Carol

I'm planning a trip for next fall and I'm thinking of maybe Paris for a week and then train to Nice for a week. This is my first time to France. I was thinking maybe of spending a few days in Provence, but I'm not sure if that would be trying to fit too many places in. Any thoughts on this from France experts?

Kelly

Some may disagree, but I think you could probably get away with 4 days in Paris and 5 days in Nice (base yourself there and do day trips to Monaco, Cannes, Grasse, etc.), so you may be able to fit in another locale along the way. I haven't been to Provence so can't comment has to how long you should probably spend there.<BR><BR>Have a great time planning your trip!

Wendy

Hi Carol,<BR><BR>I agree with the other poster who recommended 4 days in Paris, 5 in Nice ( with daytrips) and Provence inbetween. One way to do that would be to take the TGV from Paris to Marseille, then grab a cab ( or train) for the roughly thirty minute ride to Aix-en Provence. From Aix, you could do easy day trips to Avignon, etc. I think that there's a train or at least a bus that goes directly to Nice from Aix. It would be about a two and a half hour ride. Good luck, and have fun!

Wendy

Carol,<BR><BR>I just wanted to add that if you're flying in and out of the NYC area, there's a nonstop Delta flight- JFK-NICE, NICE-JFK, so you don't have to backtrack on the way home. Very pleasant flight, too, much less crazy airport than CDG or ORLY!

xxx

<BR><BR>You certainly CAN visit Paris, Nice, and Provence in two weeks but whether you want to do this or not depends on whether you place a greater value on seeing more places, or spending more time in fewer places.<BR><BR>Aix-en-Provence is only two hours from Nice via the autoroute so you could always visit it for an overnight or even as a long day trip. <BR><BR>

Carol

What good advice. Can you recommend a hotel in Aix, $75 or less. I have FFmiles with Delta so that is really good to know about flying direct from Nice to JFK. So, do you think a week in Paris is too long?

xxx

<BR><BR>A week in Paris too long? Mais non! <BR><BR>Again, it depends on whether you prefer depth or breadth.

Carol

I would like to see the &quot;must sees&quot; the first few days and then the rest of the week spend just strolling and savoring the sights, smells and beauty of Paris.

Julie

Carol,<BR>I think your original plan is right-on. We recently did just that and I was glad we spent a week in Paris (actually, could have spent alot longer) and 1 week in the area around Nice. We did stop in Aix, which was nice, but felt the there was much more to see in the area around Nice.<BR><BR>You might start checking out guide books and various websites for more information. A few good websites are:<BR>paristouristoffice.com, eurotrip.com, trip.com, and red2000.com.

Wendy

Carol,<BR><BR>Just to add a couple more thoughts on the subject... It seems to me that it might be best to do this trip in reverse- fly into Nice first, go home from Paris. The reason is that if it's your first time to Paris, you'll be much more rested up and ready for it, having spent a week relaxing in the sun and seeing a few sights first in and around Nice. Too, you'll cut off about an hour of flying time on the way home.From Nice, you could either fly nonstop to Paris ( about an hour and a half flight) or take the train to Marseille (about two hours) then the TGV to Paris ( I think this runs about four hours). One of the great things about flying into Nice, is that the airport is only about twenty minutes from town, so within an hour or two of arrival, you could be plunking your jetlagged self down on one of the chaise lounges at the beach clubs that line the promenade. Not a bad way to begin a trip! Have a wonderful time!

Patrick

My very first trip to France consisted of flying to Lyon (a brief experiment by American Airlines -- JFK to Lyon) staying there, then stays in Avignon, Nice, and Dijon before going to Paris for a week. I have always been glad I did it that way, rather than Paris first. Paris was really the grand finale of the trip. I think if we had started in Paris, the others would have seemed a little more dull in comparison. Don't get me wrong, the others were wonderful, but I'm just talking about what would have been first time comparisons.