wj1

Many of you have already been of great assistance to my husband and I in helping us choose a Paris apartment (particularly Scarlett and Robdaddy offline)and we are very appreciative. Now, we have to settle on the exact dates and we are having a bit of a problem. I'm hoping that you can give us some ideas.

Our trip to France will be for 15 nights in September 2007. Obviously,this is quite a long time from now but we thought we might as well make the apartment reservation to ensure that we get the exact apartment we want. However, we need to give them precise dates which is where we are running into a bit of problem.

Our stay in Paris would be between 8-10 nights. We were thinking that maybe we would do the Paris portion at the end of the trip and do destination A (TBD) at the beginning. The idea behind this is that we would have fewer wasted travel days. (But we are not wedded to this idea.)

However, this idea is dependent on the location of destination A. This trip is almost 2 years away and it is premature, even for me, to begin my usual detailed planning. (We already have a vaction planned in Morocco for March which needs some attention.) But I feel like I need to make at least some general decision as to where and when so we can reserve the apartment for the right dates.

Any suggestions as to where we should go? We assume that we will be renting a car. We like culture, history, wine, small towns, cities, food, art, etc. but have no particular passion for any one thing. In fact, we are not the type of people who want to spend 5 days looking at chateaux or 5 days checking out wineries. I think we are looking for variety. (My husband has never been to France. I've been to Paris, Nice and Annecy a long time ago. And how can I forget--Meaux this past summer when I visited my mother in the hospital for her emergency hip replacement!)

Any suggestions about the order of our destinations--Paris vs. Destination A? (By the way, we'll be flying to France from the west coast.)

Any suggestions as to how we should divide our 15 nights in France (Paris vs. Destination A).

As always, thanks in advance for your suggestions!

StCirq

If variety is the object, then I think the Dordogne would suit you beautifully - prehistoric caves, beautiful villages, wine and foie gras and truffles, castles, charming scenery - it's got it all. Five days there would be a little less than ideal, but still satisfactory.

Cant help you with dates and such - 2007 is too far off my radar screen at the momment!

wj1

Thanks StCirq. I probably wasn't clear with my original message. I'm just trying to figure out how to organize our 15 day trip to France, so I can give the dates to the rental company.

Your suggestion of Dordogne sounds interesting. I have heard many good things about it and will do a little more research.

No good deed goes unpunished--I now have some follow up questions for you: What would make a good base? If you think 5 nights is too few, how many days would you recommend? Logistically speaking, if we put it at the beginning of our vacation, would it be difficult to get there after flying to France from LAX?

Thanks!

SAnParis

I would probably finish w/Paris just because w/an Apartment it tends to give you a little more freedom to relax. Particularly if you have been traveling 'hard' prior to that...Paris can be overwhelming, but w/the time you have, you should be able to space things out to the point of enjoying them even more. I hate trying to cram too much, into too little time.

ira

Hi wj,

With the help of St Cirq, Stu Dudley and others on this forum, my Lady Wife and I recently completed a tour through the SW of France, including a week in the Dordogne.

You can find my report at
http://fodors.com/forums/threadselec...p;tid=34676645

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

>We were thinking that maybe we would do the Paris portion at the end of the trip ....However, this idea is dependent on the location of destination A.<

That's how I would do it, too. I don't see why it matters where Destination A is, all roads lead to Paris.

StCirq

wj1:

I, too, would end the trip in Paris. But if you do choose the Dordogne as your other destination I'd plan to rest in Paris (or somewhere else) for a night before proceeding directly to the Dordogne. From the East Coast it takes me a full 18-19 hours of traveling to get to the Dordogne. It would be almost a full 24 for you.

If you click on my screen name, it should bring up several thousand posts about the Dordogne, including several trip reports, which will give you more detail than you probably every wanted to know about the region.

clevelandbrown

Are you limiting this to France? If not, you could easily fly to London, for example, spend a few days, take the fast train to Paris, and fly home from there.

wj1

Thanks everyone. I've read the other current threads about the Dordogne, and it sounds great.

I think we'll plan 6 nights at the beginning of our trip for Destination A (probably the Dordogne), including where ever we stay on our fist night in France, and then 9 nights in Paris. I realize 6 nights is not a lot but hopefully it will be sufficient to see some of the Dordogne if we don't set our sights too high.

Now I can rent the apartment and finish the planning for our trip to Morocco. I can then start my usual obsessive detailed planning when we get closer to our September 2007 trip to France. You'll certainly be hearing from me!!

Thanks again.

Flaze

Listen to St. Cirq. She knows what she's talking about! We completely changed our itinerary based on her recommendation, and spent a week in Dordonge. We followe "Karen Brown" for places to stay and route. It was really fabulous. Make reservations way ahead of time to visit the prehistoric caves. You won't be disappointed.

Dave_in_Paris

"To those upon whom has fallen the desire to travel amid historic sights and scenes, no part of France offers so much that is accessible. so economically covered, or as interesting as the plains and river valleys of Normandy."

- Francis Miltoun, "Rambles in Normandy," 1906

To be more specific if hardly inclusive: Les Andelys, Giverny, the drive along the north bank of the Seine to Rouen, Honfleur, Bayeux, the D-Day beaches, the Caen Memorial Museum, the military cemeteries, the rugged Cotentin Peninsula and Mont St. Michel.

Gretchen

I definitely agree about destinataion A first and then Paris for the end. But for me, to have to go into Paris for a night before striking out would not be convenient. I do recognize and respect St.Cirq's reasoning. We have done 2 trips this way--one to Provence taking the TGV to Avignon and one to Normandy, renting a car at CDG and striking out for Rouen as our first night.

Randy

You might consider taking the TGV to your destination and then renting the car.