ShoLovesTraveling

My husband and I are going to France for our honeymoon over the Christmas/New Years holidays (December 16 - January 3). We're on a bit of a tighter budget but are not backpacking this time around - want it to be a bit more relaxing/nicer, trying instead to base ourselves in each of three or four places for 4-5 days each.

We fly in and out of Paris and plan to spend our first 4-5 days there, with possibly a day trip to the Champagne region within those days - is that worthwhile at that time of year? Many champagne houses appear to still be open... After Paris, we're basing ourselves in Strasbourg - Christmas markets and Christmas eve/day in a castle. Then...??? We wanted to head to Provence, possibly base ourselves in Aix-en-Provence and maybe rent a car for a few days to see what we can in about 5 days before heading back to Paris for New Year's Eve. Our travel agent friend thinks Provence will be dead with not much open and happening at the end of December. Is it better to go somewhere else in southern France for five days (perhaps closer to Nice), or maybe stay a bit closer to Paris... perhaps from Strasbourg head to Colmar, Basel (Switzerland), Lyon and then back to Paris? We know the weather will not be "warm" no matter where we go and we're not really skiiers but, given that it'll be winter, we don't mind the idea of relaxing in a ski chalet sipping hot chocolate somewhere Otherwise we are foodies more than drinkers - wine connoisseurs we are not, although we do appreciate a nice glass here and there - and are choosing Europe over a beach honeymoon, if that's any indication of our "travel sense". Please help! Whatever ideas you can provide would be GREATLY appreciated!

DebitNM

Winter in Provence - snow, mistral winds, many places closed. This according to the owners of the gite where we just spent 2 weeks. I would skip it. Do Paris and Nice for a change but Nice won't be inexpensive.

I think you need to give your budget [in Euros] for accommodations etc. so that recommendations be made that fit your needs.

denisea

Povence is a no go!

Strasbourg will be great and the Christmas markets there should be good. Search posts from lowcountryislander....believe she posted a trip report last year on her trip to Strasbourg over the holidays.

Have you considered limiting your travel to Paris and Strasbourg only? Since you are flying in an out of Paris, don't waste time travelling to three spots and then back to Paris. In other words, put more hoenymoon in your honeymoon!

Paris has so many great day trip options, so you can see/do a lot without travelling too far. I love Reims for the cathedral and for the champagne houses. Totally worth it, for me....but I love champagne.

Vaux le Vicomte, Fountainebleu, Chantilly, Versailles, even the Loire valley woukd be good options for day trips away from Paris. Unfortunately, Giverny won't be open in December but with all the things to do in Paris and the day trips from there, you will have plenty to do.

bilboburgler

If you want to be as certain as possible of snow and be in france you need to get above 1000m so the Alps above Geneva is the only sensible solution.

If you are prepared to take risks about snow then look at the Jura (north of Mont Blanc) or the Massif Centrale say http://pistehors.com/backcountry/wik...Massif-Central, going to these places would tend to be small hotels, local food and pleasant people with limited pressure from other tourists.

So sensibly do the former, is you are like me and enjoy little places for a honeymoon then look at the second paragraph. If you are interested I can suggest hotels.

Other than snow going to France in December on honeymoon is just not sensible. Though you can do a general drinking tour it will be generally not the best weather.

bilboburgler

Sho, I'm sorry welcome to Fodors. I just checked your file and there is no guidance about where you live or even what climate you are used to. We have had a lot of new Fodorites this autumn from Australia and India who need guidance on how the weather is in Europe. If this is the case try surfing "Honeymoon" on this website and there should be some useful advice.

StuDudley

We've spent the past 2 Decembers in Paris - and both trips were perhaps our most enjoyable experience in the City of Light. We were in Paris for New Years in aabout '98 - and that was a "blast". We've stayed there about 12 weeks during other times of the year too. We've also spent about 3 years total exploring other areas in France.

Paris is fantastic during the Christmas period. I would just stay in Paris - but Strasbourg is OK. I would not "set in concrete" and day-triips elsewhere. Do them last - if you feel like you've seen "enough" of Paris (I suspect you won't).

Here is something that was posted after our December '10 trip to Paris.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-was-paris.cfm

Stu Dudley

ShoLovesTraveling

Thanks for the replies so far! Sounds like maybe we should stay a bit closer to Paris/Strasbourg and plan some things in that area - that's good to know. Good point about telling you where we live bilboburgler! We're from Canada (Toronto originally and now the East coast) so we are no strangers to snow and cold winters. We aren't looking for snow specifically, but the idea of sitting by a toasty fire at the end of a cold day exploring isn't a bad one. DebitNM, we are hoping to keep accommodation around $150CAD (between 100 and 150 Euro) on average per night. Maybe a few less expensive nights so that we can have a bit of a splurge somewhere. We will likely do the same with food... try to stay on the lower end (grocery shop, self-cater) some days so that we can have a few really spectacular meals. Thanks again for the info and please keep the suggestions coming!

Underhill

Being in Nice around Christmas is a lot of fun. The city does wonderful lighted decorations, there is a Christmas market, and you can find all sorts of great food. Consider getting an apartment with a kitchen so that you can indulge in the prepared foods on offer, such as escargots all ready to pop into the oven.

DebitNM

We just had our second stay here; a great location, a big apartment that is comfortable and the owner, Sylvain, is a pleasure to work with:

This is a walk up, so do keep that in mind, but it helps burn calories so you can eat more croissants!

http://www.vrbo.com/339804


This is another apartment that he owns as well:
http://www.vrbo.com/371220

Christina

150 CAD is only 117 euro, going up to 150 euro would be a lot more. The time you picked isn't just cold, some hotels hve their highest rates of the year during the holiday period between Christmas and NYs, it should be okay a few days after new Years. 117 euro for a hotel in Paris is pretty low end, but there probably are some that don't raise rates for the holidays. I've just seen a lot that do.

This one is in your budget and seems to have the same rates around Christmas as early December, but they are already booked up a lot of the holiday period. http://www.saintpierre-hotel.com/tarifs.php There are a few free days, though, like Dec 23-25. This is a modest hotel and the rates are a bit above 117 euro but below 150, although they do raise them about 10-15 euro during the holidays. http://www.hotelclementparis.com/

I think staying in Paris and Strasbourg is a good idea, also, no point in going to Provence in December (or lots of places). YOu can go to Reims and visit a champagne house as a day trip from Paris easily, that would be nice.

denisea

We loved Paris at Christmas, even with the freezing rain on a few days. I disagree that France in December isn't "sensible". So what if it's cold, it doesn't mean you can't have a great time and you can do more than a drinking tour.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-fantastic.cfm

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ch-smaller.cfm

Pvoyageuse

I am always surprised when I read that Provence in winter is a no-no. As if the whole area only came to life in summer. It is the third largest French "région" in terms of population, after Ile-de-France and Rhône Alpes. Granted it might be cold (rarely snowy)in winter but surely not as cold as Strasbourg. It might also be much warmer and sunnier. I understand that gite owners who make their living out of tourists find it quiet in winter but do you think that the almost 5 million people who live between Marseille and Nice do not eat, drive, work, shop, eat and go out from November to April and that "everything closes down"?

Odin

<<I am always surprised when I read that Provence in winter is a no-no.>> Could not agree more. I have close family who live in Provence and I visit several times a year including winter, the village shops/restaurants are open, last Jan they had snow which was unusual, the countryside looked beautiful, esp the mountains and the vineyards, it made for some great walks in the winter sunshine. Cosy meals in restaurants afterwards.

grandmere

And I agree also that Provence can be great in the winter. I have spent the week between Christmas and New Year's around Arles and Avignon, and whereas it was more quiet than high season, it was still bustling and active. Do not be deterred from going there if that's on your list of places you want to go.

SusannahT

We also like Provence in winter. The area around Pont du Gard was so interesting and the aqueduct is a magnificent sight.

bilboburgler

I have two friends who live in Provence in the summer and come home to Yorkshire from November to March because the locals in their village just close their doors and wait the winter out. They are up in the hills so maybe it is better in, or close to, town.

anniemackie

Sho, if you are looking at budget, you may be better off spending some time in a rural location instead of a major population center. Unfortunately, in the past we've found ski areas are usually above our budget during their busy season.

Be willing to look outside the box. In your case that could even mean France since you can get just about anywhere on budget airlines from Paris. For example, we found several cozy apartments off-season in Croatia for between 43-60E just a few years ago and were glad we challenged ourselves to visit during their quiet season. Since this is your honeymoon, go where your spirit leads you and all will be well.

--Annie