Family of 5 Need suggestions from Rennes to Lyon - where to go with 5 days?
Jun 2nd, 2012, 12:19 PM
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Family of 5 Need suggestions from Rennes to Lyon - where to go with 5 days?
We are a family of 5 who will be traveling to France for 12 days end of July-beginning of August. We have 3 kids - ages 14, 13 and 6 (two older kids are girls; youngest is a boy). We are planning on spending the first 6 days in Paris, then traveling for a 5-6 days and ending up either in Lyon or Marseilles (from where we can fly to Florence or Pisa). We will then spend a week in a villa with friends near Florence.
The question is which way to go from Paris? We have some friends in Rennes, so we've thought about taking the train to Rennes then picking up a car there and visiting Dinan, Dinard, St. Malo, Cancale area for a day and visiting with them for a day.
That leaves 4 days before we need to be in either Lyon or Marseille. The question is... which way to go? Would love a driving plan from Rennes south and west...
I've thought about just staying in Brittany as the kids certainly love beaches and the coast line, then taking a train to Lyon and flying from there but it feels like it'd be nice to see two different areas, maybe Brittany for 3 days, then Provence for 3 days?
Specific towns/hotels sights are appreciated. I know this is not much to go on!
ps - we are also thinking about just driving all the way to Florence... is that crazy? When I compare the one-way drop off fee from the car rental company to the price for 5 plane tickets or train tickets (and the time it would still take on the train), seems like the drop-off fee isn't so bad. But, then, there will be gas as well.
All help is very much appreciated!
The question is which way to go from Paris? We have some friends in Rennes, so we've thought about taking the train to Rennes then picking up a car there and visiting Dinan, Dinard, St. Malo, Cancale area for a day and visiting with them for a day.
That leaves 4 days before we need to be in either Lyon or Marseille. The question is... which way to go? Would love a driving plan from Rennes south and west...
I've thought about just staying in Brittany as the kids certainly love beaches and the coast line, then taking a train to Lyon and flying from there but it feels like it'd be nice to see two different areas, maybe Brittany for 3 days, then Provence for 3 days?
Specific towns/hotels sights are appreciated. I know this is not much to go on!
ps - we are also thinking about just driving all the way to Florence... is that crazy? When I compare the one-way drop off fee from the car rental company to the price for 5 plane tickets or train tickets (and the time it would still take on the train), seems like the drop-off fee isn't so bad. But, then, there will be gas as well.
All help is very much appreciated!
Jun 2nd, 2012, 02:05 PM
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Stay in Brittany for the entire time. There is plenty of stuff to do there. 3 nights/2 days in Brittany and the same in Provence (1 day lost to travel time) won't allow you to see much at all - just sniff the air. Plus, in late July the roads can be clogged with Parisians heading south - I would not want to be in a car with 5 people going 45K/hr with huge backups at toll stations. You will probably wish you had stayed longer than 4-5 nights in Brittany. Lots of castles, interesting villages, beautiful coast, beautiful countryside, Rennes (one of my top 5 cities in France).
Also, this late in the game you might find difficulty securing hotel reservations in Provence for 5 people. We've spent 18 weeks vacationing in Provence - almost always in late June. It is crowded enough then - I would not want to be there in late July/early August unless you can find "hidden corners" away from the huge August crowds.
Regarding driving to Florence:
You certainly would not want to drive there from Brittany. Check flights from CDG. Take the TGV to CDG from Rennes - there is a 10:04 departure that arrives at 1:11.
We've spent about 6 weeks vacationing in Brittany. I developed an itinerary that describes our favorite villages, castles, scenic drives, etc. If you would like a copy, e-mail me at [email protected] & I'll attach one to the reply e-mail. I've sent over 4,000 copies of my various itineraries to people on Fodors.
Stu Dudley
Also, this late in the game you might find difficulty securing hotel reservations in Provence for 5 people. We've spent 18 weeks vacationing in Provence - almost always in late June. It is crowded enough then - I would not want to be there in late July/early August unless you can find "hidden corners" away from the huge August crowds.
Regarding driving to Florence:
You certainly would not want to drive there from Brittany. Check flights from CDG. Take the TGV to CDG from Rennes - there is a 10:04 departure that arrives at 1:11.
We've spent about 6 weeks vacationing in Brittany. I developed an itinerary that describes our favorite villages, castles, scenic drives, etc. If you would like a copy, e-mail me at [email protected] & I'll attach one to the reply e-mail. I've sent over 4,000 copies of my various itineraries to people on Fodors.
Stu Dudley
Jun 2nd, 2012, 06:05 PM
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>>I just send mine to my mother, in case she gets sick.<<
Huh???
Stu Dudley
______
Well, when we travel we only send our itineraries to certain family members and the person who boards our bird. But we do leave instructions to stop our mail and discontinue the newspaper. Crime and all that. Sending 4,000 copies would be a lot of xeroxing and stamps and the world's largest private e-mail address listing. I can't even remember my cousin's e-mail address and I know him.
Huh???
Stu Dudley
______
Well, when we travel we only send our itineraries to certain family members and the person who boards our bird. But we do leave instructions to stop our mail and discontinue the newspaper. Crime and all that. Sending 4,000 copies would be a lot of xeroxing and stamps and the world's largest private e-mail address listing. I can't even remember my cousin's e-mail address and I know him.
Jun 2nd, 2012, 06:54 PM
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we've travelled with 3 children its hard work from accommodation perspective.I'd drop out in carpentras or caromb but know this- taking a car into a city where you don't have parking is a nightmare. www.Francethefrenchway.co.nz
Jun 2nd, 2012, 07:27 PM
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You could as Stu says easily spend your time in Brittany. (I remember a wonderful summer as a teen on the beach at Trebeurden on the north coast, though they've changed the harbor there since then.) TGV to/from Rennes is easy, as is renting a car from there. Just make sure the rental is at the train station instead of the airport (as I made that mistake once!), and an automatic if you don't drive shift.
If you decide you want to look farther afield, you might want to do a loop, picking up a car in Rennes and making your way back towards Paris via the Loire Valley for a peek at the chateaus before hopping a flight to Italy. ...If your daughters grew up on tales of princesses and castles, this may be to their liking. And at a place like Chambord, plenty of running-around-outside room for your six year-old...
If you decide you want to look farther afield, you might want to do a loop, picking up a car in Rennes and making your way back towards Paris via the Loire Valley for a peek at the chateaus before hopping a flight to Italy. ...If your daughters grew up on tales of princesses and castles, this may be to their liking. And at a place like Chambord, plenty of running-around-outside room for your six year-old...
