French Itinerary Ideas?
Mar 18th, 2002, 04:54 PM
#1
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French Itinerary Ideas?
I just discovered this site a few days ago and it has provided a wealth of information. My husband and I are leaving next week for our first visit to France. We are in our early 30s, love adventure, exploring, and great food! Please allow me to share our itinerary. Please share your thoughts and suggestions. Are there particular "must sees" that I have not mentioned? Are there amazing and quaint restuarants that should not be missed. We enjoy the "road less traveled", so are there great routes? I thank you in advance for the benefit of your previous experiences!<BR><BR>March 28: Arrive CDG in the a.m., register at hotel. Walk the Champs-Elysees, Tuilleries Gardens. Get a feel for the city. Restaurants?<BR><BR>March 29: Day trip via train to Versailles, tour the Chateau and gardens. Train back to Paris. We have reservations that evening to Moulin Rouge (after reading a previous post, I am looking into changing our tickets to the Lido).<BR><BR>March 30: Visit Notre Dame (climb the steps), walk to Conciergerie, walk to Saint-Chapelle, walk to Louvre (only want to see select works of art). Dinner that evening on the Seine.<BR><BR>March 31: Go to the top of the Eiffel Tower. Pick up rental car, travel from Paris to Normandy. Depending on time schedule, possibly visit Mont Saint Michel before checking into hotel in St. Lo.<BR><BR>April 1: Day trip visiting the D-Day beaches and cemetery.<BR><BR>April 2. Travel from St. Lo to Beaune. A previous post suggested traveling the N roads through Evreux, Dreux, Chartres, Orleans and then cutting over to the A6 through Montargis. Any "must sees" on this route?<BR><BR>April 3: Travel from Beaune to St.-Remy-de-Provence. Possibly visit Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Avignon on the way to St. Remy. Is this too ambitious? Other suggestions?<BR><BR>April 4: Day trip tour to Bonniex, Lacoste and Gordes.<BR><BR>April 5: Day trip tour Aix en Provence, also enjoy St. Remy.<BR><BR>April 6: Travel from St. Remy to Eze. Any must sees? Routes?<BR><BR>April 7: Day trip to Monaco.<BR><BR>April 8: Fly home from Nice.
Mar 18th, 2002, 05:04 PM
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Very, VERY ambitious.<BR><BR>But if I was 30 (again) and my wife planned this for me, I'd say -- heck yes, let's do it.<BR><BR>Your trip "to Avignon" might be nothing much more than a whiz by - - hut that's okay. I get the feeling you know what you're in for. As long as you have the energy of 19 year olds, this will be okay.<BR><BR>Except for April 7.<BR><BR>Don't drive back from Monaco to St. Remy (unless my geography is all screwed up). Relocate.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>
Mar 18th, 2002, 06:30 PM
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Since you're flying out of Nice, I would suggest you spend some time there rather than Monaco. I was about your age the first time I went to Nice and am going back for the 3rd time in a few days. There's really a lot to see there...the Chagall Museum and Modern Art Museum as well as Picasso's museum in Antibes...and there are lots of good restaurants too. Hope this helps. Have a great trip.<BR>Paula
Mar 18th, 2002, 08:35 PM
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Yes, ambitious is the word for it. When are you going to have any time for adventures, exploring or even good food? While the distances in Europe are "less" than they are in the U.S., France is a relatively sizeable country, and in 10 days, among other destinations, you go from the northwest corner to the southern edge.<BR><BR>Here are some suggestions (obviously, not all work together)<BR><BR>- Add some time in Paris. Given that you're planning on a day trip to Versailles, you're giving yourselves only 2+ days in Paris, and one of those will be your jet lag day. Walking around is a good idea for that day; it'll keep you awake.<BR>- Skip northern France altogether; it will give you a good excuse for another trip. Or skip Beaune. In fact, between the two, I would definitely skip Beaune. It's nice, but not necessarily worth the time & effort.<BR><BR>- Given a choice between Mont St. Michel & the D-Day beaches, I'd choose Mont St. Michel. But then, I'm not that interested in military sites (though the cemetaries are impressive).<BR><BR>- Without my looking at a map, I'd say your day from St. Lo to Beaune will be mostly driving. What do you plan to see or do in Beaune? (If you have the time, visit the Hotel-Dieu)<BR><BR>- Then another longish driving day to St. Remy. St. Remy is a great little town, you should enjoy it. My favorite in the area is Arles, which doesn't even make it on your list. It's a nice-sized city, with interesting Roman ruins. Or Les Baux, which is pretty interesting for a short visit (try to go at the end of the day, when the other tourists are leaving). Or Pont du Gard, which even my somewhat-jaded husband was impressed by (try to take a picnic lunch and eat, if it's warm enough, at the side of the river). In St. Remy, we had a nice dinner at Bistro des Alphilles. While eating there, we saw the chefs from our previous night's great meal at Riboto de Taven (Michelin one-star restaurant) dining there as well.<BR><BR>- In terms of great routes, I think you'll be a bit pressed for time. But if you haven't already purchased maps, buy the applicable regional Michelin maps and pore over them. The roads edged in green are supposed to be particularly scenic.
Mar 18th, 2002, 09:10 PM
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My favorite area in Paris in Ile St. Louis. It is quaint, very little traffic and it has wonderful restaurants and little shops. After you visit Notre Dame take the bridge behind the cathedral over to the Ile. Have some Berthillon ice cream or if you've seen the movie "Chocolat" go to "Charlotte's" for decadent hot chocolat! Bon voyage!
Mar 19th, 2002, 12:09 AM
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<< April 3: Travel from Beaune to St.-Remy-de-Provence. Possibly visit Chateauneuf-du-Pape and Avignon on the way to St. Remy. Is this too ambitious? Other suggestions?>><BR><BR>This is way too much to pack into one day. Chateauneuf is worth at least half a day, as it Avignon and Villeneuve lez Avignon. Just driving from Beaune to St. Remy will take you about 4 hours, mostly on the highway.<BR><BR><<April 4: Day trip tour to Bonniex, Lacoste and Gordes.>><BR><BR>This is a good day trip - although I would add Roussillon (start in Gordes, go to Roussillon, over to Bonnieux and then Lacoste, Menerbes)<BR><BR><<April 5: Day trip tour Aix en Provence, also enjoy St. Remy.>><BR><BR>If you're planning to head over to the Cote d'Azur (Eze, Monaco, etc.) I would save this for the day you head over there. Aix is an hour southeast of St. Remy by car<BR><BR><<April 6: Travel from St. Remy to Eze. Any must sees? Routes?<BR>April 7: Day trip to Monaco.>><BR><BR>At this point I'd change hotels and stay on the Cote somewhere... <BR><BR>All in all, I would really suggest that you cut some things from this overly ambitious itinerary... you'll be doing most of your sightseeing from a car window. Personally I'd save Normandy and the northwest regions for another trip - they're worth it.<BR><BR>PB<BR><BR>
Mar 19th, 2002, 01:39 AM
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My boyfriend and I are also planning our first trip to France at the same time as you and your husband. From reading the wonderful advice on this post, I would also agree that you have definitely packed a lot into your schedules. One tip I read here a few days ago was that April 1st is a national holiday in France (Easter Monday), so many places might be closed. Since this is a travel day to Normandy for you it may not pose much of a problem. The posts suggested that many restaurants do close, but you can still find nice places to eat on the 1st, as well as museums being closed, so check into what is open for this day trip. Also in the 31st you plan to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower. This is Easter Sunday so the same applies. Just do some checking to see if it's open. We leave for France on the 31st and arrive on the morning of the 1st and were a little disappointed to find that many things will be closed on that day, but from reading the posts here we know that we will find some great things to do that day...probably just walk around Paris and get a feel for the city while it is quieter than usual? Frankly after an 8 hour plane trip, I'd be happy to have some bread (can't wait for the bread!) and of course plenty of French wine! Hope you have a great trip and enjoy!
Mar 19th, 2002, 04:28 AM
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I'd agree about staying in / around Nice rather than heading back to St Remy at the end. It's about a three hour drive each way, so you'd be saving yourselves 6 hours to do something much more interesting than drive on the Autoroute! To be honest, I'd skip Monaco - Monte Carlo is way too expensive, and everytime I've been there it's been raining! You could - for example - stay in Cannes instead, and possibly visit Grasse and the perfume/soap factories there - also spectacular views of the coast.<BR><BR>If you're going to Chateauneuf, be prepared to agree on who is driving afterwards - you will want to do some wine tasting there! I don't think that you could really includ Avignon - it takes about a day to do properly and you could save it for the next time.<BR><BR>I'd also go along with the suggestions about Arles and Les Baux
Mar 19th, 2002, 05:59 AM
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Merci! I so appreciate the great advice. I am taking notes from everyone! <BR><BR>I'm sorry I did not make my travel plans to the South clear. When we travel from St. Remy to Eze, we will stay in Eze the two nights prior to flying out of Nice.<BR><BR>In planning this trip, my husband's only request was to see the D-Day beaches and cemetery in Normandy. Could this possibly be done as a day trip from Paris? Or should I just wait to do a different trip in the future (what a great excuse to return).<BR><BR>Also, thank you for pointing out Easter and the holidays. If we remain in Paris on Easter Sunday, does anyone recommend a church for Easter Sunday? We are Protestant.<BR><BR>Again, I can't thank you enough for your input! Regards, Kim
Mar 19th, 2002, 06:43 AM
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Dear Kim<BR><BR>I note your total trip length is 11 nights, with 3 nights in Paris. This gives you 8 nights between Paris and Nice. Your flights are I presume fixed.<BR><BR>In my highly biased opinion, I'd leave something to the next trip. Either axe the 2 nights in St. Lo, and do the D Day beaches next time, or consider Paris as simply your gateway this trip (you'll have to go back to Paris anyway)and do the beaches as a day trip. I've heard that you can buy a kamikaze 1 day bus tour for this option, check it out.<BR><BR>This gives you 2 precious nights to break up that loooong drive Beaune-Provence area. <BR>Mar 31 - pick up car,(make sure it is possible to do this on Easter Sunday) and drive to Beaune. Leave lots of time to pick up that car, I'd reconsider the Eiffel Tower thing. It may simply be too crowded on a holiday weekend.<BR>Apr 1 - Beaune to I dunno, somewhere around Lyon?<BR>Apr 2 - Lyon to I dunno, Orange in Provence?<BR>Apr 3 and beyond - Orange to St. Remy, and thereafter, more or less as you are planning it, and believe me, you will be glad you are young spring chickens when you do this. <BR>By the way, we're doing a similar trip next month, and spending the entire 11 nights between Nice and Paris, with 4 extra nights for Paris for a total of 15 nights. But then, we're old greybeards average age 50, not 30. : - )<BR>
