sorriso

This is probably the third post I've done related to this trip, thanks for helping again.

To recap, DH (who has never been to France and is somewhat reluctant) and I (have been to France once before and cannot wait) will arrive in Paris on March 2, spend four nights, go ???? for two nights, spend two nights with friends near Nimes and then return for a final night in Paris before returning home.

Our friends in Provence will take us exploring for the two days we are there.

I believe we'd best off getting someplace, somehow (I think we've ruled out driving) that can be best explored on foot. This trip's been in the making since last March and since then I've: researched and decided I must see the entire country, narrowed down choices, couldn't decide, posted, determined that we'd go to Avignon, decided maybe Chambery because of that castle--names escapes me right now--but others have posted negative comments about Chambery, wouldn't Avignon be too similar to what we'll be experiencing in Provence, ugh!!!!! You see what I'm putting myself through?

So, given all this, if you wanted to just poke around, enjoy architecture, beautiful villages, eat a satisfying meal and not be too far from transportation, where would you go?

Thank you once again,
Linda

Travelnut

Lyon? very accessible by train (TGV), excellent cuisine, medieval center, opera house... does not qualify as a "village" however could possibly rent car for a day for exploration. There is a nearby medieval village whose name escapes me at the moment.
http://www.lyon-france.com/pages/en/

Geneve? also on the TGV line; nearby smaller towns: Annecy, Chambery.. view of alps...

annetti

Travelnut: perhaps you mean Perouges. I second the vote for Lyon.

kevin_widrow

Linda - Avignon would work fine. There is so much to see in the area that your two nights there plus 2 with your friends in Nimes won't be a problem. Lyon is a good suggestion as well.

-Kevin

StuDudley

Lets see.... You go from ???? to Nimes, spend 2 nights (1 1/2 days) in Provence, then back to Paris.


Hey - here's a great idea - spend ???? in Provence!!!!! There's NO WAY you can get a flavor of Provence in 1 1/2 days. Add two more, which is still not near enough. RENT A CAR, and enjoy the wonderful small villages & countryside. Stay in the Luberon, if you can't impose on your friends any longer.

We're going back there for 2 weeks in June, and we've been there 11 weeks since '99. We're still finding new nooks & cranies.

Someone mentioned Lyon. When we return to Paris to fly home, we dump the car in Avignon, take the TGV, and stay the last night somewhere between Provence & CDG (Lyon, Dijon, Chambery). We then take the TGV directly to the airport the next day (fly home day). From Lyon, there are direct trains getting in to CDG at 8:30, 10, 11:30, etc. This will probably give you an extra 1/2 day of vacation over your "return to Paris" plan.

See less, enjoy more

Stu Dudley
San Mateo (San Francisco), Ca.

annetti

Stu: I like your advice. I agree, spend more time in Provence, or whereever you happen to choose to vacation. To run from town to town in the mistaken belief that you will see more is incorrect, you only get to say you were there, but in reality you see little.

ira

I agree with Stu.

Michael

If you were not committed to be with friends, I would also recommend that you spend all your time in the Provence. But presumably you do not know what your friends will show you, and rather than have to say that you were just there the previous day, go to Lyon.

Underhill

Well, Avignon IS in Provence....

Where in Provence do your friends live? You can ask them where they plan to take you and then work out an itinerary for seeing whatever else interests you. I'm sure they'd enjoy recommending places to visit.

sorriso

Thank you for your responses so far.

With our friends, I've requested that we repeat our itinerary from 2001 which will include a full day in the Cevennes with a trip to the Templar city of La Couvertoirade and half day in the area of their home in Cros.

Linda

Huitres

Why not check out the chateaux of the Loire Valley? They are easily accessible via train from Paris to Tours, then local 10-minute trains to Chenonceaux or Amboise. It is entirely do-able as a 2 day jaunt, then head further south to meet up with your friends in Provence. (BTW, I love Nimes, it is a great city with lots of interesting historical Roman ruins and lore). Hope your friends will take you to Arles, Orange, and even Vaison-la-Romaine (1/2 Medieval city and 1/2 ancient Roman city).

StuDudley

>>>With our friends, I've requested that we repeat our itinerary from 2001 which will include a full day in the Cevennes with a trip to the Templar city of La Couvertoirade and half day in the area of their home in Cros.<<

All of the places you have mentioned are in the Languedoc region, not Provence.

Anyhow, why you you take a (too) short trip to France, and re-visit the same places ??? I can think of dozens of villages close to le Cros & Provence that are as interesting as La Couvertoirade, but still quite different. According to my Michelin Guide, the remparts are only open on Sat & Sun in March. Pezenas (great Sat market), St Guilhem le Desert, and Grotte de Clamouse are close to Le Cros.

Note that the Cevennes are north of Milwalkee, Wis in latatude, so the weather could get quite bad in early March. We were there in mid June in '02 and it rained hard for a few days.

If you are looking for a place to spend 2 more days, drive to the Luberon in Provence, stay near Gordes, visit one of the interesting outdoor markets, visit the villages of the Luberon valley, on the way to the Luberon, visit St Remy & Les Baux.....there are weeks worth of places to visit & things to do in southeast France - why repeat anything you've already done, even if it's you DH's first time.

Stu Dudley
San Mateo (San Francisco), Ca

sorriso

Good thought Stu about the weather and the Cevennes, we were there in May and it was brilliant. I did want my husband to experience this. My friends are friends with the family who own the creperie at La Couvertoirade and it was a special experience. Point taken about new adventures.

While you've all been working for me I'm now pondering moving things around a bit. We could head for our friends' right after Paris for two nights then drive east for a flight back to Paris from Nice early in the morning of the same day we leave for home (early afternoon flight). We'd fly directly into CDG and I'd only have to worry about some horrible delay (the flight I checked arrives at 7:45 a.m. and I think boarding for our flight closes around 1:00 p.m.); enough time for a small delay. That would give us three nights in the region. Given that, now where would you stay?

I'm still making myself crazy.

Linda

StCirq

So, you're now thinking of spending 4 nights in Paris, then going directly to Nîmes (how?) for two nights, then heading east from Nîmes for another two nights and flying home from Nice (through CDG)? Before I expound on how this might work out, can you confirm that this is now your plan?

Why are you driving yourself crazy? This is a short trip with some built-in limits and some obvious do's and dont's.

sorriso

StCirq, I'm driving myself crazy with options and knowing the cold, hard facts; most of the options are really fantasies. Despite my lack of posting recently about this trip I'm on the site daily, taking notes, doing searches, and was going around and around with myself about how to best do this. So I post to get ideas and then come up with another plan which may now be driving other Fodorites into my same crazy spin.

No, it's not a plan and to tell you the truth, I think driving is not our best option. It would be wonderful for me to see as much as possible while navigating but I'm afraid it would force DH over the edge. I mentioned he's a reluctant traveler, but for this trip he's a VERY reluctant traveler which is part of the reason I want him to see wonderful things I saw last time and see just how beautiful France is for himself.

The only time reserved is the initial four nights in Paris. Certainly we don't have to go to our friends' but it was the highlight of our (my daughter and I) last trip; the difference between being a tourist and living there. I'm sure we could spend three nights there, the two night limitation was created by me; I don't wish to be an imposition.

No, I don't know how we're traveling from Paris south. All options will be considered based on whatever gets decided for destination.

I do want to avoid exhaustion with DH. My daughter and I slipped in a two night stay at Bormes between Paris and friends' last time, we were exhausted but I wouldn't have traded the chance to visit just because I was tired. Pushing DH to the brink of exhaustion is not the best of ideas. Please know that if I'm portraying him as a grump that he actually will LOVE everything about this trip and be a fantastic traveling companion.

My updated request now is: four nights Paris, two to three nights Nimes, fly out of Nice to CDG where we do fly home from; have two nights after Nimes, where to go? I have read fabulous trip reports about lovely towns Fodorites have visited in that area. If we could spend those nights in a "charming village" that wouldn't be too far off track (literally), so that we could access the train to Nice, to just poke around in (no must sees), relax, and make it "our place," I believe that would be perfection.

I don't believe Lyon offers what we want, too big.

So, have I answered and overanswered your questions?

Again, thanks to all of you for your help.

Linda

mamc

I think Avignon is a great idea and will allow you to see something of Provence before heading west to Nimes.

ira

Hi sorrisso,

If you check the Nimes/Nice route by car at www.mappy.com and www.viamichelin.com you will find that you go past Arles, Aix-en-Provence and Grasse - all interesting places.

StCirq

But ira, she doesn't want to drive now....or doesn't think the husband wants to..,

sorriso:
Why not take the TGV from Paris to Avignon? It's an easy 3-hour ride. If you don't want to rent a car for Provence, stay in Avignon (but all those charming villages that fodorites talk about aren't going to be accessible to you). You could then take a train to Nîmes for two days, and head back to Paris from there.
Or, if you are willing to rent a car, you can still take the TGV to Avignon and then stay in St-Rémy or one of those acclaimed charming villages; visit the Pont du Gard, Uzès, Tarascon, Beaucaire, Ile-sur-la-Sorgue, Fontveille, Arles, the Camargue, etc., then drive to Nîmes and had back to Paris from there.
It seems to me that going to Nice to fly back to Paris will just be a pain in the neck, given your time constraints.

Underhill

I too have been wondering about why the return trip is to be from Nice, given that it's all the way across Provence from Nimes and Avignon. It would make much more sense to take the TGV back to Paris from either city.

sandi

Neither can I understand why you'd want to travel by train to Nice just to catch a flight. If you stay in the Provence area towns mentioned by St.Cirq above, then Marseilles is a closer airport if you're not returning by TGV.