Here's where I've been, where next?
 

I am struggling to decide on a destination for our next trip, probably September or October 2011. I want to find someplace new in Italy or France, here's where I've been:

ITALY

Rome, Venice , Florence (multiple times)
Amalfi coast (once, no real desire to go back at this time)

Loved these areas:

Tuscany - countryside near Siena
Umbria- a week based in Spello
Piemonte - near Allesandria
Lake Como - Varenna

FRANCE

Paris (mulitple times)
Provence - based just outside Avignon, fell in love with the people here
Burgundy - Beaune area, lovely
Normandy - Bayeux, Caen, Mt. St. Michel

We crave good food and wine, beautiful countryside, some unique museums and churches, a chance to mingle with locals, a city nearby for occasional nightlife, losing ourselves...

Considering Puglia, Friuli, Emilia Romangna, Dordogne, Brittany, Alsace ...???

Looking for suggestions (sorry, too much wine tonight) ...

Strasbourg and Alsace seen like a good choice - esp at that time of year. You could combine with some time on the Rhine or Moselle - depending on how much time you have and interests.

an excellent suggestion, NY, and also, may wish to consider the Italian and French regions of Switzerland (Lake Maggiore, Montreux, Geneva, etc.)

If you are considering Puglia, please think about adding Basilicata. I think a terrific trip would be combining Matera in Basilicata with parts of Puglia. You could count on good food.

Thanks for the replies so far, good suggestions.

docdan - Have been to Geneva and all around Lac Leman.

We hope to have 10 - 11 nights total.

Any more?

The Dordogne is still on my list, so can't help there. Brittany is quite a unique area with its Celtic heritage still in evidence, with mostly smaller towns and cities, and beautiful coastal areas in particular. More in our phototravelogue at http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...&x=0&y=-24d4pe

It all depends on whether you want to stay in one place, or move around a little. Will you hire a car or rely on public transport? If you have your own vehicle, then how about:

ITALY Milan Bergamo Lake Garda Verona

You can fly into Milan then out of Venice, or vice versa. The above places are easy to get to along the autostrada, coming away from it to see the various areas.

Lyon is more than nice. Interesting visually, amazing food and easy to get around. Silk industry was huge at one time-interesting museum and workshops.

DH and I went there from Menton (also nice). Click my name if you are interested in TR.

Friuli Venezia-Giulia is truly a fantastic place and has everything you are craving, especially if you combine Udine, Aquiliea and Trieste plus the wine hills around Cormons and Gorizia. September/October is an ideal time to go. One of the best brief overviews of the region is this . I highly recommend actually staying at La Subida in Cormons.

Ooops! I hit the button before I included the link to the overview of Friuli Venezia-Giulia

http://www.fodors.com/news/story_2870.html

Of all the places you have not visited, the Dordogne is my favorite. In fact, it ties with Provence as my favorite region in France, and also ties with the Val d'Orcia area in Tuscany.

I've spent a lot of time vacationing all over France (except north of Paris, which I will visit this year). Here is something I posted on another thread aboout my favorite regions in France
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-to-france.cfm

Stu Dudley

"We crave good food and wine, beautiful countryside, some unique museums and churches, a chance to mingle with locals, a city nearby for occasional nightlife, losing ourselves..."

Sicily.

Not too hot in September.

We must have similar tastes because we have been to many of the places that you list. I will second Dordogne as a great place. However, I would consider a trip to Nice and Cinque Terre combined. We have been to Nice twice in October and found the weather to be great both times. It is hard to explain why it is so pleasant, but it is really one of the most enjoyable and relaxing places we've been. Great transportation options to the small villages nearby, wonderful views, great food and not too expensive. We've always wanted to combine a trip to Nice with Cinque Terre. CT is about our favorite in Italy. Besides hiking and beauty, really unique food and wine. I wish I was there right now instead of heading to work on a gray Monday morning...

Dordogne, Dordogne, Dordogne. Gorgeous in the fall and meets all your criteria.

Second for Sicily. Great weather, food, wine, people, scenery.
Go west and east by car. My new favorite in Italy, reminds me of Italy 25 years ago when I first visited Tuscany.

Huggy

I would say that Sicily is around 25 centuries behind Tuscany but then maybe that's the attraction?

Thanks to all for some great suggestions.

Stu and StCirq - Are there any 50,000+ population cities in Dordogne? It looks like beautiful country, but I'm not very familiar with the region.

Thanks

Thanks to all for some great suggestions.

Stu and StCirq - Are there any 50,000+ population cities in Dordogne? It looks like beautiful country, but I'm not very familiar with the region.

Thanks

:You might also consider northern Italy-near Austria-Bolzano and north to the dolomites and cortina,etc. In France ,the Basque region ,just north of Spain is also gorgeous. Good hunting.

No, even Périgueux is right around 30,000.

I love Perigueux, but I would not base there. Not centrally located enough & there is some not-so-scenic sprawl. Stay closer to Sarlat, or in Sarlat - one of my "top 5" smaller/medium sized cities in France.

I have a 20+ page itinerary for visiting the Dordogne & surrounds. I've sent it to over 700 people on Fodors. E-mail me at [email protected] & I'll attach one to the reply e-mail.

Stu Dudley

NItaly is fabulous -- much to c & do and of course, wonderful food. Milan, Padua, Vicenza, Verona, Mantova and all the surrounding little villages. U can even do a trip to Bologna. Always really enjoyed the Friuli Venezia-Giulia region. Very nice and no tourists. From there if you like mountains u can head to the Dolomites.

zeppole, Lifeman and yestravel - Northern Italy is high on the list too. When we're not based in cities, we always have a car. Of all the places mentioned, I've only been to Milan, and have always wanted to go to Bologna and Trieste.

mflickermd - We want to get to Basque Country as well, both in France and Spain, but that's reserved for another year when our kids can join us. Our son and one of our daughters came to Barcelona/Costa Brava with us last September, and Basque Country/Northern Spain is where we will go together on our next family trip.

If Italy, Sicily. If France, the Dordogne. We loved Sicily and would like to go back - there is too much to see and do for just one trip. We also loved the Dordogne but it doesnt draw me back as Sicily does. September and October are a great time for Sicily.

I'm not qualified to answer your question really, but what the he!!.

The Perigord is very beautiful and relaxing, so far my favorite place in France besides Paris, though I'm willing to have my heart stolen by another region. We stayed in Sarlat itself; I'm not that much of a country mouse to stay somewhere smaller, though I enjoyed visiting the little towns and villages during the day. The Lot looked quite alluring, and if I returned to that general region of France I would devote a few days over on that side--seemed a little more foreign to me, whatever that means. For some reason Provence didn't really stick for me. I sorta thought, <i>Oh, I'd rather just be in Italy,</i> when I was there. And I like Umbria better than Tuscany. So different strokes and all that.

Good luck with your choice. It's good to have such dilemmas, isn't it? I'm heading off to Sicily this spring--glad to see some recommendations here!

Even though I live in France (where I would suggest the Aveyron - obviously - although our nearest real nightlife would be in Toulouse!) my vote would definitely be Sicily every time.

We had a wonderful early October holiday there. Weather was great, sea was warm, and the coastline studded with coastal paths and stunning beaches (and yes, some hideous industry, which you must just overook!). An awesome island for historical/archaeological interest, lovely food and wine, friendly people. And our daughter (aged 19 and an au pair in Palermo) rates the nightlife VERY highly!

My favourite website (even ifI can't afford their villas!):

http://www.thinksicily.com/

To keep this ball in the air as long as possible, let me add my vote to Alsace. Unless you've done a lot of time in Germany or Austria and I haven't seen that mentioned so far, Alsace will afford quite a different experience, and as the first responder said, it will be gorgeous with the winefields in the fall. The little villages are adorable with red geraniums spilling from every window and storks nesting on the tallest buildings. The food is wonderful as well and you can tour wineries to your hearts content. And if you want a big city fix, Strasbourg is there, and Colmar, a mid-sized city.

That said, you would also find Brittany wonderful with Rennes and Nantes affording some big-town opportunities, and Vannes a mid-sized one. Whether you decide to stay north or south, there are beautiful seacoast villages to explore and great history.

Thanks for all the replies. Sicily is definitely part of the wish list, but we're thinking that will be a future "family vacation" spot.

In the past 10 years, we've mostly travelled with another couple who are close friends, but the circumstances aren't allowing that this time. We hope to re-start that tradition in 2012. On other occasions, we've gone with some or all of our kids. This year, it looks like just me and my wife, so we're looking for a new spot where we have not been before, and also where our friends or the kids have not shown much interest in visiting.

Julie - In Austria, we've been to only Salzburg and Vienna. We haven't seen much of Germany either, staying in Rothenberg and visiting other towns along the Romantic Road, and a couple of days in Munich and Frankfurt, but that's it. So Alsace has appeal for us this time.

I'll be most keen to see a trip report, if you do Alsace. Bon voyage!