Family trip to France - advice needed please
 

HI there - I have found these forums to be very helpful but am now so confused that I was hoping that I could get some help. We are travelling from Australia to France for approximately 5 weeks over Dec/Jan with our 4 kids (aged 12,11,8 & 6) . This is our first OS trip as a family. My husband loved France when he was following the Rugby World Cup 4 years ago, particularly the Provence region and this is the main reason for going. This is the only time that we can travel but being from Australia, experiencing the European winter will certainly be an experience the kids will never forget!

So far I have booked accomm in London (6 nights), Paris (6 nights) and Beaune (4 nights). We were going to head to Meribel for a White Christmas but found that we had to stay for a week and it was going to be quite expensive particularly for a family who have only skiied once before.

So....have made enquires then at Vaison La Romaine (and use this as a base for approx 10 days) Is this too long? Then head to Sarlat and explore the Dordogne for 5 days. I have absolutely no idea whether this is too far to travel in one day. I had read about Carcassonne too. I am also then stuck with what to do for another 7 days before we fly back to Australia (out of Paris) - Bordeaux/Toulouse....Not sure. Any local advice would be warmly received.

If this is a first overseas trip, and unless you have a lot of experience with, and enjoy, "dead places" in the middle of winter, I would rethink the Vaison-la-Romaine for 10 days part of the trip. It's a relatively small place and, while of course you can enjoy the Roman ruins and drive around to all the wine towns and through les Dentelles and up Mont-Ventoux and all that, in reality, there will be minimal activity, many things will be closed, and the days will be short. Same for the Dordogne, though Sarlat or Périgueux would be alive with local activity (including the truffle markets if you hit them at the right time).

I think you would be better off sticking with cities that time of year: Avignon, Aix-en-Provence, Nice, Montpellier, Toulouse, Bordeaux maybe (it's not wildly popular with visitors, though I'm fond of it). Even St-Rémy would have more activity in the dead of winter than Vaison, though it's not a city.

I assume you're traveling by car? To calculate distances and whether you can drive from X to Y in one day you can use website like Michelin or Mappy or a regular old paper map.

given the time you've got, what about a hop over the border to Barcelona?

plenty going on there any time of year and nice to get a taste of a different culture.

I don't think 10 days is terrible in that area, but I wouldn't do it, even if I wanted to see Provence/Vaucluse in the dead of winter, I might do 5 days there and 5 days down in Montpellier or something like that.

Four nights in Beaune? now that sounds really boring to me but I'm sure you had some reason for doing that, I just can't imagine what.

I agree that 10 days is too long in VLR. As suggested, try 4 or 5 days in that area or maybe base yourself in Avignon instead - I think the idea to go to cities more so than small country villages in the winter is a really good idea. And I am afraid I agree that 4 nights in Beaune might be at least two nights too many. Stay in Dijon instead and make Beaune a day trip. You might get a white Chirstmas by slipping across the German border - spend some time in Strasbourg and go from there.

5 weeks gives you a lot of time so you should have a chance to get all the climate differences you want - beach, mountain and so on. Last Spetember i spent 4 weeks in France and then one in Germany - and I loved it! Germany was a nice change of pace too. What a great time for you and the kids.

Thank you everyone - OK, going to have a rethink and get back to you. I am having a bit of a panic now particularly about the "dead" of winter and finding things closed.

Have you thought about spending some of the time in Switzerland. As long as you are going in the winter, you might as well enjoy a winter climate for a few days.

It's not just finding things closed. It's the weather - often chilly and rainy, the very short days - dark by 4 pm or so - and not having much scenery to look at when everythig is sort of brown and crunchy.

I would agree to focus on some larger towns with more going on.

Agree that Strasbourg would be great that time of year - and perhaps a trip over into Germany for the Christmas markets.

And have you figured out what to do on the holidays - when everything actually is closed?

Hi Ott,

>I am having a bit of a panic now particularly about the "dead" of winter and finding things closed.<

Calm down.

It's not as if the country turns into a ghost town.

I agree with St Cirq.

The Pont du Garde and the Gorges de l'Ardeche will be open.
You might want to try a daytrip to the ocean while you are there, eg, Saintes Maries de la mer.

I don't think 4 days in Beaune is too much. Use one day to visit Dijon.

Lyon would be an interesting city for 2-3 nights. I prefer it to Bordeaux.

Carcassone is what Eugene Viollet-le-Duc thought a medieval city should be. Think Disneyland. It is worth 1-2 nights.

Bring warm clothes.

Enjoy your visit.

((I))

Thanks for all these helpful tips.Sounds like Vaison la Romaine may be best for just a day visit. Our alternative thought is St Remy or Avignon but leaning toward St Remy. Our aim is to have one base and focus more on day trips. So now thinking St Remy as a base for 7 or so days then may be Toulouse as a base for 4 or 5 days before Sarlat for 5 or so. Is this making better sense?

Yes, that's much better.

Loads of great day trips near Beaune. Dijon, Autun, Châteauneuf, Vézelay, Abbey de Fontenay, Châteaux of Commarin and Bussy-Rabutin or just getting lost wandering along the small country roads and passing through centuries old charming villages.

A couple of other great places are the two walled medieval towns of Semur-en-Auxois and Noyers-sur-Serein and some charming nearby villages. I have a trip report about the latter that is full of photos that might give you some ideas.

http://tinyurl.com/6dkeozh

Here are some other links you may find useful:

http://www.beaune-tourism.com/

http://www.visitdijon.com/en/

http://www.burgundy-visit.com/gb/index_gb.php

http://www.vezelaytourisme.com/

linternaute.com/sortir/…11.shtml

http://www.ville-semur-en-auxois.fr/

http://www.noyers-et-tourisme.com/

www.abbayedefontenay.com/abbayedefontenay.htm

http://www.commarin.com/

bussy-rabutin.monuments-nationaux.fr/fr/

Having four kids and having travelled overseas (that is Canada and USA for us) when they were about your kids age, I know that logistics can become heavy at times. Saint Remy is not a bad base to start from. In France, short term accomodation are basically of two types: "Gites" are accomodations where you cook for yourself, but usually one week minimum stay. "Chambres d'hotes" are more like B&Bs with no minimum stay. For the former, prefer those labelled by "Gites de France" or "Le routard" for quality control. From Saint Remy, you can visit ochre mines near Apt (14°C all year round) and a couple of nice local hiking trails. Also Aix en Provence, but avoid Marseille. In Arles, there is a nice Museum about recent findings of Roman artefacts in the Rhone river, including a rare bust of Cesar, the only other one being in Italy. Les Baux de Provence being another site worth visiting. Those three cities are within 1-2 h drive from Saint Remy.
We now live in Montpellier. Quite a number of nice sites in the area: Saint Guilhem, Pont du Gard, Gorges du Tarn, a couple of spectacular caves. Also Aigues-Mortes, with a visit to the salt production plant nearby.
While in Beaune, there is a fantastic site about a 2 h drive away: Guedelon, where a castle is being built with medieval techniques, and kids can participate by making medieval instruments, learning geometry as applied to the real world. But I am not sure it is open in winter.
We have an apartment in the Alps, and the tourist office has been pressuring owners for renting for periods of less than a week, so you might want to shop around: 3 nights is now the minimum stay (http://www.lescontamines.com/): this site is about a small village more family oriented than Meribel, with a view on Mont Blanc from the ski slopes.

Unfortunately Guédelon is closed from Nov. 2nd to April 1st. It is indeed a great place, for kids and adults.

Thanks all - It is certainly mind blowing the local knowledge out there and when you are researching from Australia it seems quite overwhelming. However, I am going to take my time with your thoughts and put together another plan. My hubby did have some thoughts and we would welcome additional comments for the second part of the trip keeping in mind that these places are bases :

So, after St. Remy, Carcasonne then Toulouse (via Castres). Then onto Albi for a couple of nights, and Sarlat for around 5 days. We are getting tight on time then, so only have about three days before we fly out of Paris on the 14/1. Loire Valley ? Thanks heaps, Ottster06

For what it's worth, we are also Australian and took our two kids (then 12 and 9) to France (and other countries) for 5 weeks but in the Autumn. We landed in Paris and stayed in an apartment for a week. Our 12 year old did not sleep at all on the flight. He managed to stay awake until mid-afternoon and then slept for 17 hours straight. I was tempted to poke him to see if he was still alive! However, he was fine after that. So allow for some catch up time when you get there. Paris was great for the children (and us, of course). There are several threads on this forum on things which would attract children in Paris.

We also stayed in both Avignon and St Remy and I preferred the latter and would choose to base myself there, especially if I had a car (we didn't). Les Baux, although touristy, is a great place for kids but be careful as there are some high points where the rails are not great. We visited during a Mistral and nearly got blown off our feet. They have a treasure hunt designed for children which our youngest did with Dad in tow.

Have never been to Loire Valley but it is big on cycling, which would be fun if it's not too cold.

If you are not confident driving on the right hand side in busy traffic and possibly in wintry conditions, I would think about taking a train to a regional centre (e.g. Avignon) and hiring your car from there. If you want to purchase long distance train tickets, the cheapest available are generally Prems tickets which come on sale 3 months prior to departure. Check www.voyages-sncf.com. We paid 64euro for four tickets from Paris to Avignon, which is really cheap. We also found that the discounted adult tickets were cheaper than the children's tickets so bought four adult ones. Arrange to pick them up from a Paris train station. Take your email confirmation and the credit card you used to the ticket window. Tickets must be validated before boarding, I believe. There is heaps of information about French train tickets on this forum.

Thank dreamon- appreciate the thumbs up on St. Remy and the tips

If you buy the discounted advance PREM tickets from the SNCF website, you print them right out on your computer - no need to pick them up at the train station. They start selling them three months out from your travel date. You don't have to validate PREMs.

Good to hear you can now print Prems tickets at home - couldn't do that when we last bought them. I have to book tickets next week so that's useful info for me. Thanks!

HI all, staying up late watching the Tour de France, we are getting so very excited about our wonderful trip to France. We have now booked accommodation in St. Remy as a base for 10 days for Christmas and New Years. We may get some criticm for this length in St. Remy, but with 4 kids we really wanted to relax and enjoy the festive season. We have made enquiries at the Hotel Albert 1er for 3 nights although we will be a late arrival on the 1st day due to the drive from St. Remy. We have decided that we would have seen a lot of churches, chateau's etc so have decided that Carcassonne might be a day trip rather than an overnighter. We have then booked Sarlat for 5 days. This takes us through to 9/1 and we fly back to Australia on the 14/1

Do we have time to do a bit of Spain? Or, do we head back to Paris via the Loire. Another thought - where would you suggest finding some snow from our itinerary?

Have sent a message to Stu but I think he is away. Your helpful thoughts would be appreciated....

In deciding whether to go to Spain or not, apart from obviously considering where you'd go and what you'd see, also take into account the fact that there'll be a new language to manage and a new culture. That can be both good or bad but something to consider. And you have to get back to Paris to fly home.

With kids, I'd be tempted to stay in France and visit somewhere that gives you a different feel from the south, such as the Loire Valley or Strasbourg area. Ten days in St Remy sounds good to me. Are you staying in Paris immediately prior to flying home (didn't understand this bit)?

We spent 5 nights in St Remy last month and loved it. Market day (wednesday) was busy but otherwise it was very peaceful. I think you made an excellent choice there.

From there, we took the TGV direct from Avignon to Tours (St Pierre des Corps) in the Loire valley. The trip was 4 1/2 hours and our first class prems tickets were only 38€.

We stayed in Chenonceaux which has a beautiful chateau. Nearby Amboise reminded me of St Remy. We were there on a Sunday evening and again on Monday and there were few other tourists; apparently it is often overrun with tourists, but perhaps it wouldn't be in January.

From Tours, it is one hour to Paris by TGV (17€) or you could drive and turn your rental car in at CDG.

Thanks dreamon and artdithl - At this stage, from Sarlat on the 9/1 we now think it a little ambititious to attempt Spain and we seem to be moving in a logical movement back towards Paris. Considering basing ourselves in Bordeaux and do some day trips to St. Emilion (any other day trips welcomed) and then TGV to Paris for an overnight stay before flying out at 1pm on the 14/1/12. Although we have frends who have a beautiful home at Maine-et-Loire holiday cottage in Montguillon but we are wondering whether this is out of the way OR should we shorten our time in Bordeaux and head, as you suggested dreamon, via this quaint holiday cottage...

Nearly there and so much to do before our first OS trip with our 4 kids (12,11,8 & 6)

We hope that that kids will get a real sense of French life as we are travelling around for around 4 weeks. All of our acccommodation is booked now so here it is,noting that we have hired a car for around 21 days so using these destinations as a base. Thank you for all of your amazing knowledge. It is quite overwhelming. My eldest and hubby (with me in earshot) have had about 8 weeks of lessons. Not a lot, but hoping that our attempts to communicate in French may give us some brownie points!

London 7/12 - 12/12
Paris 12/12 - 18/12
Beaune 18/12 - 22/12
St. Remy 22/12 - 1/1
Limoux 1/1 - 5/1
Toulouse 5/1 - 8/1
Sarlat 8/1 - 13/1 and then to Paris again as we fly out on the 14/1 back to Brisbane, Australia.

A mistake that we have made is the arrival day being on a Sunday in some places (knowing now that everything is pretty dead on a Monday)

Any last minute "must see's" or advice would be warmly received.

well, you have sensibly booked accommodation in some quite large places where you have the best chance of finding things to do, even on a slow Monday.

I would suggest that you start to research things you definitely want to do and the days they shut, which may be more numerous in the winter. eg - I'm thinking particularly about Sarlat and attractions such as Lascaux ll and the gouffre de Padirac. also in Paris the Louvre and the Musee D'Orsay have different opening and closing days.

similarly if you want to book ahead for the ceremony of the Keys at the Tower of London, now would be the time to do it:

http://www.hrp.org.uk/TowerOfLondon/...emonyofthekeys

have a wonderful trip!

Another city that is interesting for a day trip is Reims. You could visit Reims on one of your travel days to or from Paris.

When in Limoux :
The Cathar Castles of Puilaurens, Queribus and Peyrepertuse.
Dinosaur Museum and Hat Museum in Esperaza (might interest your children) : http://www.dinosauria.org/
Rennes-le-Chateau
Prehistoric Museum in Tautavel : http://www.tautavel.com/
Carcassonnewww.
African park in Sigean between Narbonne and Perpignan : reserveafricainesigean.fr
Abbey of Fontfroide between Narbonne and Lezignan : http://www.fontfroide.comhttp://pers...desainthilaire
The castle of CIllerouge-Termenès

I have absolutely nothing of value to offer ;o) but just wanted to say Safe Travels & Have Fun! What a special trip for your family. Your kids will never forget it! Please report back with your impressions. I am researching a trip to France for our family.

As above, I have nothing of value to offer. If any of our adult children are reading this, they are saying 'why did we never do this!!' We are also Aussies and can realise what a big deal this is. My wish for you is that you have a fabulous trip and you and your very lucky children come home loving France and begin planning your next trip. You will have a great time and I look forward to hearing all about it.

Thank you so much for the vote of confidence. Not sure if I will be knowledgeable enough to write a trip report but because of the invaluable information that i have received I might give it a go!Travelling in France in the Winter with 4 children aged 12,11,8.5 and 6.5 will obviously have its stories! Wish me luck!

Hi Our family rented a farmhouse for 7 days w/another famly (5 kids total) in Provence. Had a great time. We contacted Marlene Boyer of "Experience Provence" who hooked us up with many child oriented activities. We made chocolate truffles in Chateau neuf du pape, went horseback riding in the Camargue and on a treasure hunt in Les Baux which is a medieval castle town complete with ancient restored military catapults and trebuchets that the kids loved! Not sure about what's available in winter but we found plenty to keep our families busy in Oct. Have a great time!

Don't undrestimate the time it takes for those day trips to Eastern provence towns. We were exhausted on those roads returning to St Remy, after a few 3 hour round trips. We stayed in St Remy for a week at a gite, but if i were doing it over, I'd have divided it up with half there, and half further east in Provence.
Haveing a bse for a week is fine, but with 4 kids, do you want to be in the car for a huge chunk of precious time? Nexgt trip, i have swonr that there will be no day trips from any base, anywhere, that are more than 1 hour away by navigator (which will inevitably take longer with those winding country roads and speeding French country road drivers). The need for cautious driving was greater in the Dordogne, where Sarlat was our base, but there was more of interest closer to our base.
I would give Sarlat a bit more than 5 days, and give Vaison la Romaine waaaayyy less than ten days.
Near Sarlat, DO NOT miss la Rogue St Christophe, a place you AND your kids will love. My forever thanks tp St Cirq for telling me and daughter about this place--one of THE highlights of our trip last June.

Apologies, ottster. I missed your more recent post prior to writing the above. For near Sarlat, don't miss Chateau de Beynac. You can drive right to the top if you dont feel like walking up (we sure didnt in the heat--which you will not have!)

Your kids will love it. It has an eerie, mysterious feel which will appeal to them. And, as noted above, they and you will enjoy La Rogue St Chrstophe. And of couse, at least one of the caves with prehistoric paintings will be fun for them--if not for the art, for the cave itself!!

Good luck with French attempts. Good for your son and hubby!! I find the Parisians MUCH friendlier than folks in the provinces (I speak fluent French and still get snooty , fake-smile looks at times).And for heaven's sake, be careful driving on those country roads after sunset!
You'll love Sarlat at night, with the gas lamps illuminating the alleys. The Wednesday market there is terrific. The local people say it is "small" but if that is small, i wonder what "big" is !like!!!

I never eat at McDonald's at home (USA) but got a kick out of it in France. It is guaranteed place for wi-fi, and watching the French families was great fun! Ah, the universalities of family life!!

In Sarlat, at the north end of the city (north of the "historic center" is a McDonald's and across from the same parking lot is Carrefour, huge store with all sorts of clothes, appliances, groceries- in the USA the equivalent is Target, not sure of what you have in Australia.

As noted above by Annhig, Ceremony of the Keys is IMHO must-do (along with stowe of London and loads of other sites in wonderful London). But it'll b bloody cold by the Thames--dress warm!!!!

Have a wonderful trip!!!

We enjoyed La Roque Christophe. We visited on a rainy day, and DH was very disappointed when taking photos from the site to the river because of the mist. But when we looked at the photos that night , they are fabulous - so atmospheric.

Dordogne is a lovely area. We have had two weeks in different parts, so even at this time you should have a great time.

Carrefour [ not everywhere] are huge supermarkets with everything. Think Woolies, BigW, Target in one store. In fact French supermarkets [ look for Intermarche, SuperU, Eleclerc ] are great. Check out the cheese and charcuterie sections. Terrific. Learn some simple French - a slice [une tranche] of this cheese with some gestures to indicate size.

Hope you have a wonderful time. We are off in Spring 2012 and cannot wait. best wishes.

In Arles, which would be an easy day trip from St. Remy, stop by the visitors center and pick up the map of spots in the city where Vincent Van Gogh painted. At each spot that he painted, there is a post showing the painting in the very setting that he painted as it exists today. Following the map and finding the posts with the paintings scattered around town is like a scavenger hunt which may be fun for the kids as they learn a little about art at the same time. Have a wonderful trip.