France 2015
 

We are planning to spend a week in Paris, probably the last week in May because we hope to include a day or two at the Open. we plan to be gone about 3 weeks, although we could add a few days. Another part of the trip would be a week in Provence. then what to do with the 3rd week???. could do Corsica, Dordogne or Burgundy. We have visited Normandy, Mont St Michel and also the Basque region, Carcassome, and the French Rivera although that was a pretty short trip. I do not think we are interested in the Loire Valley as it sounds like lots of castles and we have seen plenty of castles elsewhere . any thoughts on that third week: Corsica , Burgundy, or Dordogne.

I think any of those three places is possible although logistically Corsica would be the most difficult and perhaps expensive of the three. Either the Dordogne or Burgundy would be fine and if you just flipped a coin you couldn't go wrong with either. So you could take the TGV to Avignon and pick up a car there and keep it for the whole two weeks. I agree either of these destinations is better than the Loire but that's a personal opinion.

If you want to learn about some of the highlights of Burgundy you can have a look at the thread below. It has links to all the major tourist office websites and info about château, abbeys, wine, hiking, biking etc.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic...-Burgundy.html

I wrote a photo report about my vacation in the southern Corrèze département, which is right on the border with the Dordogne and Lot départements. Although it only briefly covers the Dordogne many places can be reached from there and the landscapes/architecture/villages are similar to what you'd find in the Dordogne. It might give you an idea of some off the beaten path and worthy places to visit:

http://tinyurl.com/q6bb5av

Thank you, I will look at your reports. If we do Corsica I was thinking we'd fly from Paris and then come back to Provence. That would put us in Provence the 2nd week in June and if lucky we'd see a little of the lavender. Not sure how we would reach Provence from Corsica. Hope to get more input.

"Corsica , Burgundy, or Dordogne."

Well obviously, it has to be Corsica. There is no possibility of spending time sailing in the other two.

I do not understand you statement. My questions was what are the options to reach Provence from Corsica. I assume flight and sailing. Just wanting some information about sailing from Corsica to mainland France. Sorry for the confusion .

Are you interested in wine - if so tilt toward Burgundy over the other two and take the Route des vins bourgogne as it winds thru several famous wine towns - Beaune is the defact commercial Burgundian wine capital and besides wine you have nice countryside and things like Dijon - one of France's nicest larger cities and even the high Alps not far away.

I rode a bike around Corsica once - nice place but did not strike me as exceptional countryside at least - great beaches.

The Dordogne is great at that time - far too mobbed in mid summer for my tastes but lots of caves, perched villages - may be your best choice all around and wine grwoing areas on its western edge are great Bordeaux wine producers.

In May Burgndy could have wet rainy weather - Corsica could be too hot and the Dordogne I think just right. Don't miss Rocamadour, just over the Dordogne border and said to be the second-most visited place in France outside of Mont-Saint-Michel.

It is unlikely you'll see lavender in full bloom the second week of June. It bloomed early this year and the Valensole Plateau was loaded with perfect lavender the third week in June. The Lavender around Sault wasn't in full bloom then.

We've spent 10 weeks in the Dordogne and 4 weeks in Burgundy/Beaujolais. We prefer the Dordogne because there is more diverse stuff to do there. Caves with pre-historic art, caves with stalactites & mites, more "cute little villages" than in Burgundy, rivers you can easily canoe on, pretty countryside. Both areas have good food (Burgundy perhaps better, but more expensive), nice medium-sized cities (Sarlat & Beaune), large cities (Dijon, Auxerre, Aix, Avignon, Arles), and castles. You'll probably spend more time in the car in Burgundy than in the Dordogne.

A good itinerary would be:
- week in Paris
- Take the train to Brive la Gaillarde. Rent a car, visit Collognes la Rouge close to Brive, then drive the short distance to the Sarlat area & stay there 1 week
- Drive to Provence, spend a week there, then take the TGV back to Paris for your flight home, or leave from Marseille.

I developed a 35 page itinerary for Provence/Cote d'Azur and a 20 pager for the Dordogne. I've sent them to over 3,000 people on Fodors. If you would like a copy, e-mail me at [email protected] & I'll attach one to the reply e-mail.

Stu Dudley

Great info. I think we can do some canoeing or biking in the Dordogne are. Any suggestions with that?
stu, I will write you for,your report when I have some time.mWe are expecting a grand baby any day so my time is limited.

Since you wrote nothing about what your interests are and why anyone should suggest one place over another, I simply which place would suit mine. Since I like sailing (as in a sailboat) I would choose Corsica.

You didn't understand my statement because I didn't have to consider your interests, only my own. That's what happens when you ask a question for which you provide no criteria for anyone to suggest one as being more suitable than another.

"any thoughts on that third week: Corsica , Burgundy, or Dordogne."

You got what you asked for from me. PalenQ tried to suggest some differences between the 3 since you didn't. StuDudley did what he always does, named HIS favourite places and once again plugged his 'I've sent my 35 page Itinerary to 3000 people.' Personally, I find the idea of a 35 page itinerary hilarous but you may wish to add to his tenuous claim to fame by asking to have one sent.

I can see the talk around the water cooler at the office. 'Hey, Stu, get any more takers for your 35 page Itinerary this week (snicker, snicker)?'

'Oh yes, I've now sent it to 3124 people'. (stupid enough to ask me to send it).

ST; If you don't have anything positive to contribute, why not stay home.

ST, I was taught if you can' say something kind don't say anything at all.

>>I can see the talk around the water cooler at the office<<

Nope - I'm retired. Don't have an office nor a water cooler.

Stu Dudley

stu; We could play a little BBH around the water cooler.

tidy; There are always THESE types of people, negative or worse.

Sorry about digressing, but you and I have talked before, probably about Poland.

Have a great trip.

We will also be France next near with family.

<<Hey, Stu, get any more takers for your 35 page Itinerary this week (snicker, snicker)?>>

I would love to receive an attachment of your itinerary. Thank you in advance for the info.

~Roberta

You can't drive for more than a coupe of minutes along the Dordogne when you're near Beynac and not see a place to rent a canoe. You don't even need to research that. As for biking the Dordogne is very hilly but there are some bike trails along the river and some valleys so unless you're good with hills I'd stick to the bike trails. Here are some links on biking in the Dordogne:

http://www.freewheelingfrance.com/wh...-dordogne.html

http://www.bikehiredirect.com/cyclingindordogne.html

http://www.dordogne-perigord-tourism...u-ceou-480.htm

http://www.sarlat.fr/upload/voie_verte_veloroute.pdf

http://www.bergerac-tourisme.com/Velo-Routes,1814

http://www.af3v.org/spip.php?page=ru...ue=9&voie=112#

SJT is a fount of information. But take it with a grain of salt.

He is the kind of person who expects to walk into Harry's Bar in Venice, wearing trousers with zip-off legs, sans legs.

The OP provided NO information on which ANYONE could base a suggestion to suit the OP's interests.

Iris, when you wrote, " ST; If you don't have anything positive to contribute, why not stay home.", just what was it that you were saying that was positive? Or does your suggestion not apply to yourself? You need to look up the meaning of the phrase, 'pot calling the kettle black.'

Tidy, when I responded to your question with, " Well obviously, it has to be Corsica. There is no possibility of spending time sailing in the other two.", what was it in that that was unkind? I gave you my preference based on my interests. Did you expect me to give you a suggestion based on YOUR interests? If so, why did you not say what your interests were? There was nothing unkind in my response.

Peter-S, how does anyone walk into anywhere without legs? Very amusing.

Poor ST; Doesn't get it how negative a person he/she is.

And still negative with this response--oh well!!

ST; I'll give you the last word--go for it.

Tidy; You could consider;

1. R/T CDG

2. Week in Paris

3. Week in Provence and finally

4. Week in Burgundy ending up within 1 or 2 hours away from CDG. OR

1. Fly open jaw into the Provence area and out of CDG then

2. Week in Provence

3. Week in Dordogne

A. car for those two weeks and

4. Paris for a week

A previous post by SJT, when her was flying as Improviser on Fodors:


"Here is a true story of a visit to Harry's I made with my wife a few years back. We were staying in the Relais Villa Fiorita in Treviso and went into Venice for the day.

As it was early morning and cool but expected to hit around 30C in the afternoon, we started out in long pants. They were convertible pants (legs zip-off) and by noon we had indeed taken the legs off as the day warmed up.

Without thinking we walked in to Harry's Bar. I have been before but it was my wife's first visit. Immediately, we were told 'no shorts allowed'. I actually knew that but had simply not thought about it.

I tried to joke about having brought my wife 10,000 miles to have a Bellini and surely we could sit at the bar. I didn't expect to get a positive response really, just a 'I'm sorry sir, we cannot make an exception'. In other words a gracious refusal. Instead I got a rather rude refusal. 'assolutamente no'.

So I said to him, 'fine, we will be back in TWO minutes' and we walked out, zipped on the pant legs and returned within the two minutes. The look on his face was priceless.

Several people sitting at tables had heard the first exchange as had the bartender. There were a few grins going on. I said 'I'd like 2 seats at the bar now.' He graciously (joke) motioned for us to go ahead.

As we sat down, the bartender placed a Bellini in front of my wife and asked with a smile, 'for you sir?' He had obviously figured out what was about to happen and had mixed her drink while we were outside."

I totally got it Peter. I forbade my husband from wearing those zip off pants on a recent trip. At least he only removes the pants leg not his legs.
Burgundy gets my vote.