Steve_P

My wife and I and our 17 and 19 year old boys will be in France in July. One son will be attending the Paris Opera Ballet summer dance program so the other 3 of us will spend several days in Paris and then hope to venture out to another area. We will then return to Paris at the completion of the dance program to spend a few days with the other boy there before heading out for another region. Unfortunately, our 2 trips outside of Paris are limited in time so we would appreciate suggestions to help us establish our itineraries.

For the first trip, we are thinking about visiting the Burgundy region and Strasbourg. On the evening of July 11, We would take the TGV to possibly Strasbourg and then rent a car there. We would have to return to Paris by the mid afternoon (4:00 pm or so) to join our son there for his birthday. With about 4 full days to spend in this region, do we have enough time to see some of Burgundy and the area around Strasbourg? Any suggestions for a satisfactory itinerary in this area with no more than 2 hotel stays?

Then, we would leave Paris again around the evening of July19th and we would love to see the Dordogne and Provence regions. We would be flying out of nice on the 25th. Again, we would take the train and then rent a car. Any suggestions for this part of our trip, including where we should take the train to and where we should go from there? If we are trying to do too much with either of these destinations, we would prefer to cut them down so that we are not too rushed.

Thank you for any suggestions you may have!

Steve

StCirq

Six days for both the Dordogne and Provence is not advisable. Both would be good destinations for at minimum a week or two. So pick one. I think the boys would prefer the Dordogne, but it's your/their call.

StuDudley

Strasbourg/Alsace OR Burgundy

Provence OR Dordogne.

Visiting any of these areas is nothing like a weekend in Brown County & Madison, south of you. On our first trip to Provence, we spent 6 weeks there - and went back for another 3 weeks two years later. Ditto for the Dordogne, but not quite as much time.

I would choose Provence for one trip to catch the lavender in bloom. Then the Dordogne for the second trip.


Stu Dudley

ira

Good advice above.

Steve_P

Thanks, StCirq and Stu! We will do one or the other in each area. Do you think the lavender will still be in bloom around July 20 - 25? For a first trip to France for the kids, do you think Provence or Dordogne will be better?

They've traveled before (Russia, Guatemala, China, Bulgaria, England/Scotland) and enjoy experiencing new things.

Thanks again!

Steve

StuDudley

Both the Dordogne and Provence are quite nice. After the weather you've had this winter (and are still having - yesterday's high in Indy was 35, low 24), Provence is where I would head ASAP. However, the Dordogne has more diverse stuff to visit, IMO, and might be more appealing to the kids.

Stu Dudley