Five days in......
 

We are new to this forum group and are really hoping you can help us decide which of the seven cities below we should choose to visit for five days at the end of a family gathering in Paris in mid-August (we chose these as we can fly home direct from them). We are not looking for anything in particular, just a place to enjoy and not be bored and we would consider taking a day trip if there was something interesting nearby.

- Nantes, France
- Bordeaux, France
- Lyon, France
- Marseilles, France
- Toulouse, France
- Madrid, Spain
- Malaga, Spain

Thanking you in advance.

John & Olivia

To start, Spain is likely to be unbearably hot.
I would choose a place I wanted to visit, then go the last night to the city to fly home.
Provence will also be hot and crowded, but you have lots of choices of places nearby Marseilles, plus beaches, so I would choose that.

I know, you named specifics places, so these may be of no interest, but
Can you fly home from Milan? The lakes of Italy might be nice?
London? Easy to get to and nice in Summer.

Any one of them could be great, but as Sassafrass notes, heat could be a factor, particularly in Spain. If you haven't already done so, you might look at weatherbase.com -- IMO, it's an excellent source of climate data.

Hi J and O,

You will probably get more useful replies if you tell us a little about your likes and dislikes as a guide. For example, a romantic trip for two, or an active trip for family with toddlers, teenagers, etc. Do you like museums or hate them,, long luxurious lunches or fast and cheap, love crowds or avoid them at all costs? Would you be willing to rent a car or only use public transport?

As a very general overview, here are my thoughts

Bordeaux - spend a couple days in town and a couple days wine tasting or at the beach in nearby Arcachon or visit nearby Dordogne. Expect crowds outside the city, not so much inside.

Lyon - great for foodies. Spend a couple days in town and a couple days wine tasting in Burgundy, or take the fast TGV to Avignon for the day.

Marseille - spend a couple days in town and lots of day trips possible to Aix en Provence, cassis, beach. Expect very crowded in Aix and beach areas.

Toulouse - couple days in town, day trips to lots of nearby small medieval villages, and Albi with its amazing cathedral. Carcassonne is a must see but will be one of the most crowded places you’ve been in your life. We stayed the night and wandered the empty streets at 7am before breakfast and toured the castle at 10am. By 11 it was heaving.

Im not a huge fan of Madrid so I’ll leave that to someone else to comment.

For me Malaga would be a nightmare in August, but great day trips to Córdoba, Granada, Ronda, or an overnight to Sevilla.

Let us know what you decide and how it went. Have fun!

We are both so thankful for such detailed and quick responses. We thought we'd have to wait days to read an answer.

Thank you all very much.

russ_in_LA, you did not mention Nantes. Any opinions on this destination? For us, it is down to either Nantes or Toulouse.

FWIW, as someone who has not been to Nantes, I found Toulouse and absolute delight, and would second the idea of visiting Albi while in the area.

Sorry, I’ve never been to Nantes.

Will you be renting a car or relying on public transport, or maybe you are thinking a getting a car for a day just to explore? Nantes is a nice city for 1-2 nights but for 5 nights, especially if you won't get a car to explore the area then I would choose Toulouse between those 2 places. I don't think the city core historic area in Nantes is as nice as Toulouse which has a pretty large center that is very scenic for walking with lots and restaurant and bars compared to really only a few pretty blocks IMO in Nantes. And the walks along the canal in Toulouse are lovely. But Nantes has some great areas within easy reach by car (or train but could require some changes) like La Rochelle, and lower Brittany like Vannes. But the beach places will be swamped at that time. Our little village south of La Rochelle goes from 3,000 to 30,000 in August to give you an idea. So Toulouse might be better in that you will be further from the coast.

Bordeaux is also a really nice city-but it is smaller than Toulouse so whether 5 nights might feel too long really depends on you and your travel style.

If you haven't already seen it you might check out the link where we have been discussing Toulouse at length-joannyc posted some photo links that will give you a very good idea. Here is the link to that thread and to the photos of Toulouse

https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...lease-1677776/

https://get.google.com/albumarchive/...oaoAKQ-9NcvuE3

some excellent advice here but please don't go to Toulouse thinking that it won't be hot - we had one of the hottest days of our lives there. But the area is terrific and we loved the city.

Bordeaux or Toulouse. I'd really want to get out of town if I had 5 days in Nantes (which of course you could). Toulouse and Bordeaux could keep you busy for weeks on end (I live between them in the Dordogne). I wouldn't touch Spain in August.

Totally agree with this-be sure to book something with A/C for sure. Really the truth is that in all the places you mentioned at the beginning they are all likely to be hot. I can suggest specific hotels or neighborhoods if you need them as I am sure others can too.

Welcome to the forum BTW :)

jpie, thanks very much for the mention and the links to my pics!

I stopped in Nantes for 2-3 hours on my way from Vannes to La Rochelle. I only wanted to see the machines there. There are a few pictures of them in the above link to my pics by jpie. Here is their website: https://www.lesmachines-nantes.fr/

I stayed at a great apartment in La Rochelle for 3 nights and another in Vannes for 2 nights.

In La Rochelle, I recommend having dinner at La Kase. My review is the latest one: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...Aquitaine.html

In La Rochelle, DO NOT eat at Ludoti! Check my review here, it also is the latest review: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...Aquitaine.html

Happy planning and have a great trip.