YMark

I'm looking for some help...

My wife and I want to take a trip to Europe for our 25th anniversary late spring (May time frame). A little about our travels. Our main point of interest is Paris and Normandy. The rest of the trip is up in the air, and the main reason I'm posting. Looking for ideas. A bit about us....

healthy middle age, love to walk and explore
been to Italy 3 times, Vienna, Prague, Budapest
have driven all over Tuscany, don't mind driving
we plan on being gone for about 18 nights (give or take)
modest budget, prefer < $200 / night for lodging. We like to rent apartments
flying on miles, open jaw is no problem

We've thought about:
Paris / Barcelona trip
OR maybe a Paris / Luxembourg / Amsterdam
have also though about Zurich and/or Munich

While we are an active couple, we prefer to travel a bit slow and enjoy the moments. Don't like to stop in a city just to say we've been there. We know you can't see Paris in a couple days.

So, we are looking for some suggestions to complete our itinerary. Initial thought is 5 nights in Paris with maybe a couple in Normandy. My wife would also like to see some castles. Enjoy food, wine, architecture. Not a huge fan of museums.

My wife and I are leaning towards Barcelona. I sure don't want to drive all the way there as I would want to avoid a large rental car drop off fee. So we're looking at driving to the southern part of France taking in some smaller cities and then probably train into Barcelona.

So it would look like 5 days Paris, a couple/three in Normandy, spend a 5 days on the road, and then 5 days in Barcelona. I'm assuming I can train from Toulouse to Barcelona?

Any ideas/suggestions always welcome.

dwdvagamundo

Link to castles (called Chateaux) in France

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of..._France#Centre

You could go more or less down the coast from Normandy--

Mont-St-Michel,
Loire Chateaux
Bordeaux

are all places well within your itinerary if going to the western part of the south of France. We've only visited the first, but it is a stunning place. Planning to visit the second this fall.

Don't know about trains, as we usually drive.

StCirq

For castles, the Loire is the obvious place. From there, you could make your way to the Languedoc - maybe Toulouse and Carcassonne and Perpignan, and then it's an easy train ride to Barcelona.

FrenchMystiqueTours

This thread might give you some ideas about your journey from Paris through Lower Normandy:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic....html#39058384

And for the Loire:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-de-france.cfm

Bamaman

Paris to Barcelona is a very long trip, but it's just been made shorter with a new ultra fast train. I think it's about 6 1/2 hours.

Go for it.

Christina

I think your itinerary sounds okay but why do you want to add NOrmandy to your trip from Paris? That part doesn't make a lot of sense to me, and if you then go south, isn't in the right direction, either. SO how will you get from Normandy to go south? I'd drop the Normandy part, there is so much in the other parts already (Paris, Provence, then Barcelona).

YOu can take the train to Barcelona from places other than Toulouse, not sure why that was mentioned as it's out of the way, also. So maybe the plan was really to go to SW France around Toulouse, not PRovence, which would work okay. But you can easily take the train from Perpignan to Barcelona (I've done the reverse) or Montpellier or other cities.

If the goal is to go slowly, I just think Normandy is a bit much in only 18 days with all the other stuff, and no reason was given for going there, such as some real interest in WWII history or something. If you want to go to some town in Normandy as a day trip from Paris (ie, Rouen or Giverny), that would work, of course, but to move there to stay a couple days seems too hectic to me. And if castles are the goal, I would have thought the Loire would be the place to go. There are castles everywhere, anyway, including day trips from Paris (eg, Chantilly) or even in Paris (like Vincennes). And of course there are chateaux around Toulouse, also.

So I'd do Paris -- Toulouse area or Provence or Languedoc -- then train to Barcelona.

YMark

Thanks for the replies everyone, please keep them coming.

Christina, the reason for Normandy is for WWII interest and history. We are "planning" on flying into Paris (from USA), so thought we would start there.

The initial thought is to rent a car once we're out of Paris, drive to Normandy (or maybe pickup car after Normandy), and then drive down to Loire, Toulouse, or Dordogne, drop off the car and train into Barcelona.

Italy I know, France and Spain I'm pretty green. I'm all ears for suggestions.

Thanks

Aramis

>>>> I think your itinerary sounds okay but why do you want to add NOrmandy to your trip from Paris?

Because they want to go to Normandy....

>>>>That part doesn't make a lot of sense to me

Fortunately, that probably isn't a big concern of the OP since it is their trip

>>>> and if you then go south, isn't in the right direction, either.

The "right" direction? There is one "right" direction for travel?

Your idea is to dissuade them from seeing a part of France they have an expressed interest in simply because you don't understand that interest and/or because going in one direction makes more sense to you?

Gretchen

For your Normandy leg, I would go from CDG to Bayeux, renting a car. It is not a difficult drive and you are on the north side of CDG/Paris to get to Normandy. If you wanted to be leisurely, go to Honfleur for a night on the water before Bayeux.
I agree with the Loire for chateaux. You could even drive to the Loire from Bayeux, and then go to Paris--drop the car at Orly and taxi in to town--easy drop off. then Barcelona.

opaldog

I think that Gretchen has a good plan to do Paris after Normandy. You would have to check the train schedule but there is a train that goes from Gare de Lyon in Paris at 7:15 in the morning to Barcelona Sants, arriving in the afternoon at 1:40. It's very leisurely and enjoyable.

YMark

Gretchen's suggestion is definitely something to consider, the issue I have with it is after flying from Arizona to Paris, driving to Bayeux doesn't sound like a ton of fun.

On the other hand, doing the country tour, then Paris, then fly or train to Barcelona might be the way to go.

Decisions, decisions. Apartment rental dates may sway me one way or the other.

Thanks

opaldog, thanks for the reply in the other thread on your trip report.

dwdvagamundo

Good advice above from Aramis--if the people on this board were almost unanimous in a recommendation that you change part of your trip, then I'd seriously consider it. However, most of us believe that your itinerary works as is--including Paris before Normandy.

BTW-In Normandy, do see the Bayeux Tapestry. It's one of the great treasures of the Middle Ages and is nothing like you think it is.

YMark

Thanks all for the recommendations. Working out flight logistics now as we're using miles.

Anyone have any great suggestions for a studio or 1 bedroom apartment in Paris. Comfy and clean, don't plan on spending a lot of time in the place.

Thanks again.

Jean

FWIW, we found the World War I battlefields much more interesting than Normandy. When we toured the area (Verdun, Somme) in October 2013, lots of things were being spiffed up for observances of the 100th anniversary later this year.

YMark

Thanks Jean, good to know.

Alan_CT

We've done Paris to Barcelona, and vice versa, taking 4-5 days to make our way between via Burgundy and Provence. We've boarded or disembarked the train at Perpignan, but there are several other places for that. Give yourself more time than you expect to reach the station as traffic can be brutal.
In Paris we tend to stay out of the heavy tourist zones. This apartment was perfect for the two of us in May: http://tinyurl.com/kyadaxu

Gretchen

If you are not spending a lot of time in your apartment, why do you want one.
A hotel room works REALLY well, for a lot of reasons.

opaldog

This is where we stayed in October and really liked the location and the apartment. http://www.vrbo.com/443533

Jean

YMark, I forgot to mention the 'bonus' in visiting Verdun from Paris. Champagne!

Brooke_Herron

I found Toulouse to be an absolutely fantastic base vs Paris (which I have done a few times before) for seeing other parts of France. I love to live like a local and venture out on day trips vs packing up my bags every day (plus make good coffee in the morning and sometimes just cook up some French groceries), so the apt works well for me and also saves me quite a bit of $.

Amazing day trips from Toulouse include Albi, Carcassonne, Bordeaux, Montpelier, etc. Albi and Carcassonne are two of the most beautiful little towns I've been to in France, and Carcassone's Medieval Castle was the best preserved and largest I've ever visited.

Just so many thing to do right there in France...!

I tried to fit in another country on my trip but couldn't bear to stop seeing more places in France