeping 2-3 days for countryside to relax a bit. Have a 1 year old daughter so would like to keep the travelling to a minimum. I stayed at Garchy for a field trip back in 2005 and I loved the relaxed atmosphere/greenery..

I'm thinking you may want to stop somewhere in wine country outside of Dijon between Paris and Lyon?

If you are willing to give up Lyon, and add a couple more days to your green countryside desires, you could visit the Loire Valley, which night fit the bill nicely. How do you plan to travel -- drive or trains?

Well, if you are going to be in Lyon, it seems to me that the Lakke at Annecy would be a lovely green area to visit. It is gorgeous and would not involve much traveling from your other sites.

You don't need to go very far from Paris to find green in the form of forests and pastures. Field crops may or may not be green, depending on the timing of your trip, but animal pastures usually stay green, and then you have the bonus of cows and apple trees. (I'm thinking of Normandy.)

If you want peaceful green countryside, I suggest the Perche around Mortagne-au-Perche. It's mostly unspoiled countryside, dotted with 15-16c manor houses. The area has a lot of national forests which are well managed. You might see wild boar. You can rent bikes for the family and ride along the voie verte, which is mostly under a canopy of trees. You can see Percheron horses at the park HQ near Noce. (The Perche is a natural regional park.) You can visit a goat farm (maybe the most beautiful goat farm ever) on some evenings. You can eat at a restaurant that also boards horses and watch them in the ring. You can do trail rides from there too. In Belleme there's miniature golf. You can count sundials in Mortagne. Some B&Bs have swimming pools. The Grande Randonnee to Mont Saint Michel goes through here. Belleme is one of the areas of France with low light pollution. You can kayak on the Huisne. The market at L'Aigle on Tuesday morning is a lively one.

I'm not good on this keyboard, but if you are interested in specifics, let me know and I'll respond when I'm at home.

You can tell I'm fond of this area, but it's not necessarily the best for your purposes. I'll be interested to see what other suggestions you get.

Also: very close to Paris--see the trip reports by FrenchMystique of his days out on a bike near Paris. http://www.fodors.com/community/prof...mystiquetours/

FMT gives bike tours so you might be able to get your greenery fix while staying in Paris and doing some bike tours with him.