Next trip to France: Where to go?
 

In 2004, we (14 of us, parents and 6 children and spouses) spent a week in Provence and a week in Paris. Looking at going back to France this fall, but where? Dordogne, Alsace, or Burgundy are the places under consideration.

In Provence, everyone enjoyed driving to the great small towns in Provence and seeing the history and art of each town. Many enjoyed shopping. Some enjoy really fine dining, but others are not as interested (eat to live, vs. live to eat, I'm the latter). The same with wine. Luckily enough, we'll have several cars. We stayed in the country, and I think we'd enjoy staying in a larger town this time, where we could come back in the afternoon, walk/shop through town, have some places to choose from for dinner, etc. I really enjoyed St. Remy, but it wouldn't have to be that large of a town.

If this were your next trip to France, where would you go? And, if you have suggestions of specifically where to stay that would be great as well. We enjoyed staying in a house in Provence, but we may look at a hotel this time. Each couple must have their own bedroom and bath (with shower), so that limits us in terms of gites.

Thanks for your thoughts, annieladd

The Dordogne, hands down. Rent a nice roomy house with plenty of space somewhere near Sarlat and you'll barely be able to scratch the surface in a week's time.

Two places come to mind immediately. The Loire Valley especially around Tours and Alsace (Route du Vin). Obernai is a fairy tale town. Especially in August you cant go wrong in that area. My wife and I are going back to the Loire Valley this August for the last week of our 9 week camping trip through 9 countries. Its the week to rest up before flying home so I wanted a place that was special. We both love it there.

We took a trip three years ago staying in Poitiers and visiting a different village every day in that area. We really enjoyed it, lota of variety in the towns. The area is famous for its Romanesque Churches that were stopping places on the way to Santiago de Campostella. Outside Poitiers, there is a Futurescope Park. We did not visit it, but assume it is like Epcot in Florida.

The other area we loved was Brittany. Once again, lots of interesting day trips, beautiful scenery and those amazing tides.

Consider Burgundy particularly Beaune. This will satisfy your wine and food appetites, while providing a beautiful town easily walkable with some interesting features and sights. The surrounding countryside will allow for plenty of daytrips to fascinating and pituresque villages.

My wife & I retired early in '99 so we cound spend more time traveling in Europe - about 75% of that time has been in France.

We've spent several months in Provence, couple of months on the Cote d'Azur, 2 months in the Dordogne, 6 weeks in the Languedoc region, 3 weeks in Brittany, 2 weeks in the Pays Basque, 2 weeks in the Ardeche, 1 week in Alsace, 1 week in the Loire, 1 week driving through the Alps, and 1 week in Normandy. Paris too, of course.

The places we enjoy the most are Provence & the Dordogne. Like St Cirq said, in the Dordogne you'll only scratch the surface in 1 week. Of all the places we've visited (including Provence), the Dordogne has the greatest diversity of things to do & see. Castles galore that are in ruins (kids love those), and highly furnished too. One castle has a Medieval warfare museum, and another a birds of prey demonstration. Caves with pre-historic paintings, & stalactites & mites. Cute villages everywhere, canoe trips down the Dordogne, best food in France IMHO. Lovely formal gardens and rugged ones also. One is on a plateau high above the Dordogne river with lots of things (swings, things to climb on) and places to explore to do to keep children entertained while the adults enjoy a leisurly outdoor lunch with great views. Museums, scenic drives, fun outdoor markets, balloon rides.

There are lots of very interesting "theme" exhibitions and parks that are fun for adults & children too. We always avoided them on previous trips because we figured that they would be geared for children. However, this past Sept we went to a few and they were much more interesting than we had anticipated.

I think if you liked Provence, you will like the Dordogne equally - perhaps the children will like it better because of the castles they can explore on their own. They will also enjoy the theme parks - many with live animals.

Alsace is nice and perhaps has the cutest villages (and excellent restaurants too) but in a week there, we got a little bored. The diversity of "things" that are found in Provence & the Dordogne were not there in Alsace. The Vosges mountains were OK, but nothing like the Alps or Pyrenees.

Same with the Loire. We are big chateau fans, but after about 6-8 chateau, that was enough for us and the other things to do in the region were not as interesting as in other places where we've been.

Brittany is very pretty, but I think you will find yourself in the car more than you would like.

Hope this helps

Stu Dudley

Another vote for the Dordogne region.

Details in my trip report:
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34676645

Photos at http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...&y=-pla2au

((I))

The Dordogne it is (the rest of France for future years)! Thanks for all of your input. This trip has been off an on, but hopefully we'll find a home soon. I'm researching simply-perigord.com and rentvillas.com now (any other website suggestions, let me know). If anyone has a suggestion for a house with 7 bedrooms and 7 baths (or 2 houses close by), near Sarlat, let me know! Thanks, annieladd

7 bedrooms and 7 baths is NOT going to happen in the Dordogne, even if you rent a château! Houses just aren't built like that in the Dordogne. The typical house is 3 bedrooms, 1 bath (but rental property owners often add a bath or two). You need a small village!

I have a friend who has a 19th-century château near Belvès. It's been a few years since I've been there but I think it might have 7 bedrooms. I can check with him about bathrooms and availability if you wish......

Hi A,

7 rooms is asking a lot.

Try this site
http://www.domainedelabarde.com

They are in Le Bugue.

They have "The Mill" which has 8 rooms. You might be able to get a discount if you rent the whole building.

((I))

Hi Annieladd,
I just finished rental hunting in the Dordogne and came across a site, www.lesmilandes.com, whose offerings would accommodate a large group.

I concur with those who have recommended the Dordogne for your holiday. Alsace and Burgundy are both lovely, but the Dordogne offers so much that as someone said, you will hardly scratch the surface in a week. In our two-week stay, we never went further than a 30 km radius, and still left much unvisited.

You may have to compromise with accommodation. If you want to stay in town, you will likely need to find a hotel, as the large houses are mostly in the country. If you want to walk to restaurants and shopping, Sarlat might be your best bet, as you wil be there in the fall when the hordes of visitors have left.

We stayed in La Roque Gageac and throughly enjoyed it. La Roque is quite a small village (one of the "plus beaux villages de France"), but with several very good restaurants. There is no shopping to speak of.

We were a group of six couples, and the place we rented (Chateau Malartrie) had more than enough room for all of us. Most of the bedrooms had en suite baths, but I believe that two had to share. For 12 people, the price was quite reasonable. We rented through Dordogne Rental, which has a number of large houses and chateaux. You can find out more at: http://www.dordognerental.com/

>>I just finished rental hunting in the Dordogne and came across a site, www.lesmilandes.com,>>

Les Milandes is, of course, Josaphine Baker's chateau. Wonderful place. That's where they have the birds of prey demonstration that I noted. Very pictureque setting and in a good location for visiting all the "biggie" sites in the Dordogne. I don't know anything about the rental places, however. We stay about 10 mins from there.

I just updated my Dordogne itinerary with "findings" from our trip there this past Sept. Email me at [email protected] if you want a copy. It has a VERY large section about restaurants (I got carried away).

Stu Dudley

I think the owners of Les Milandes, the rentals, are cozying up to the name of the famous chateau. The rentals include a cluster of buildings including a manor house, gatehouse, and the hamlet's old mairie that the owners have renovated.

Well, "ideally" we would have 7 beds and baths. But, thanks for the reality check. Last year, we split the group up over two weeks, but I think it would be more fun to have everyone there at once (even in 2 houses close by). Stu, I will email you. Ira, BonVoyage and Laveren, thanks for the suggestions, I will research them. St. Cirq, you're always so helpful, that would be lovely if you could check. There's the chance that one of the couples won't be able to come, so that may get us down to 6 rooms. I know my bath request is high, but it's hard just getting 2 people per room bathed, makeup, hair dry, etc. and out the door each morning! Thanks again for all the suggestions. annieladd

May I just ask for help with one more idea? Last year, we stayed in a home in Provence and enjoyed it, but while looking at hotel websites in Dordogne, it occurs to me we might want to consider simply renting several rooms at a hotel. Having said that, what are your recommendations? The parameters are, 1st and foremost, one room on the ground floor or elevator for our parents. Close to Sarlat. Something in the range of $100-150 per night. It would be fun to stay in a place where there are a few options in the afternoon and evening, in term of dining/shopping/ just walking around? Let me know your thoughts. annieladd

Hi annie,

Check out the Hotel Bonnet in Beynac-et-Cazenac. about 70E/nite dbl w/bkfst.

http://www.hotelbonnet.com/indexx.html

((I))

We spent a week in the Dordogne near Lalinde two summers ago. When someone suggested that you needed a village...well, I have one to suggest for you! It is Domaine des Blanches Colombes.

http://www.quality-gites.co.uk/index.html

The property sits in the middle of a small hamlet and consists of a big old farmhouse, two adjoining two-story gites and two more across the little road out back. The main house also had B&B accommodations, I believe. There are one or two other houses in the hamlet as well as a small church. That's it. Very sweet.

The meals we enjoyed there were generous and delicious. My 10 y.o. daughter ate better there than anywhere else! The photos do not do the place justice. Rooms are simply but cheerfully decorated (and clean!) Staff is friendly. I think it could be a marvelous place for a week's stay with extended family.

Now, the downside...it's not Sarlat, therfore, it's not centrally located. However, we never found any of our days drives oppressive. There was plenty to keep us busy for a week and we just focused on the areas between Bergerac and Sarlat. (I can imagine having been more centrally located and running ourselves ragged!)

We will hopefully return to the area someday to do the eastern end of the Dordogne. Ideally I think two weeks makes sense, one for each "side."

Here's my vote for Burgundy, a large region with something for everyone: châteaux, wineries, beautiful small villages, splendid cathedrals (especially Autun), ancient abbeys, good restaurants.