Hello everybody!

Well, the misses and I are heading to France for a few days in the first week of April, and are trying to figure out how to break up our time there. The current plan is to stay in Paris for 3 nights, then rent a car and head out of the city. We're flexible on time, and will have about 2 and half days to explore before we head to Rome.

Our primary goal is to check out "wine country" which as we're found, is pretty much all over the place. Loire Valley, Burgundy, Alsace, etc all have good reviews, which makes it next to impossible to decide where to go. We're leaning towards the Burgundy route, starting between Dijon and ending in Lyon, but really for no other reason than its not too far from Paris and we can fly out of Lyon.

So given the following factors, what does everybody recommend?
- We are on a budget
- We enjoy all types of wine
- We are not interested in seeing Champagne
- We will start in Paris and can end anywhere with a major airport (Paris, Bordeaux, Marseille, Lyon, etc)
- If we could see Chateau or something else en route, all the better!

Also, how is the weather like during early April, and will ti have an impact on our enjoyment of the vineyards?

Thanks for any suggestions!

Chateaux you say?

Loire Valley.

That's not even a close call.

hi XJ,

I'd agree with bigruss - with only 2 1/2 days, you don't want to spend too long on the hoof.

you could get the train to Tours, pick up your car there, and set off.

regards, ann

You could do nothing but visit Chateaux in the Burgundy to Lyon area for 2 1/2 days, and still leave about 25 chateaux un-visited - so the presence of chateaux should really not drive your choice, IMO.

Of the areas you mentioned, I think Alsace is the most scenic, followed by Burgndy, & then the Loire. Not many Chateaux in Alsace however. Dijon & Strabourg are two of my favorite large cities, and Beaune & Colmar are two of my favorite smaller cities. The small villages in Alsace are "gems".

2 1/2 days is not much time at all. A visit to Dijon or Strasbourg is a 1/2 to 3/4 day visit. Colmar or Beaune are 1/2 (or slightly less) day visits. The wine villages in Alsace are much more charming than those in Burgundy, IMO. Since you've visited Paris, perhaps skip the large cities of Dijon & Strasbourg & concentrate on the small cities, villages, Chateaux, wineries, and the countryside. BTW, visiting wineries in France takes a little more "doing" than visiting wineries in the US, if that is where you are from.

Here is a site for some chateaux in Burgundy
www.routedesducs.com
and Beaujolais
http://www.hotelbasilique.com/chateau.htm
Cormatin is our favorite in the latter group.

For only 2 1/2 days, I would visit Alsace.

Stu Dudley

PS

Take the TGV to Dijon or Strasbourg and pick up a car there, instead of driving out of Paris.

Stu Dudley

Personally, i would spend the 5 and a half days in Paris. You will lose most of your first day to jetlag if you are coming from the states. Then you will have one day to see Paris and the next be getting the car to leave Paris. We had three days and it was definitely not enough. If you have already been, then maybe fly into Paris and head right out of the city?

I'll agree with gotg - if you have not visited Paris before - just stay there & find some wine bars. Alsace, Loire, and Burgundy can be a little "iffy" weather wise during the first week of April. They are all farther north than anyplace in the continental USA.

Stu Dudley

Hi XJ,

Yo are so jaded with Paris that you will spend only 3 days there and then spend 2 days schlepping around france in order to return to Paris to fly to Rome?

What do you expect to see in "wine country" in April?

Thanks for all of the suggestions!

I think we're leaning towards Strasbourg and Alsace, and would then fly out of Baden Airport to Rome. We're from Minnesota so we're used to the weather, but are a bit concerned about what we'll be able to see in Alsace during that time. Do you think its still worth going?

I've been to Paris before, but my girlfriend hasn't, so we're just planing to walk around and see what we can get to. I know there's probably enough to do in Paris the whole time, but we're just trying to see somewhere in France outside of a big city, so thought that this might be a good choice. Assuming we enjoy our time there we'll probably be back to see other parts of the country in the future!

Again, I appreciate any advice!

Thanks!