I'm just beginning to plan our first trip to France and I'm already getting excited. We hope to travel for three weeks and would like this trip to take very much the same 'shape' as our trip to Italy (also a first for us) did last year. In Italy, we spent a week in Rome in a hotel in Trastevere, then a week in an apartment in Montepulciano and used that as a base for day trips. Then four days in Florence and three in Venice, both in small hotels. As first-timers in Italy, I thought we should do the 'big four', Rome, Tuscany, Florence, Venice, and we had a variety of accommodation types which was very interesting.

This time, I'd like to spend a week in an apartment in Paris (and have many good ideas thanks to Fodorites), but then I'm sort of lost. Where do I want to go after Paris? Two, preferably three, places would be great and I'd consider staying in hotels or apartments. If I wanted to match my Italy trip in nature, where would you suggest I go after Paris?

what time of year are you going?

I love Provence and all it has to offer, wonderful food, great wine, slow pace, beautiful markets, great food (did Ialaready say that?), lavender, olive oil...I could go on and on.

But there are so many wonderful areas of France.

What interests you for the balance for the week stay? Seaside? Country? Historical sites?

Driving or rail?

Many possibilities...

Paris for a week, drive to Chartres and around Loire Valley...then TGV down to Provence and tour around there. I also liked Lyon, which is on way to the South.

Or, you could do Paris, then Lot/Dordogne driving.

suggestions on Paris apartments:
http://tinyurl.com/jhe9c
and
http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34867093

Will you have an additional week after Paris? Two weeks?
For contrasts in geography, history, and culture, you could spend some time in Normandy and in Provence, or Brittany and Provence (flying between hubs), or the Loire Valley and Provence which is easy to drive. Would you consider a river barge cruise (Rhone and Saone, for example)? You'd make stops every day, see different towns, not have to pack and unpack for a week, and these trips sound very appealing.

Hi hd,

You might want to look at my 3-weeks in France and Paris for some ideas.

Ira Does France

http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34676645

Photos at http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...&y=-pla2au

A friend of mine claims that the big secret of France is the fact that hotels tend to be cheaper there than almost anywhere else in the EU. Still cheaper might be a gite. you might want to try Gites de France (http://www.gites-de-france.fr/eng/index.htm) for long term stays or even overnight B&B's. For three weeks, I would suggest Normandy and Brittany as one possibility (see http://www.fodors.com/forums/pgMessa...p;tid=34444403), or the Loire Valley and Burgundy as another.

To hdm,
Repeating Julienas question; when are you going?

We're hoping to go late May/early June. We won't bother with a car in Paris but will have one in the countryside.

A river barge cruise sounds interesting. Do you have a website or two? Also, what is a 'gite'? I'm not familiar with that.

Wonderful suggestions already!

Sorry, I meant to add that one of us has an interest in wine but not enough of an interest for the big wine tours. We like to walk the small towns and the various neighbourhoods of the bigger cities, browse the shops, see the churches and galleries, chat with folks and see what it feels like to live in the neighbourhood. Someone mentioned taking a one-day course at Cordon Bleu and that sounds like fun. We're not exactly hard to please and like the 'slower travel' feel. We're not inclined to rush from one place to another trying to pack too much into a day and getting too tired to really enjoy ourselves. We like casual, neighbourhood types of restaurants and shopping in the local markets and cooking the occasional dinner at home. We're not sophisticated travelers -- for example, I've looked at a couple of chateaux and while I think they're gorgeous, I don't think we're really 'the type'. Does that give you a clearer picture of the kinds of things we'd like?

Great choice in france, although it is not my favorite, I have yet to meet more friendly people in europe, and i mean that.

I did a wonderful three week trip in France 3-4 years ago which was 6 days in Paris, 12 days in Brittany and finishing off with 3 days in the Loire Valley which all made rather a neat circuit. I have been to a number of differet areas of France before and Brittany has become my number one destination. Absolutely loved the cultural differences, countryside, coast, walled towns, churches and history of the Brittany area. We also really enjoyed the fact that, apart from Mont St. Michel, there weren't hordes of tourists as is the case in some other parts, eg Provence, it gives you the chance to take things more slowly

As Brittany is not a huge area you don't spend hours travelling from one place to the next - nor will you lose a whole day travelling by car as you would if you headed all the way down to, say, Provence or Languedoc. (If you decide to head that way, I would strongly recommend catching the TGV down and then pick up a car).

With our trip, as we didn't want to drive in Paris we caught the train to Chartres, which is well worth visiting, and picked up our car there before heading off to Brittany. Dropped off the car at CDG so didn't really have to cope with the Paris traffic on the return either.

I'm sure you will have a wonderful time wherever you choose. There is good reason why it is so popular.