I'm also curious about Normandie in late Oct. Will it be too cold for Honfleur, Bayeaux, etc.?

Will there be any fall colors in early October? We'll be in the Loire / Burgundy regions the first week of October.

This may sound a bit odd - but I remember reading an article that the fall foliage colors is not common through out the world. The article mentioned other areas similar to northeast in China and other places . I've seen pictures of Prague with just a light sprinkling of fall colors. And I remember being in Paris in the fall and seeing a few trees turning. But I've not seen pictures of places in Europe (or elsewhere in the world) similar to the swaths of fall colors that occur in the northeast of the North American continent. Are there areas in Europe that are similar to Vermont in the fall - where as far as the eye goes it's a carpet of brilliant reds, yellows and oranges?

Looking at my world atlas - I notice that Maine is between the 43 and 47th latitude. France is between 43 and 51 latitude. I think evergreen is more prevelent than deciduous. Czech Republic is from the 49th to the 51st latitude.

Looking back at Jeanne's original post...17 days is a nice, long time. Maybe turn it into 3 bases instead of 2? First Paris (for a week), then Dordogne (Sarlat?), then Loire Valley (Chinon?). I don't think that's too much traveling for 17 days. Just a thought.