We are planning a week in France in July 05 (month not flexibile)
We want to start in Paris for 3 nights and spend the rest of the time in the country.
That doesn't leave us much time to explore a lot of France. It's our first trip to the country so, should it be Provence, Burgundy or the Loire Valley?
Our next destination is Florence. Any recommondations on train travel from France.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Hi dwb,

Have you considered the
bordeaux and/or Dordogne regions.

How to get to Italy will depend on where you are starting from. You might want to fly.

Try two nights in the Loire and two nights in Burgundy. Then fly to Florence from Dijon.

Or you could fly to Nice and spend four nights in Provence and then fly to Florence.

You can't lose. All of France is wonderful!

Thanks for the suggestions so far. We are anticipating driving out of Paris to our next destination--be it Burgundy, Provence or Loire. Is that do-able? Bordeaux and Dordogne are certainly possibilities as well. I'm hoping to centre ourselves for those 3-4 days in one region. Even with all my reading I'm no closer to nailing it down. The flight suggestion is helpful. I imagined a train trip would the most convenient--but I have no experience.

I'd recommend considering the Haute Normandie (nearer Paris - - as opposed to the Basse Normandie, "down river" on the Seine, near the sea edge), by rental car. Keeps the driving shorter distances.

Then just return to Paris and fly to Italy on volareweb.com - - or keep up on new airlines entering the market(s) on www.whichbudget.com

Best wishes,

Rex

dwb - If you have only a week and plan to drive, I'd choose either Burgundy or the Loire Valley rather than Provence, since they are much closer to Paris. Between Burgundy and the Loire Valley, my personal preference would be Burgundy, but they are both great areas. In my view, the Loire Valley has the edge with an excess of wonderful châteaux, but Burgundy wins in the art and architecture category because of its Romanesque treasures. Both have fascinating history, beautiful country landscapes, and great villages and towns. Re the food and wine award, I'd give Burgundy the edge on wine and the Loire Valley the edge on food because of its fish. Then again...well, it's simply a matter of taste. You won't go wrong no matter what you choose.

We've done both - and for your trip I would reco the Loire. Use the car to drive among the chateaux - then return to Pars and fly to Florence.

We stayed near Chinon in a private chateaux that was incredible (15th century, moat, gorgeous grounds) but had some lovely - and quite inexpensvie bedrooms - as well as antique-filled guest lounges. the dinner with 6 other guests and the owners was one of the highlights of our trip (the others were Canadian, russian and Argentinian - a really interesting mix - you should have heard all the versions of mangled French).

And all of the chateaux were within an hour's drive - many even closer. All in all a glorius holiday.

Note; do not miss: Amboise, Villandry as well as Chenonceaux, Chambord etc.

A week is no time. I would stay in Paris and if you must, take a day trip to Giverny or Versailles, or Chartres--or somewhere. By the time you get into your hotel, get settled, and see a bit you will really regret leaving because you will do the same for another couple of days. Oh, now I see you are travelling on to a bit more time somewhere else. Stop and enjoy the culture in the places you are going and don't try to "see" it all.

My own preference would be for Burgundy: much more varied sightseeing than in the Loire Valley, and likely to be cooler, too. Four days would be just right for seeing Vézelay, Autun, Beaune, Dijon, the Abbaye de Fontenay, Semur en Auxois, and the vineyards.

Hi dwb,

As this is your first visit to France, I suggest that you do a week in Paris and save France for another trip.

You can fly Paris Orly to Venice or Bologna on www.volareweb.com for about 40E pp or to Bologna from CDG for about the same price (www.whichbudget.com).

From these cities it is easy to train to Florence.

Are you planning to visit Venice?

If July is when you must go, you will have the opportunity that I, for one, envy. July is when the lavender is blooming in Provence. I agree that a week is short but I suggest taking the TGV to Avignon (about 3 hours), renting a car and spending 3-4 days seeing Provence with the lavender in bloom.