Paris, Provence, and Nice- can we add Annecy?
 

Hi everyone. My husband and I will be spending 14 full days in France in June. Our rough itinerary is: Paris 4 days, Provence 4 days (likely based in a B and B near Uzes), and Nice 4 days (exploring other towns). That leaves us 2 days to play with and I've been looking at going to Annecy for two nights rather than just tacking on the days in one of the other locations. That would mean Paris to Annecy via TGV early morning, the rest of that day and night in Annecy, then a full day and night in Annecy. We would then likely leave the next morning for Avignon via TGV and we would be renting a car while in Provence. (I think this order of cities makes the most sense? We are flying home from Nice).

I am considering Annecy because it looks so beautiful and I would really like to do some major hiking and get a glimpse of the Alps. Initially I had just wanted one night in Annecy, but now I am thinking that this would not leave us enough time for a big hike. What are people's thoughts on this? Is the added travel time worth it for some hiking with what I hope will be spectacular views? Could we do it with just one night and two half days? I read something about a six hour mountain hike- La Tournette? Not sure where this leaves from or whether it will be easily accessible from Annecy given we won't have a car there. Any other hikes or recommendations on what to do there would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

I would add a day to Paris and to Provence.

There is great hiking in The Luberon and views. I would stay somewhere in the center of The Luberon rather than in Uzes. Easy to do day trips and cover a variety of sites and villages.

We stayed in St. Saturnin les Apts and found it to be a perfect location.

We went to France last June/July . We drove from Paris to Nice. Loved Paris, Burgundy and Provence. Did not love Nice, way too much traffic, too many people not at all what I thought it would be like. We did drive up into the mountains which was beautiful. I would spend more time in Annecy or add extra time in
Provence. There is so much to see or it is a great place to relax. Spend 2 nights in Nice if you are flying out of there but don't stay there 4. I would love to go to Annecy next time. Have a wonderful trip!

We stayed in St Satunin les Apts too! Fantastic location and great B&b. I think it was called Mas Perreal.

Mas Perreal is lovely as are its owners, Elisabeth and Kevin.

We stayed in a gite [http://www.accommodationinprovence.com/ they also have one chambre d'hôtel as well] as we love to cook and liked being able to do so while in Provence so to take full advantage of the markets.

The Luberon offers so much, we highly recommend it.

Mas perreal does look very nice! But do you think this is the best location for us? Given our limited time in the area I was thinking that staying in Uzez or st remy may be more central for us. We will likely be visiting those towns plus Avignon, les baux, Arles, etc versus the towns of the Luberon (which we will have to save for another trip!)

Thanks again

Guess it depends what you are looking for. The Luberon villages are small, which is what we like. We are not fans of big cities (except Paris, which was wonderful). The Luberon is not that large so you can really see a lot of towns, go to lots of markets and really get the flavor. Lots of biking and hiking. I don't think you can go wrong in Provence wherever you go. Do rethink the four nights in Nice. We stayed there three nights (we stayed outside of Nice near St. Paul de Vence) and I wished we had only stayed two.

you are taking in too much in 14 days to get the feel of






p

you are taking in too much to get the feel of Provence.
Uze is ok to visit sll the perchè villages of Provence.
Uze is in the Gard where you can visit the Pont de Gard.
Saturday's market is special to me. You can visit Nimes, arles, the Camargue from there. Annecy is another trip.












rovence.

We are spending 5 days in Provence starting on the 19th and will be based in St Remy. This is our plan --- happy to come back and tell you how it pans out.


Monday, October 21
- Many things closed

- Stu recommends: Luberon Villages, shop in Gordes and Roussillon



Tuesday, October 22
-- Avignon

-- Isles sur la Sorge

-- Villages - Brantes or Segures




Wednesday, October 23
- St Remy in the AM --- point of interest: St Paul Monastery, Carrieres de Lumieres

- Pont Du Garde in the PM



Thursday, October 24 - day trip to Aix on market day
- http://www.tastesofprovence.com



Friday, October 25 --
- drive back to Nice, stop in Cassis on the way over and see the Calanques?

- Marseilles?

- drop off car

What happened with the original question...Annency for 2 nights ??
Just curious....seems all replies are off target....or am I wrong.

Seems that most suggest putting those days to Provence as do I.

I agree with the above: add a day to Paris and to Provence. Nice is wonderful - do not take any days off Nice.

monica - Tuesday, October 22nd - Seguret.

We stayed several days in Annency years ago. Beautiful place, right on Lake Annency. I expect there would be some fine hikes there, though we didn't do any hiking so can't help you with that. If you want to hike I would stay at least 2 nights--though three would be better, as you would want some time to see this lovely town as well.

Thanks everyone. Sounds like we should probably just add the days to provence and nice. I was just getting excited by all the other options and things to see. I don't want to cut time in nice because we plan to hit the surrounding towns- eze, Monaco, etc. So maybe we will just add a day to both nice and provence. Thanks again