Fodorites favorite French vacation
 

Outside of Paris, what was your favorite vacation in France and why.

in 1975 when i rode my bike practically all around the Hexagon - Paris - Normandy - Brittany - Loire- Massif Centrale - Carcassonne - Riviera - six weeks of sheer bliss.

The summer I turned 21, when I landed in Paris* for the first time, went over to Wolfsburg to pick up my first VW, then all over the Riveria from Monte Carlo to Antibes, French Alps, up through the Languedoc (including Montélimar, the nougat capital!), Avignon, finally into Belgium and out to Scotland.

* Remember the jingle?
<i>PanAm - makes the going great!</i>
- which I bastardized to -
<i>PanAm - makes the Boeing late!</i>

From 10/7 to 10/14 In St. Tropez. We just &quot;were&quot;, mosied around, ate well, slept in, napped...were on our honeymoon. (Which probably makes me biased).
But I want to go back there SOOOOOOOO badly. Just not in the summertime, then it would give me the heeby-jeebies, I think.
Otherwise, I loved barging in the Cote d'Or.

TTT

My first solo trip (after doing my first ever trip outside of NA - Contiki Europe the year before) was ~10 days in Loire Valley

I rented a car in Paris, and to make it convenient, why not rent it from a place on Rue Rivoli, across from the Louvre. Nice and central...however..didn't quite realize that I would have to drive though Place de la Concorde during busy time...Now that was fun driving, getting out of Paris was interesting, with one ways, trying to stop and get bearings.

First day, get lost and decided, since I'm nearby, go to Fontainebleau. Nice place, and since it was a quiet day the guide let me go into rooms that were not open to the public, not renovated because they had no money...
From there...the Loire. Beautiful weather everyday, castles, small villages, sunflower fields, a couple of great hotels, dinners overlooking the river..one hotel I randomly picked had a guest book with the Pope as a guest...and there I had my first ever French haute gastronomie meal, Sons et Lumieres almost very night, getting lost on small country roads and not caring...and at the end going to Chartres and Giverny, topped off by a couple of days in Paris. Kind of holiday that can never be recreated.

Brittany coast circa summer 93. Stopped off at many empty beaches and some very quaint little towns. We stayed with friends at a gite in the area and pretended we were French for a few weeks!

The one from which I just returned (well, that's usually true for me, but I really mean it this time). Dordogne, little bit of Limousin and little bit of the Lot, plus the last few days in Paris. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

suze1, are you trying to decide where to go or just curious?

How about living in Paris for 2 years, with seven weeks' paid vacation a year plus about 12 stat holidays? :)

Robespierre...what kind of VeeDub was it?

Hi Leely, yes, I am trying to decide where to go. We'll have 14 days all together, so 2 days travel and 12 days in France.

My thoughts were 3 days in Paris, 3 days in Luberon, 3 days in St. Remy and 3 days at the French Riviera and fly home from Nice.

But, the thing is I keep going back wondering if it wouldn't be better to go to Normandy, Brittany, the Loire Region and fly back home out of Paris.

If I should choose the South, maybe I should just stay in one place in Provence for 6 days and drive to all the little towns.

I thought if I got everyone's favorite vacation it would give me ideas but so far it hasn't helped a whole lt.

It would be just my husband and I.

A model 113 sedan, Pearl White with burgundy upholstery - 73 cubes and a four-on-the-floor. Cost: $1056 (plus ocean freight).

ttt

Alsace-Lorraine

I have liked all of my France trips but I do agree that Normandy and Brittany (and Loire) is a marvelous and easy jaunt to take from Paris. I've only been to these regions once and would like to go back before too long. Just think of the seafood! And the cheese!

Suze, you'll have a great time wherever you end up, but what season are you planning this vacation (or did I miss it)?

We had roughly the same amount of time as you on our recent trip. Here is a link to my photos, even though it doesn't sound like you're considering the Dordogne. I've been briefly to Arles and Aix. I preferred Dordogne. Haven't been to Normandy, but I'd very much like to.

www.pbase.com/leelygoes/france_2007

Only 7 weeks vacation, Kate? I have 10 weeks (including &quot;RTT&quot;). :)

But in terms of a vacation in France (and excluding Paris since I live there), I keep going east: Alsace, Jura, Savoie. But I think it's because I grew up on a coastline. So I am attracted to mountains.

Dordogne &amp; Provence, with a little Languedoc and Nice thrown in at either end. Loads of enjoyment you can read about here:

http://www.onelittleworld.com/france_1.html