NorCalif

We would love some suggestions from France-lovers, please.

Here's the deal:

We are two (charming) American women. One of us is currently living in Amsterdam and the other is currently living in Aix-en-Provence.

We are in the very early stages of planning a two week driving trip for the last two weeks in April. We will need to start in Aix and end in Amsterdam.

(Our husbands will be working - to pay for our traveling habits ;-> so it will be just the two of us.)

We like art, architecture, history, scenery, food, cities, villages, and beautiful countryside. For this trip, we are not so interested in "wilderness" type areas - by that I mean places with beautiful geographic features (mountains, rivers, valleys, whatever) but without towns or other civilization. When we are home in the States we live in the California wine country, but are not really that interested in visiting French vineyards/wineries on this trip (one special one might be OK) - so wine is not a focus. We do not plan to include Paris on this trip either.

Obviously France is large and we need to focus a little bit anyway. But it's hard! The more we read, the harder it gets: everywhere sounds good! For those of you that know France, what are your favorites? Keeping in mind that the last part of April could still be rainy/cold in parts of France (although we can put up with that to some degree), what route/regions would you suggest? The Dordogne? Loire Valley? Alsace-Lorraine? Bretagne? All of them? (just kidding about that last one)

While we need to get from Aix to Amsterdam, the route doesn't need to be direct - we don't mind going out of the way to see things we want to see - so a circuitous route to Amsterdam is OK.

For instance the most direct route would be through Lyon and Dijon, and on up to the east of Paris. But we might decide to go to Bordeaux and the Loire Valley instead and head up to the west of Paris, even though that would be a slightly longer drive.

So it's pretty much completely open between Aix and Amsterdam at this point - although we would like to stick pretty much to France.

We'd love to hear thoughts on possible itineraries. Any and all suggestions/observations/tips will be most welcome.

Thanks ...

blackduff

HeeHeeHee!
Do your husbands know that this trip can be done in one day?

Since you have two weeks to make this long distance, I would follow the coast until you find the Spanish border and jump across for a few days. Figueras is a nice place to visit. Girona is also nice but driving down to Barcelona isn't too far.

Then return back to France and head towards Carcassonne. Have a meal with Cassoulet before you head towards Tolouse and spend a day at this city.

From Toulouse, head towards the Dordogne and please your sights and food enjoyment. Finally you'll have to try some fresh oysters along the Atlantic coast. Don't miss the rest of this coast and the foods along that area. Etc., etc., etc..

Expand your visit and include Spain.

Here's a photo album around the Pyrenees coastal region. This is just before you head to Spain.

http://www.pyreneesmediterraneanliving.com/

Maybe you could spend a bit around this area too.

Blackduff

NorCalif

Oh thanks a lot Blackduff - you've just made it harder, not easier! ;-> We're having enough trouble narrowing down the parts of France to see and now you're making a great case for Spain too.

I think our husbands will just have to take two jobs EACH so we can expand our trip to two months instead of two weeks!

Actually, we just spent Christmas in Barcelona (even let DH off work to come with us) so that part we've seen, although haven't been anywhere else in Spain. SIgh ... maybe some other time though. Too much world, too little time ...

Thanks for your suggestios about Carcassonne, Toulouse, the Dordogne ...

and don't tell our husbands about any of this ...

thursdaysd

Interesting - I'm spending all of April in France and working my way north too, but by train. I'm going Nice - Grenoble - Dijon - Strasbourg - Nancy - Paris with definite plans for some wine tasting! But I could also make a case for going west and visiting the Pyrenees (Pau) and Bayonne (good base for day trips) and the Dordogne.

hetismij

How about through the Auvergne, across to the Atlantic coast, Ile d'Oleron or thereabouts, then round the west side of Paris and up to Normandy?

The Auvergne has lovely villages and beautiful countryside without being "wilderness". You could head a bit further up to the volcanoes even.

rex

Returning the favor (for your posting on my thread), I'll put on my "keep-your-carbon-footprint-low" hat (ha! that'll be the day) and suggest that you can find oodles to do without straying far from the most direct route.

My own travel repertoire doesn't include a lot of places that I can share a ton of personal experiences - - but here are a few:

Arles - fabulous, for at least 12-24 hours (but then again, so is everything in a 75 mile radius)

Orange - - to go to a <b><i>spectac'</i></b> at night there is a must-do, if some shceduled event should fit your plans.

A one night stay with my &quot;friends&quot; Olivier and his wife Alex at http://www.chateauxcountry.com/fr/ch...de_longsard-70 would be on my short list of recommendations. They will have plenty of good restaurant recommendations for you.

Beaune, of course, and Dijon, and every square inch in between, naturally. Friends don't let friends drive with a dry mouth!

From there, the ViaMichelin recommended route goes east via Nancy, Metz and Luxembourg. I say no.

Even though it is only in my current dossier of &quot;places to study up for&quot;, I think that Reims and Saon and much of Picardy are worthy of swinging just west enough to enter Belgium at Lille. Take a look at http://www.picardietourisme.com/en/index.aspx if you want some further persuasion.

And that way, going west enough to take in Ghent, and then Bruges will be natural. Promise me you won't miss either of them. At least one night each.

After that, my experience just about runs out, but here's a suggestion - - go off the beaten path to travel by ferry via Middelburg (NL) once you leave Bruges. The final 100 miles depends on how much your friend knows Holland, and what you feel like showing her. Walking or having lunch along the Oudegracht in Utrecht is worth one last stop, isn't it?

Hope this helps.

Best wishes,

Rex

NorCalif

Thursdaysd , hetismij, and Rex - thank you so much for your thoughtful comments. We will definitely consider your various suggestions as we begin to refine our plans - they're very helpful. And we'll plan to drink a toast to you all, wherever we end up going! Thanks again.

hetismij

Rex, there is no longer a ferry in Zeeland - it is a tunnel nowadays.

NorCalif, have a wonderful trip which ever route you choose - it sounds like it will be fun no matter where you end up!