First trip to France - Itinerary Advice
 

We're planning 10-12 days to France early next September. Flying from Toronto to Paris for 5 nights. The plan is to then to rent a car to drive to Lyon and fly home from there. Would greatly appreciate advice on what towns/villages to see in 5 or 6 days. Looking for picturesque, quaint areas. Thoughts on Annecy and Chamonix?
Many thanks!

Hi LGT,

Why Lyon?

((I))

hello,

welcome in France. You want to rent a car but you should know that it exist a train between Paris and Lyon, the journey is only 2 hours, every hour, at the difference with a car which is 5 hours. You can rent a car in Lyon in order to go to Annecy.

But if you drive between Paris and Lyon, make a stop at Beaune, it is on the road and it is a beautiful town, don't miss "hospices de Beaune"

I wish you a good trip

Lyon for 7 nights? Unless you are going primarily for the food, 7 nights is way too long. Think about frenchgirl's suggestion to take the train to Lyon then rent a car to see nearby towns.

Agree not to spend 7 nights in Lyon. If you want to see smaller towns and countryside -then do so with a couple of stops. We stayed at a charming old converted in in Avallon to visit the nearby National Forest (and saw an ermine running down the opposite side of the stream from the restaurant) and the incredible town of Vezelay. You can also easily see Beaune from there. Or, if you prefer there are several chateaux in the area where you can stay. I would suggest at least 2 different stops - possibly one in Lyon if you want to spend several days there. But IMHO when doing a road trip staying in the countryside can be more pleasant.

I should have said we planned to use Lyon as a base, as we'd like to fly home from there instead of going
back to Paris. So not staying there for all 5 or 6 nights. Would like advice for best driveable areas to see around Lyon. Definitely open to staying overnight in different towns in countryside. Want to maximize time.

Frenchgirl - we thought driving from Paris to Lyon would be be scenic?

Your responses are great - please keep them coming!

Hi Ira - chose Lyon for 2 reasons: Food and location. Do you recommend a different area?

LGT

scenic? Not really because 5 hours is the time by the highway. Highway in France don't permit to see landscape. It's busy, there is a lot of cars and trucks... It need to be attentive.

For that, you must take roads in the countryside, but it will take more hours (at least 8 I think)

And in France, it cost more money (a lot !) if you don't drop the car in the same town, so if you want to fly home from Lyon, it's cheaper to take the car in Lyon, at the train station for example.

I can help you for other towns if you want. What do you like for visits : castles, museums, churchs, history, wine ?

For food, Lyon is well, but food is good everywhere if you have the good adresses, I recommand

http://www.viamichelin.co.uk/web/Restaurants

Michelin is the reference in France for restaurants.

Lyon is pretty and is the second touristic town after Paris (and area). After, it is Nice and Côte d'Azur, Aix-en Provence, Strasbourg and Bordeaux.

<<And in France, it cost more money (a lot !) if you don't drop the car in the same town>>

This isn't true. Most Americans rent from a broker like AutoEurope or Kemwel that is affiliated with numerous car rental agencies in France, and with few exceptions there is no extra fee to drop a car off in a place different from where you pick it up. We just picked up a car in Périgueux and dropped it off in La Rochelle, for example, and there was no drop-of fee whatsoever.

I agree that it won't be a scenic ride to Lyon from Paris if you take the autoroute. They just aren't scenic. If you want to break up the route with stops in Auxerre and Dijon.

And much as I love Lyon, I wouldn't want 5 nights there.

I would take the TGV from Paris to Aix en Provence, then gradually work my way back up to Lyon by car. Provence is great in September.

Hope this helps,
Andre

ok, sorry ! I don't knew that because in France, they ask for big supplements (that's the raison why I wrote "in France, it cost..." )! It's arrangements which certainly need to make reservation before the trip? And It couldn't be applied for a reservation directly made in France.

The vast majority of people posting here are Americans, and pretty much all of them make car rental arrangements in advance. If you drop a car off in a different COUNTRY you will pay a LOT to do that, but for the most part, no extra fees for dropping off in another town or city in the same country. Even if the actual company the broker is affiliated with is, e.g., Europcar or Cité.

Hi ...I just wrote a report aboit our trip to Lyon and surrounding area ( including Annecy) which may be of interest....

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...and-annecy.cfm

Hope it helps!
Kim

You could take the TGV from Paris to Dijon, visit Dijon for a day, then pick up a car and move on to Beaune or another small town for a few days. From there, you could take daytrips to many small towns in Burgundy. Then, continue to Annecy and on to Lyon for the last few days.

We did something like that in reverse, beginning with a few days in Lyon, continuing via a very scenic route to Annecy, then to Beaune where we were based for four days. If you click on my username, you will find my trip report and photos from that trip.

I was going to suggest Dijon, also, and places in that area before Lyon. YOU could visit Troyes, also.

Perouges is scenic near Lyon. http://www.perouges.org/

haven't been to Chamonix, think of it mainly as a ski resort, but those are usually fairly scenic rest of the year.

Can't believe it's a month since I've had a chance to return - crazy time of year. Many thanks to all for great advice! In process of firming flights - Sept 6th for 12 days! Kim and MainGG - thanks for trip reports - wonderful. Would be so much easier if we had another 2 weeks :)