twagner

My husband and I are traveling to France in September and are spending 5 days in Paris and 5 days in Nice. We are looking to either drive or take the train from Paris down and would like to stay an additional 2 nights along the way . We would like to stay in small towns and do some wine tasting. Can someone help with if we should take the train or drive? Also a suggested itinerary of where to stay and any wineries to visit? We'd like some little towns with lots of character.

adrienne

I would take the train. I've driven the length of France once and it was one too many times. A highway is a highway no matter where you are.

Beaune is a smallish town with lots of character IMO. I'm sure there are others. You should choose a place along the route to Nice so you don't spend lots of time getting to these small towns as train connections may not be the best.

Do you have a preference in the type of wine you want to sample? If I were going to a winery I would want to sample the types of wine I like and not just some winery on the way to somewhere else.

Underhill

Take the train and stop in Beaune for your first night. It's a charming small town with a fine medieval hospital and any number of wine-tasting rooms. With the time you have you won't be able to spend much going to vineyards/wineries, and most will be too busy with the harvest to welcome visitors. The Burgundy wineries, except for large châteaux like Meurseault, aren't set up for visitors like those in the Napa Valley. Many can only be visited by appointment; you might want to consider a tour with a professional guide. Also, French law is very strict about drinking and driving; so even with a car you would be limited to taste-and-spit.

For your second night, take the train to Avignon. From that city you can visit the Châteauneuf-du-Pape wine region, again most easily with a guide. The Avignon tourist office has information on local guides and tours.

worldinbetween

You are taking m favorite trip in Europe... I am jealous.

Here is a trip report on the Nice....

http://worldinbetween.wordpress.com/...d-nice-france/

worldinbetween

Sorry about the typos... My iPad has a mind of its own...

ParisAmsterdam

I've driven the length of France 5 times by differing routes and it's never enough! ;^) I'd do it again tomorrow.

But in your case I'd take the train. 2 days from Paris to Nice is too rushed... in 2008 we drove Nice to Paris but took a week to do it.

Or what about a hybrid solution? Train to Lyon and spend the day and overnight. Rent a car late in the day for an early morning departure and head for Grenoble and the Route Napoleon
south to Antibes and Nice? It will be a long day driving but if you enjoy driving it could be a great day behind the wheel!

seafox

Lot's of good ideas. Mine is a bit different.... take the train directly to Nice, spend the extra nights there and take some day trips.... fewer hotel changes = more relaxation IMO. You can rent a car in Nice center with SIXT for a couple of days.

worldinbetween

Seafox is a wise fox... You should listen to....it?

StCirq

I agree with seafox. I also hate that drive from Paris (to anywhere in the south of France), and taking trains and stopping off in a couple of places doesn't make sense cost-wise or logistics-wise. There are plenty of wonderful daytrips you can make once you get to Nice.

rhkkmk

good idea about train directly to nice.. lots of grapes in the southern area as well. i love wine shopping in var and you certainly will want a car in the south to explore... even in nice, although parking can be a pain in the central city.. good garage under flower mkt in old city..

twagner

Thanks everyone for the responses!!! We would like to check out the Rhone valley and Châteauneuf du pape region and are typically red wine drinkers. We live in CA so it sounds like these areas are better with a guide than just going on your own like we are used to. That being said it sounds like the train is the way to go for us and possibly renting a car in Nice. Any suggestions for. Booking the train? Other sites say to do it from Europe due to the higher prices from the USA. Also any day trip ideas from Nice? Thanks again everyone!!!

StCirq

Train bookings should be done on either www.voyages-sncf.com if you read French or www.tgv-europe.com if you don't (plug in Antartica on the first screen so you don't get shifted to the Rail Europe site, which is overpriced and doesn't show all the trains.

Start looking at fares exactly 3 months out from your date of travel for the very best bargains. As the dates advance, the prices go up. You can get to Nice either directly from CDG or from Paris - depends on how you want to plan your trip.

Booking the car in Europe? No, don't do that! Do you want to deal with complex contracts in French and only French-speaking telephone agents? I wouldn't mind, but most people would! Besides, it won't be cheaper to rent in France - quite the opposite. Rent from Auto Europe or Kemwel.

Underhill

It is, however, diffcult to make day trips into Burgundy from Nice--and Burgundy has some of the best wines.