Hi !

We (2 adults and 2 kids of 8 ans 12 years old) will be inFrance for one month (something like july 5 to august 5) with a rental car. We all are french speaking so language wont be a probleme.

What do you think of :
1) Arrival in paris (5 nights). Take the rental car on departure from Paris

2) Honfleur (2 nights): Etretat and city walking

3) Bayeux (2 nights): D-day beaches and museum ?

4) St-Malo (3 nights)

5) Carnac or something in that region (2 nights)

6) Nantes (machines de l'ile and Puy du fou (3 nights)

7) Sarlat (4 nights)

8) Auvergne (still have to found where !) 3 nights

9) Provence (something not too far from Mont Ventoux with a pool) (5 nights)

10) Marseille (1-2 nights) just to catch a flight back to Montrealé We could also fly back from Toulouse or Lyon (all direct flights) if its better

Total: 30-32 nights and 2000km

Something missing & should we skip some places and put that time elsewhere ? We coul also add one or 2 days somewhere but the trip have to be 35 days or less.


Thanks !

I might try and cut down a bit on the travelling, fly back from Toulouse?

Looks ok to me, flying back from Toulouse would mean cutting out the entire PRovence and AUvergne itinerary, I presume, so not sure I'd do that. I know nothing about Carnac so don't know its appeal for a couple day stay. I know it has some stones, sort of like Stonehenge, I think. IF I wanted to cut back, that would seem a natural to me as it really isn't that far from Nantes. I mean if you really wanted to see it, you could do that as a day trip while staying in Nantes.

YOu might consider Le PUy en Velay in the Auvergne area. I know they have some volcanic experience right outside Clermont-Ferrand, though, that could be good for the kids.
https://www.tourisme.fr/552/office-d...y-en-velay.htm
https://www.vulcania.com/en/

I was going to go there a couple years ago but never made it. I was considering staying in Clermont Ferrand just for convenience for location, and they had some bus to that volcano experience. Of course with a car, you have different considerations than I did.

Looks OK to me. A few nit-picks

In the past 2 years, we've spent 6 weeks in Brittany. Two week near Dinan/St Malo, 2 weeks near Concarneau, and 2 weeks near Vannes. We also spent 2 weeks near Dinan, 2 weeks near the Pink Rocks area, and 1 week neat Pont Aven within the past 15 years. We've visited St Malo for a visit or dinner 4 different times. Each time we were underwhelmed. The setting is nice, but we were not impressed with the towns architecture. I think I would stay near Dinan instead. Also, the countryside around St Malo is a little too over-developed for me. Not so around Dinan - especially northwest of Dinan.

No Mont St Michel???

Stay in/near Vannes instead of Carnac. Vannes is fantastic.

Augergne. Stay in the Gorges du Tarn area in the Languedoc between Sarlat & Provence. You & the kids will love all the caves & roaring rivers in the region.

Lots of B&Bs etc around Bedoin near Mt Ventoux. The one we stay in rents for a min 7 nights & Sat to Sat.

I have several itineraries for the regions you are traveling through. One for Normandy & Brittany, another for the Dordogne, another for the Languedoc, and one for Provence. I'll attach them.

I agree that Le Puy-en-Velay would be an excellent place to go, perhaps in exchange for the excess of days in Sarlat. And a visit to the Vulcania science park would be astournding for the kids (maybe even for the adults).

thnaks for those answers !

Le puy-en-Velay seem realy a nice place but its far from the Volcanoes park and Vulcania (2 hours and a half), the same goes for Gorges du Tarn. I will need to read more on Auvergne, we add it because we awat to do some mountains and we wont have time to do the Alps or the Pyrénées.

Thnaks for the files StuDudley ! Do you think we can see something in 4-5 days in Brittany ?

In the Carnac area, I would try to visit Gavrinis on a small island in the golfe de morbihan. I would prioritize that experience over Carnac. For possibly hiking a volcano in Auvergne, I would stay in Orcival. On to Mont Ventoux, you could take a route to see Le Puy en Velay. Also nearby is Polignac. As you drive form Le Puy to Montelimar you will see the transition form the lush green of Auvergne to the chalky and scrubby hills of Provence.

4-5 days in Brittany is fine. Conserve your travel time. Getting to islands consumes more time than you might think. Spend a lot of time with www.viamichelin.com to estimate drive time. Add about 10% to their estimates on any drive more than 3 hours.

Stu Dudley

If you are trying to maximize your experience traveling through the varied landscapes of Western France, then I also recommend seeing the Marais Poitevin. Fortunately, it is directly on your way from Nantes to Sarlat. Also known as The Green Venice, it is a former bay that was canalised by monks in the 14th century. You can rent a barque (it is paddled standing up like a gondola) or canoes or kayaks. Must have a keen sense of humor to try out a barque, as it is not easy! You can also get a guide to paddle for you. If you are lucky enough to be there during a full moon, they operate night boat tours about the history of the Marais. We stopped at La Garette-Sansais where there is a tiny port with rentals. There are also gorgeous, charmingly small port in Arcais, Coulon, St Hilaire-la-Palud among other villages.

Not that you need more options!

We spent 2 nights in Bayeux at the Hotel Lion D'Or and really enjoyed it. Did a full day tour of the D-Day beaches, cemetery, etc. Also make sure to leave time to see the Tapestry, the audio guide they have is excellent.

Hello,

We are a family from Canada with kids about the same age - here are a few suggestions of things we enjoyed (over 3 different trips though as we like to spend 4-7 days in each place renting a gite).

2) Honfleur (2 nights): Etretat and city walking
- spent 1/2 day in Honfleur - beautiful town. Also spent time driving around the Pays d'auge and visiting a farm (ferme Billy) to try cider and calvados and visit the donkeys!

3) Bayeux (2 nights): D-day beaches and museum ?
- highly recommend the Canadian WW2 sites tour with Normandy Sightseeing Tours (1/2 day) - very moving visit to the Canadian cemetery and Juno Beach centre. they picked us up and dropped off in Bayeux. The guide geared the tour to the kids and they got a lot out of it.
- the Caen memorial museum is also excellent
- tapestry museum in Bayeux - there is even a special audio guide for kids
- Bayeux cathedral is also neat - can't remember the name of the place but had a great lunch at a creperie across from it (la Reine Mathilde?)

5) Carnac or something in that region (2 nights)
- we spent 5 nights in Vannes this summer which was a great place - spent one day visiting Carnac and the trying oysters for lunch with a beach stop in Trinite sur Mer; also recommend a day trip to Ile aux Moines where you can rent bikes (short boat trip on the Golfe de Morbihan)
- could take a night away from Nantes to have more time in southern Brittany - can also stop in Guerande or St Nazaire (to visit Airbus factory or shipyard) on the way to/from Nantes

6) Nantes (machines de l'ile and Puy du fou (3 nights)
- we spent 2 nights in Nantes this summer - was pleasant but preferred Vannes. We visited the Machines (definitely book your tickets in advance to ride the carousel and the elephant and visit the workshop). Didn't get to Puy du fou but looked neat!

7) Sarlat (4 nights)
- our kids' favourite part of France - plan to visit castles like Castlenaud, Beynac, Milandes; also canoeing or SUP-ing on the river
- we also enjoyed Lascaux II and market days in the various towns

10) Marseille (1-2 nights) just to catch a flight back to Montrealé We could also fly back from Toulouse or Lyon (all direct flights) if its better
- Toulouse would be more convenient after Sarlat but then you would need to drop Provence as another poster said. We personally didn't love Marseille but it would allow you some beach time - Cassis was a cute town and we did a calanque tour and went for a dip.

I really love Provence (especially the backcountry, lavender fields and cute towns in the Luberon). But, my kids really liked the Dordogne, Brittany and Normandy the best! So you may want to think about leaving Provence for another trip and adding a few more days to Normandy, Brittany and Dordogne. Just my two cents.

Once again, thanks to all !

Shelemm: noted, we will see if it fits into our itinerary !

Aimesq: That tapestry thing often come back when looking for Bayeux, i'll get more info on it.

jacolis: Thank a lot, this is very helpful knowing that you made mor eor less the same trip with kids of the same age than mine. We are not agains renting a gite and staying for a longer time in some places, Do you have any gites recommendations ?

Putting Provence aside (or not) will be a tough choice. Of course maybe we could have more time in others regions, something we will have to think about.

I also took my 8 and 12 year old grand children (and their parents) on a near month trip to France in a July a few years ago. We stayed a week in the suburbs of Sarlat at this gite:
https://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p74875 The owners were very friendly. There is a supermarket nearby and a bakery to die for very close for an early morning purchase of pastries.
I highly recommend this gite. The Dordogne was my grand children's favorite with more diverse activities than other parts of France.

They also liked Provence. We stayed here Bed and Breakfast - Luberon B&B - Provence - a beautiful inn located in the Luberon Park in the heart of Provence. which is my favorite B&B in the world.

We took the route Sarlat-Carcassonne- Provence and stayed here Hôtel Carcassonne - Château de Palaja : Hôtel de charme à Carcassonne

https://www.booking.com/hotel/fr/cha...s=1&#hotelTmpl

(re)Bonjour!

My trip report from our trip to Vannes/Nantes can be found here:
TR: Southern Brittany and Loire/Atlantique (aka oysters and more oysters)

We stayed at this air bnb in Vannes, right on the city ramparts (just note that the apartment is on the 3rd floor up a winding 17th-century staircase!). But it’s in a fantastic location walking distance to everything, including a supermarket and laundromat and of course the old town:
https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/18761352...OqLx28kho7CL87

I would say 5 nights in the Dordogne is not too little time – we rented one of the gites at the Domaine de Monrecour (cottages attached to a lovely hotel with a great restaurant and swimming pool and laundry facilities). It was an easy drive to all the sites we wanted to see (Beynac, Marqueyssac gardens, Castelnaud museum of medieval warfare, Lascaux II, Domme, Milandes for bird of prey show...):
https://www.monrecour.com/en/appartements

Our 3 nights in Normandy were at this B&B:
https://le-clos-des-courtines-guest-...es.booked.net/

And if you decide to keep Provence here is my trip report (highlights were hiking the ochre trail in Roussillon, seeing a show in the Arles amphitheatre) and the lavender fields in the Luberon for me:
Provence family trip - suggestions on our itinerary please!

Your itinerary may work better, crowd and weather wise, in reverse order. Also it eliminates the 1-2 nights in Marseille which can be used elsewhere.
https://goo.gl/maps/GD2eT8FQL5WBEozk6

1) Arrival Marseille Provence Airport. Rent a car. Drive to your Provence hotel ( 1+ hrs) (5 nights)
2) Auvergne (3 nights)
3) Sarlat (4 nights)
4) Nantes (3 nights)
5) Vannes (2 nights)
6) St-Malo (3 nights)
7) Bayeux (2 nights)
8) Honfleur (2 nights)
9) Drive to Paris, turn in car. Paris (5 nights)
29 nights total and 2000 km

5 nights, IMO, is a minimum time for the Dordogne.

I still wouldn't spend 3 nights in St-Malo.

>> I still wouldn't spend 3 nights in St-Malo. <<

Neither would I. I would stay in Dinard instead.

Stu Dudley

We spent 4 nights in late June in St-Malo but outside the walls, in St-Servan, on a 16-night coastal trip around Brittany alone.

We used our 4 nights to explore Dinard (by 10-minute boat trip, like joannyc), which seemed very quiet in June (our hosts explained that it becomes quite lively in July/August when Parisians arrive), but we certainly enjoyed its Saturday market, the stunning Belle-Epoque architecture and the lovely walks (recommended by Stu). Had we found nice accommodations suiting our budget in Dinard, we would have chosen it.

We also used our nights in St-Malo/St-Servan to explore the Emerald Coast, east and west.
We drove to Cancale for the lively Sunday market & oyster shacks at its Port de la Houle and took the coastal drive back on the D201 between St-Malo and Cancale, stopping at the Pointe du Grouin and the beaches.
We also spent a day in the lovely medieval walled town of Dinan on the Rance river (Thursday-market day) and included a stop at the pretty little town of St-Suliac, also on the Rance.
Another trip. to the west, was to the 14th century stronghold, Fort la Latte (film set for The Vikings), and we walked the heather-coated paths around the spectacular moorland of Cap Fréhel (it's prime walking country). There are boat trips run by the Compagnie Corsaire from St-Malo to Fort la Latte/Cap Fréhel and also down the Rance to Dinan.

We found plenty of beauty in the Dinard/St-Malo/Dinan/Cancale area but again, we limited our time just to Brittany.
But we also loved Vannes & the Golfe of Morbihan as well. It was all good!