If you had six days....
 

This is a great problem to have! Six days to play somewhere between Cinque Terre and Paris at the beginning of next April. We will have worked our way north through Italy by then and are looking for great places to visit before going to Paris. We have a moderate budget and are of moderate age with lots of youthful enthusiasm. Not to invite trouble, but...where would YOU go then?

Provence will be nice at that time of year, especially Aix-en-Provence and the entire Luberon valley. You can't go wrong there with a quick trip to Saint-Tropez during the day when the lavendar is blooming. Very nice!

Eye Spy: We will have just visited Tuscany. Is there enough difference between the two areas to warrant 6 days? <BR>However, the thought of blooming lavendar sounds lovely at this time of year!<BR>

Hi wondering,<BR><BR> How long have you budgeted for Paris?<BR><BR> Is this your first visit?

Six days is actually not that much between the Cinque Terre and Paris, but you could squeeze in 3 days in Provence and a couple in the Dordogne and then make a beeline for Paris

I agree that Provence is a good choice, but don't look for blooming lavender in early April, as you will be about 2-3 months early. Even after numerous trips to Tuscany myself, I found Provence to be sufficiently different. We spent 10 days, with only one on the coast in Nice, 1 in Aix (which I loved), 3 in Haute-Provence (Cotignac, Tour-tour, Entrecasteaux)and 4 in Fontvielle, which we used as a base for Arles, Avignon, Orange, Les Baux and the Luberon. With 6 days, I would eliminate the Haute-Provence portion and you've still got a great itinerary, right on the way to Paris from the Italain coast. Have fun!

Six days on the way to Paris?<BR><BR>I would go for three days in Lugano/Morcote, then three days in Montreux/Vevey.

Thanks, everyone! This is just the advice I was hoping to get. St. Cirq, do you think that more days in Provence vs Dordogne is better for castle lovers? Russ, thanks for the route info, it looks great. (I'm sad about the lavender though.) We will have 5 days in Paris again and were wondering if it would be better to fly from the southern region rather than beelining through the middle of the country. Of course, we have done many long hauls in our younger days and certainly could manage one again. After all, it's not every April we can enjoy Europe. Thanks again!

Another itinerary-if you are art lovers-would be to spend 2 days in the Vence/St.Paul de Vence area, near Nice. area. There you will find the Maeght Foundation museum, a beautiful site for modern art and nearby in Vence the Matisse Chapel. Then spend 4 days in Provence basing yourself in St. Remy, Aix, etc. You can take the TGV, the speed train, from Avignon, for example, and it is only two and a half hours to Paris, even to CDG directly.<BR><BR>We are Francophiles, in our 60's, who love Provence.<BR><BR>You are welcome to e-mail me for further information.