Provence or Loire Valley
 

Okay I'm asking anothe question regarding our upcoming trip to Europe this summer.

So far our plan is to fly into Rome, spend a few days there and then head to Cinque Terre for a few days. So we are deciding if from Cinque Terre we should go to Provence for a few days or to the Loire Valley for a few days? Our final destination will be Paris. Also, I should state that we visited the south of france area on our last visit to Europe, however, we stayed in Villefranche and visited Nice, Eze, Monaco.

So what would you suggest?

Apparently you've posted about this trip before, but I didn't follow those posts. Please remind us how long this trip is supposed to be.

you visited the Cote D'Azur which is totally different from what I call the true Provence and the Loire is different than those two.
So-not knowing your tastes.
I suggest do a little reading or google and you'll know which to pick.
A lover of all of France

We will be in Europe for about 2 1/2 weeks, however, the Paris portion of our trip will take up about 7 or 8 of those days.

Definitely Provence, I'd say: St. Remy, Aix-en-Provence, Avignon, Vaison la Romaine, Gigondas, Vacqueras, Chateauneuf du Pape - Provence is unbeatable in summer - beautiful markets, winetastings (look at wine-uncovered.com, cooking courses (cuisinedeprovenec.com) - it's all there!

Do you realize how much ground you'll be covering in just 1 week from Rome to Paris???

If you drive, that's 16 hours & 275E worth of gas & toll roads if you visit Provence. If you take a train, it's 4 1/2 to the CT (1 or 2 train changes) then 9 hrs & 3 train changes to Avignon. This last trip will consume 1 of your 7 available days. From Avignon to Paris is fast - 3 hrs.

What is wrong with staying in Italy, and flying to Paris? I would visit Rome, Tuscany, CT, then fly from Genoa (or someplace close to CT) to Paris. Tuscany is just as scenic & interesting as Provence. Many like it more.

I would definately not drive/train that much just to visit the Loire. Visit Versailles & a few chateaux outside of Paris instead.

Stu Dudley

Rome, CT, Provence, Loire Valley, and then 7-8 days in Paris? Not going to work, IMO - way too much ground to cover in the 10 days you've got apart from Paris.

Why not fly from Rome to Paris and then take a 3-day trip to either Avignon or the Loire valley (two extremely different parts of France, so you need to do some research to see which one would appeal most to you).

Thanks for the input. I didn't realize how long it would take from CT to the Provence area, we may need to rethink that portion of the trip. The last time we were in Italy we were in Florence and Tuscany countryside area for a few days each so was just looking to visit an area that we hadn't seen before.

Why not fly to Marseille (or Paris & TGV to Provence) instead of Rome & work your way north? A few days in Rome is a few days too short. You seem to be centering your trip around Paris & the CT. I happen to like the CT (without crowds) for about 3 days, but others think 3 days is 1 too many.


Stu Dudley

Thanks Stu Dudley for the suggestion, however, the situation is that we need to end our trip in Paris and I was basically trying to design a trip so that we could see Rome since we didn't have a chance to really visit Rome when we were in Italy last time and then make our way north to Paris.

You can't really see Rome in a few (2) days - just like you can't see Paris in a few days. Forget Rome for this trip.

Fly to Marseille, Nice, or Paris(and take the TGV from the CDG airport directly to the Avignon TGV station - 3 hrs).

Spend 3-4 days in St Remy in Provence
Spend 3-4 days in the beautiful Luberon in Provence - near Gordes, Roussillon, or Bonnieux

Drive up north to Burgundy (4 hrs) - staying in Beaune 3-4 nights. Explore Burgundy - castles, villages, wineries, Auxerre, Vezelay, etc

The last day in Burgundy, drive to Dijon (my second favorite city in France). Dump the car, explore Dijon and then take the TGV to Paris for the remainder of your trip.

Simple, not much wasted traveling.

Stu Dudley

If you need to see coast, stay in Cassis 1-2 nights (just outside of Marseille). You might enjoy Cassis more than the CT.

Stu Dudley