I am planning a trip to for me, my husband and our then four year old to travel potentially from Barcelona to Genoa through the South of France and wanted some hints as to when is the best time to book it. I have heard May or September as it is still warmish but not as many crowds but I can't decide which is better and why one is better than the other - we have flexible jobs so either is possible. Thanks for any help.

In my opinion mid-late September is the best time to visit southern France. As you say, it is less busy then but most sites remain open full hours. My (completely unscientific) observation is that seasons are more likley to run late than to come early hence Septemebr is often still quite warm whereas May can often remain relatively cool. Nevertheless you would almost certainly enjoy either time.

Either would be fine. For choice, I'd go with the end of May just bacause the days will be much longer than in September. then again, in September you can catch the grape harvest and towards the end of the month some nice colors in the vineyards.

-Kevin

p.s.: if it is beaches you are after, then late May or early September works best.

Last September we started our trip in Barcelona and worked our way up to the Averyon, in France. September was a wonderful time to travel the area.

Here's a link to my trip report which may be of some help:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34519236

We'll be in the Drome and Var this September.

Well, that was the wrong link. Try this one


http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=35073909

Thanks for the help - that is very useful!

History may be irrelevant, but this year Genova got nearly non-stop rain in May, and days and nights so cool it was impossible to eat outdoors or swim.

You didn't ask, and I don't know your child's interests, but I don't think the aquarium in Genova is worth the money charged to enter, and the layout makes it impossible to avoid passing through the large merchandise several times.

If you were planning on seeing the docks in Genova with your child and visiting the paid attractions, you might look into the Citta dei Bambini instead, which I've never been to.

We spent a nasty month of May in
Provence and N.Tuscany this year -
it didn't warm up until we were
leaving on June 21. We had to
buy fleecies to survive!

In times past we have spent May in
the Vaucluse and it has been windy,
wet and cold! Of course, it could
just be the black cloud we have over
our heads, but we have always had
great September weather in s.Europe
so that would be my preference for
sure.