Paris and beyond - guidebooks?
 

Hi everyone! My husband and I are going to France next April, but since we are flying with frequent flyer miles, we have to reserve our tickets very soon and need a rough idea which airport to fly out of. We are definitely starting in Paris.. but would like to travel to Provence, so should we fly out of Nice or go back up to Paris?

Also, as we start our research on the different regions of France, which guidebooks would you recommend that could give us a feel for the different areas? Thank you so much! Everyone on this forum is so helpful! I'm sure I'll be back with plenty of other questions soon!

I am sure you will get many others who will offer advice but my first question is how long will you be there? That would alter the advvice I gave. I'm assuming that this is your first time? Anyway I would recommend flying open jaw starting in Paris and leaving from Nice or Marseille on the way back. I would think a week in Paris would be good and the train to the south leaving from there. If you have about three weeks I would maybe think that you could rent a car and go from Nice through the Italian lake districe and then through Switzerland up through the Alsace back to Paris. We always use the DK books and they do have them for different areas in France. They are very informative although there are many others. If you are thinking of renting a car talk to Autoeurope. Have a great trip.

Sorry.. I guess more details would help! We will have 2 weeks for a vacation in April. And would be happy to rent a car whenever is necessary, so we aren't just limited to trains. Does that help?

First of all, get the Michelin Green Guide to France; that will give you a feel for the different regions, remembering that France covers a lot of ground. Once you've decided on which regions to visit you can pick up the the guides for that area. The Michelin guides include a map with the major sights highlighted, as well as suggested driving itineraries.

With two weeks, you could fly into Nice, rent a car, and spend a week in Provence, then fly or take the TGV up to Paris for another week. That would give you ample time to really explore both and to enjoy them without feeling rushed all the time.

Then again, you might prefer Normandy and Brittany, beautiful in the spring.

Burgundy is lovely, especially for wine-lovers.

Decisions, decisions...

After the Michelin Green guides, which I think are essential, I like the various Cadogan guides. They have a good balance of historical, cultural, and touristic items, along with good recommendations for food and lodging, and are all well written.

Thank you for your input so far. It's just what I was looking for. I forgot to mention that we do have to start our trip in Paris because my husband is running the marathon. We have yet to determine how long we should stay in Paris before moving on.

I have been to Paris, but my husband has not. Given that we have 2 weeks, should we just choose one other region (like Provence or Normandy) - as opposed trying to cover 3 areas in 2 weeks?

I know France is a big country, but if someone could give me an idea what the distance is between Paris - Normandy.. Paris - Provence, etc. That would be really helpful! Thanks again.

The train times between Paris and Normandy or Provence are between 2 and 3 1/2 hours. By car, multiply by 2 for Normandy, 3 for Provence. You can have a more accurate idea of the actual mileage, travel times by car, and even gas and toll costs (it'll be in km of course! ) at www.viamichelin.com.

That is a really nice length of time I think. You can fly to Paris, spend a week there and then take the TGV to Provence. Rent a car there and see that area. Take the TGV back to CDG directly.

Art Vandelay-- Thanks for the driving/train times. That was helpful.

If we do Paris first, then Provence, would it be easier to fly out of Nice, since it's closer? Or is it better to take the train back up to Paris?

Just back from a similar though longer trip. I'd fly into Paris, take the train to Provence, then fly out of Nice. And stay a day or two in Nice; it's a nice place to visit. Maybe lop a day or so off Paris to do this.

I'm a great believer in open jaws. I don't like to waste time or money retracing my steps. Many people don't know you can use FF miles on open jaws trips.

We took the TGV from Paris Gare de Lyon to Aix. It's only 3 hours. Non-TGV trains are slower. You can check train times online--at www.sncf.fr or the German site www.bahn.hafas.de/bin/query.exe/en, a reliable site for all Europe. Driving times are available from the many online map sites, like www.mappy.com or the Michelin site.

Be sure to have breakfast at or just check out restaurant Le Train Bleu in the Gare de Lyon. Fabulous belle epoque decor.

If you can get an open jaw frequent flyer route, that would be really good, of course.

Cadogan guides is, for my money, the best guidebook series published. (Hope that comment won't get me bounced from this site). Fodor's is good, too. But you should do some non-guidebook reading to decide on your schedule, like Patricia Wells for food and the Collected Traveler series guide to southern France, among many others.

lavaflow - I love my DK Eyewitness Travel Guide to FRANCE and used it last year when we drove from Chartres along the Loire Valley and up through Brittany exiting France from St.Malo.

The Cadogan guides are indeed very good, although I prefer to begin with the green Michelin variety for over-all coverage, then use Cadogan as a supplement for specific areas. The Cadogan Guide to the South of France gives a wealth of information, although I also like the smaller Fodors edition.