Gail

We will be traveling to France in October and wonder if we need reservations outside of Paris. We will be renting a car and plan to go where our whims take us. We would like to just drive and stop where we like. I will be making up some kind of itinerary, but may not stick to it. Thanks! this is our first time in France! Gail

Al

We did much the same thing a few years agoin October. No reservations were needed outside Paris. We were in Normandy and Brittany, and then down in Provence. We found that the Michelin Red Guide was a good investment for locating and pre-pricing hotels. Fine local maps, too.

Gail

Thanks Al. We will be looking for lodgings (not bed and Breakfasts) that are clean and inexpensive. Are these types listed in the Michelin Red Guide? Do they have chain type Hotel/Motels in France? Like the Comfort Inn, or Holiday Inns that we have here in Canada and the U.S.? Gail

Al

The Red Guides usually start at the high end and work down, rarely having anything resembling the kind of small places you prefer. I suggest that you stop by a town's chamber of commerce tourist bureaus (often called the syndicat d'initiatif) because the smaller places are listed there. We often used those facilities and found them to be completely satisfactory. Bit by bit, France seems to be getting around to offering b&b type places in homes; don't reject them out of hand, please. We found some extraordinary places in Brittany and Normandy -- old chateaus and refurbished farmhouses that were simply splendid.

Gail

Thanks again Al! We have had a few bad experiences in b&bs that's why I am a bit apprehensive. The Chamber of Commerce is a great idea, we stop there when we travel in North America. How is the weather in October? We were in Italy last Oct. and found the weather great except for a fair bit of rain. Should we bring warmer clothes to France? What were your favourite places to return to? Gail

Al

Weather? Mixed. Bring raincoat. Loved Quimper, St. Malo, Dinan, Mt. St,-Michel, Normandy invasion beaches, Bayeux tapestry. A wool sweater would come in handy. Farther south, wish we could some day return to Lyon, le Puy en Velay, Annecy, Conques, Millau.

Gail

Thanks again Al - All duly noted! Gail