artsnletters

I am planning a trip with a friend for the end of next May and part of June. We cannot leave (the US) until May 30 because she is teaching until then. I have been to Paris (of course no one ever has enough of Paris, certainly not me) and Provence. She has only been in Paris for a couple days and nowhere else in France.

We'll have 16 full days on the ground. I'm thinking 7 days Paris, 7 days Dordogne, 2 days somewhere else. Or maybe 6 days Paris, 6 days Dordogne, 4 days somewhere else. Or something like that.

I'm trying to put together some sample itineraries for us to consider. I would prefer to avoid the Loire - just doesn't float my boat. Other than nightlife, wine-tasting, or vigorous outdoor activities, I think we're open to most anything.

Where would you recommend, and how would you divide the days?

monpetit

3 options :
- Brittany(Vannes, Quimper,Carnac,...)

- Burgundy( Dijon, Beaune,...)

- Franche Comté(Besançon, vallee de la Loue, Haut Doubs,...).

Brittany is not too crowdy, have some nice spots, restautrants,and you can have cultur(prehistoric sites,..) and nature(seaside,...)

Burgundy would be more for history and wines...

Franche Comte for wines and nature( a lot of easy hikes in woods) and a
lot of "water"(rivers, falls,...).

The more convenient would be Brittany on the way between Dordogne and Paris.
Bourgogne and Franche Comte are both on the middle east of France...
To be complete, we can add the Massif central(old volcans, nice hikes and scenery...).
Erik

StuDudley

IMO, Brittany needs much more than just 2 days - perhaps 5 at a minimum.

For any place where you will be visiting for 3 days or less, I would stick close to the Dordogne, unless you like to do quite a bit of driving and one-nighters.

You didn't mention where you are flying to/from - so I'll assume that's open.

If you can fly to or from Biarritz, perhaps spend 3 days in the lovely Pays Basque region. This will be quite different from the Dordogne or Provence (where you've already visited). You can take some scenic drives into the Pyrenees (the later in the year the better), or along the coast around St Jean de Luz.

If you can get to/from Perpignan, spend some time at the other end of the Pyrenees in Roussillon, and venture into the mountains and along the coast between Collioure & the Costa Brava (Spain). Again - quite different from the Dordogne.

There are flights to/from Clermond-Ferrand (via Paris) so you could spend 3 days in the lovely Puy du Dome region of the Auvergne - beautiful countryside & different from the Dordogne.

The rugged Languedoc region is quite dramatic, but not that dis-simiilar from the Dordogne.

Stu Dudley

Michael

Take the train to the Dordogne, visit the Dordogne and then La Rochelle and its surrounding area, which deserves at least a long weekend. Drop off the car at the nearest TGV station to go back to Paris. Make sure you try to get your TGV tickets 2 months (or is it 90 days now?) ahead of time to take advantage of the low PREM fares.

You might find parts of this report relevant to your potential itinerary:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35156619

StuDudley

Michael has a good idea. La Rochelle will fit perfectly into 2 nights - and there are direct TGV connections to Paris.

Stu Dudley

artsnletters

I really appreciate your ideas. There are so many places I want to go that it's very hard to choose. I have been eager to see the Dordogne for a long time, so that's the one part I'm sure about.

If anyone else has any ideas, feel free to toss them in the pot!

artsnletters

What about Paris 6 days, Normandy/Brittany 5 days, Dordogne 6 days? Too much time getting between them?

TuckH

For what it's worth...

We were in Brittany in June one year and it was so cold, cloudy and unpleasant that we cut our stay short and lengthened our planned visit to the warm and sunny Dordogne.

StuDudley

We were in Brittany for 3 weeks in mid/late June '01 and it was very hot for the first 4 days, then "mild" after that.

We were in the Dordogne for a week in very late June '97 & it was rainy and very cold the entire time. We had the heater on in our Gite. We then visited Provence, which was also abnormally cold.

So - if you average out TuckH's & my experiences - ??????

Stu Dudley

TuckH

Of course weather is always an unknown factor - which is why I try to stay flexible on our trips and have a Plan B ready when possible.

As for Stu's June '97 Dordogne stay, I would've been one agitated vacationer. I'm chary of fixed reservations for this reason...