zwho

We are just beginning to investigate a girls trip in March. Our 1st plan is to fly into Paris for a few days and then visit 2 or 3 towns in the south of France, and fly home from wherever we get to that has an airport. We went to southern Spain last fall and drove around and did great, (as long as we weren't looking for a specific address). We also took buses and trains. It worked out well. We wouldn't have a car in Paris, but rent one when we leave. Is it easy to drive, or is the train system a better way to go? Or bus? If we have a car we can stop at passing towns that look interesting, or is a set itinerary with train stops easier? We're light packers and semi adventurous, and in our "fearless fifties." The trip would probably last a total 10 days. Any opinions? Also if anyone has some DO NOT MISS towns in the south, please clue me in! Thanks in advance.

em_axo

By South of France, are you thinking more of the Riviera area (Nice, Cannes, etc.) or Provence?

zwho

We probably will need to end up on the Riviera if we want to fly home without getting back to Paris. But for visiting we want more inland, Provence and (where else?) We want the medival towns and villages in the hills, or some historical towns with great sites, or wines or food. I have only visited Paris and some of the Riviera on cruises, so I'm clueless, and this is my first attempt at gathering info. Thanks again.

cheryllj

If you want "historical" or "medieval" have you considered driving around the Loire Valley to see the Chateaux? Chenonceaux in particular is really fabulous.

www.chenonceau.com

Christina

You don't have to end up on the Riviera to fly back, unless you consider Marseille the Riviera. It's easy to get flights out of Marseille, just as easy as Nice. I don't know the definition of the Riviera, though, thought it was east of there.

Anyway, I don't see the purpose of renting a car just to drive from Paris down south, the train is a lot easier. But you could save money probably by driving, compared to train fares for several people, if you rent for a week or so.

If you are talking about train stops, do you mean you don't want to just get from Paris to Provence in a few hours, but spend days along the way? I don't think you have enough time to do that since you only have 10 days total and want to spend time in Paris and Provence.

zwho

Thank you for all the suggestions. You make a lot of sense about Train v Car. But I'm 1 vote out of 4. I do consider Marseille the Riviera or at least the coast, and that's where I thought we would be able to catch an international flight. I'm going to search Loire Valley right now. It sounds wonderful without knowing the 1st thing about it.

dmlove

There are plenty of "historical towns" right on the Riviera (well, uphill from the beach, but just a few kilometers) -- we loved Biot. Also, you can fly to the US from Nice.

Paris to the Riviera is quite far, so unless you plan to stop in-between, I'd recommend taking the train, and then renting a car down south.

kerouac

It might be a good idea to take the train from Paris to Avignon and pick up a rental car there. You could leave it in Nice or Marseille when you fly out.

em_axo

I agree with kerouac. We just did the opposite - picked up our car in Nice, drove to Provence and around all the hilltop villages, etc. then dropped our car off in Avignon and took the TGV to Paris. I would not recommend Provence without a car. I've never been to the Riviera so can't speak to that.

StuDudley

We've spent over 26 weeks vacationing on the Riveria and inland Provence.

We've driven every stretch of the freeway between Paris & Provence - but never all at once and I would never even attempt it. The TGV is only 3 hrs to Avignon, and around 40E if you can land a PREM fare. The TGV services CDG airport to/from Provence also. My guess is that if you can save 1 day's car rental, gas, road tolls (lots), it would be less expensive to take the TGV than driving, and would save you the anxiety of driving in a people-packed car with not enough luggage space. It is not a scenic drive for most of the way and I find the driving quite difficult (you're heading south & the sun will be in your face most of the time.)

Provence & the Riveria are loaded with cute medieval villages - you can't possibly see them all. I'm finding new ones even after 26 weeks there. I have a 20+ page itinerary that describes my favorite places, drives, villages, etc. E-mail me at [email protected] if you want a copy.

When you leave Provence (Avignon), either the Nice airport if you end your trip on the Riveria) or Marseille (if not) are good departure points. Another thing we've done several times, is when we leave Provence we take the TGV to Dijon & stay overnight in this fabulous city. Very early the next morning we take the TGV again directly to CDG in time for the flight home (check the schedule - you arrive at CDG at 8:20 on week days, 9:20 week ends).

Stu Dudley

Gretchen

Listen to STu. Spend your time touring Provence and take the train to get there. March may not be prime time on the Riviera and there is certainly enough charm to go around in Provence, even returning to Paris for the RT home.

lyb

bookmarking

NeoPatrick

Don't overlook the possibility of flying from Paris (Orly) to Nice. Easy Jet has four to five flights daily for as little as 32.99 in March. We found it was a lot quicker and much cheaper than a train -- even allowing the extra time to get to and from airports and the advance check in time needed.

StuDudley

Regarding the Loire:

We love Chateaux and we get "chateaued-out" less than most people. However, after you have reached your threashold of Rennaisance (not Medieval) chateaux on the Loire, the rest of this region is not as interesting, IMO, and other areas of France. We spend 2 months exploring France each year, and the Loire is one of my least favorite regions (we've spent several weeks there). I think it would be great for about 2-4 days of chateau viewing mixed in with a few villages, but after about 4 days and 6 chateaux, it may become repetative to many people (including me).

The areas we return to the most are Provence, the Dordogne, Languedoc, and Brittany - in that order.

Stu Dudley

sandi

Train to Avignon, pick up car and visit that area of Provence (Provence actually covers this area all the way across the Med to the Italian border) - depart from Marseille. Or fly to Nice, pick up car and visit the coastal areas between Cannes and the Italian border - depart from Nice.

Lots of choices, depending on which area specifically you want to visit. Both are wonderful for charming towns. If Nice, many can be reached by their train system, which is fine for some. For many of the small perched villages though a car is best.

If renting a car, however, do check with your hotel, wherever it maybe, whether they charge for parking. Some do and this can be hefty at $20-$30/night. Also, if traveling in March check when French and European school holidays fall as accommodations maybe hard to come by.

Askar

Are you sure you want/need to fly home from the south?
From Marseille the TGV takes you back to CDG Airport, direct, in less that 4 hours.

Gretchen

I agree, as I said, in my post--just go back to CDG. Probably (although I know not necessarily) cheaper. It's March--not beach/coast time.

zwho

Thanks to all of you who answered my query! I have so much to learn about the area. I like the idea of using the TGV to get out of and back to Paris, and a car to tour. When I think of the south of France, after the Riviera I do think of Provence, and that would probably be where we start. I am a firm believer in doing the A list, before beginning the B list. By A & B, all I mean is that the A's are the better known tourist places, and well, I'm a tourist and want to see why these places are so special before I go off the beaten path. I'm emailing this out to the others. Thank you!

Christina

I've flown out of both Nice and Marseille to return to the US, and it never was cheaper to fly out of CDG than to do that. It isn't really that feasible, anyway, due to flight times and train times. I always fly Air France when making connections in France, and their fares from Nice or Marseille are never much more, if any, than out of Paris. They were less than the TGV fare, and in any case, it wasn't feasible to take the TGV from Nice back to Paris to get a flight the same day, it's just not possible. So then you'd be losing a day of your vacation if you go back to CDG one day early (and stay in an airport hotel or something, I suppose).

All the flights I take from CDG are from 10 am to 1 pm, and you have to be there about 3 hrs ahead nowadays. Taking the TGV from Provence before that isn't very feasible for me. However, the flight is only about an hour or 1.5 hrs, clearly better than a 3-4 hr TGV run.

annhig

hi, zwho,

I like the way your trip is shaping. personally I always like to do "open jaw" but it depends on how convenient flights are/price of course.

For a March trip, i would definitely favour the south over the loire. It could be chilly on the loire. I'd hit Paris first, then TGV to the south.

Can i come too?



regards, ann