My husband and I have 9 days of vacation left this year and are taking advantage of the low fares to Paris or Nice. We were in Paris three years ago and loved it. We would like to either go to Normandy, Brittany, Loire OR Provence from Dec. 10-19th . We know this is not the ideal time to go - it will be cold and rainy and a lot of places will be closed. We would appreciate your recommendation on which place is the better one to visit in December. We’ve read the postings for all these places (they’ve been very helpful – thank you so much) and are still torn about which area to visit. Provence seems warmer and a little less rainy but we’re concerned about “Le Mistral”. We’re interested in seeing villages and eating good food. Thank you in advance for your help.

While Normandy might be cold and/or rainy, Provence might not. We were there near Grasse in early December 2001 and had lovely weather, almost springlike--warm enough to eat outside all week. So I'd advise spending your time around Nice, where you'd have the benefit of the Mediterranean climate.

Provence at Christmas time is very festive and a lot of fun to visit.

Without a doubt, Normandy will be cold and wet. Many hotels and restaurants along the Channel coast will be closed. You'd have the D-Day sights to yourselves, but I think it would be very uncomfortable trying to see them properly. Go to Provence.

Think cold and rainy in Brittany (etc.) in December! Provence is definitely the right way to go (in any kind of weather)!!

I agree with Provence. We leave on Dec. 21 for 2 weeks. The weather should be in the 50's but could always be colder depending. We have been there in the summer and are really looking forward to this trip.

I was in Nimes last November. It was cold- about 34F. It didn't stop us...just make sure you bring clothes you can layer.

The mistral occurs at all times of year, so you can't plan a visit to Provence even in mid-summer without the possibility of encountering it. And even though it's a pain it's less of a pain than the bone-chilling weather in Normandy and Brittany in winter. Go to Provence.

Thank you everyone for your suggestions. We are going to Provence - sooo excited!

Here's our itinerary:
Fly into Nice on Saturday
Nice - 2 days
Luberon - 3 days (Stu's route)
St. Remy - 2 days (1st day to see St. Remy, Les Baux, Arles; 2nd day is Uze and Pont Gard)
Carcasson - 1 day
Fly out of out of Toulouse early Monday morning

We were hoping to stay at one of the Fodorite B&Bs in/near St. Remy and Gordes but they all are closed for the winter season and will not open until Easter. Althought the B&Bs are closed, we can at least take advantage of the low season rates, which allows us to stay at a luxury hotel.

The hotels we are considering:
In/near St Remy - Domaine de Valmouraine, Hotel Gounod, Vallon de Valruge, Domaine de Bournissac

In/near Gordes - Hotel Du Poete, Bastide de Gordes

We are looking for a charming place to stay that will give us the provencal feel. Do you have a preference on any of the hotels listed above or do you have any other recommendation?

Regarding markets, the only one we will be able to make is the Gordes market on Tuesday. Is it open and worthwhile to visit? We wish we could go to the Isle-Sur-La-Sorgue or St. Remy market but it doesn't work with our schedule.

Is there anything worthwhile to see on our drive from St. Remy to Carcassone to Toulouse?

Also, since most places are closed during December, do you have any tips for our visit?

We're cutting it close, we know. It's like we're taking a crash course and trying to cram 6 mo/1 year of planning into one week. However, thanks to you and the other Fodorites, we do have a plan. The tour books help too. We'll let you know how we fare.

St. Remy, Les Baux, and Arles in one day? That will be a very full day.You can easily do St. Remy and Les Baux, but adding Arles becomes harder when you include the 1.5 hour of driving involved. If you did St. Remy and Les Baux alone, you would have some extra time to sit and enjoy a cafe, some of the winery (Mas de la Dame at the foot of Les Baux is good), or just chill. You could even go to the castle at Tarascon. I just do not think that I would try to add Arles. Of course, if this is the only time you may go and are prepared to rush and extremely tired at the end of the day, go for it.

As for the mistral, if it is blowing fast and furious when you go to Les Baux, be prepared. The wind blows enough up there without the aide of the mistral.

Have a great trip.

I don't know how you're going to manage St-Rémy, Les Baux, and Arles all in one day.
Also, personally, on such a short trip I wouldn't bother driving all the way to Carcassone and flying out of Toulouse when there's so much to see in the Bouche-du-Rhône area, but yes, there's plenty to see on the way - Nîmes and Montpellier being the obvious stops if you're taking the autoroute.

Thank you, Dan and StCirque.

We'll take Arles out of the itinerary and consider a stop at Tarascon. Dan -we'll definitely check out Mas Le Dame.

StCirque - The reason we are flying out of Toulouse is because it was the best fare/direct flight combination.

Since Carcassone is on the way to Toulouse, we thought it would be nice to see the town and castle at night. However, if we don't feel like we've seen enough of Provence, then we'll skip Carcassone. Thanks for the tip!