Judy

Myself, husband and two boys 13 and 15 will be in Paris for three weeks next August. Originally we planned to go to Provence for a few days by car but now we're thinking that it might make more sense to leave Provence for another trip and concentrate on northern France areas along with trips to Brugges, Amsterdam and possibly into the Black Forest. I understand Provence is very crowded in August but three weeks in an urban area may drive us mad. We love New York City and enjoyed London but after 3 or 4 days we need to get out to the countryside. Any suggestions or recommendations? I am considering Brittany coast? Thanks for any info or suggestions.

Eye Spy

The problem is you have many, many options. Brittany is very nice but a good 5-7 hour drive from Paris but if you want to get away from it all, then that's the place, unless you go to someplace like Carnac which has its share of vacationers. Provence is lovely but it'll be quite hot but that doesn't mean you have to sit in Nice or Cannes or Saint-Tropez. There's Aix-en-Provence or Eze or any part of the Luberon that are beautiful and full of charm.<BR><BR>There's also Normandy and you can drive there from Brittany and then back to Paris. If you go north, drive from Paris to Amiens where the cathedral is very beautiful and a Gothic masterpiece. You can then drive on past Lille (big city but not that interesting to merit stopping in my opinion) and into Belgium. You could visit these towns: Ypres, Courtrai then up to Ghent/Brugge/Antwerp. Perhaps a stay around the Belgian coast. And then into Holland but remember Holland is very crowded and if the weather is warm, everyone will be at the beach. But all in all, you can easily travel around the Dutch countryside and even over the Afsluitdijk in the north into the provinces of Friesland, Drenthe, Overijssel, etc. It's all nice and rural and you can drive through much of Holland in a very short time and then down back into Belgium, Strasbourg, France (beautiful Cathedral there too), Nancy (Place Stanislaus), through Champagne and part of Burgundy back to Paris. You have many options.<BR>

Doug

Be sure to go where you want, you may not get to go again.

Rex

East of the Rhone valley (for example, the Luberon) and north of the Cote d'Azur (includes the Queyras, and on in to the Savoie regions) you can find a confluence of much less visited areas of France - - at higher altitudes (thus, not particularly hot)and lower tourist density.<BR><BR>Excellent for any summer month.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

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therelastyear

I know it sounds and looks touristy, but go to Mont St. Michael with your boys. We stayed there overnight last August and our son loved exploring the whole place for hours. He was 16 and being "cool" is definitely a priority. Then tour some castles and let them see what life must have been like long ago. I've discovered that boys and castles are always a good mix, no matter what age. Getting out and about is always more interesting for them than visiting museums...unless of course it's the "war" museum in Paris. (A place where we spent far too many hours in my estimation) Other than that, the Normandy beaches are a great way to reinforce what they've read about WWII and D-day. I'm sure you will have lots of fun whichever direction you choose.

pat

My relatives live in Provence,in Cadenet. They say do not come in August. It is HOT, and there are too many tourists. I`d head north to where it is cooler. Even Paris in August can be very hot.

hanl

Just thought i should warn you that August is the month that 90% of French people take their holidays. This means that hotels and resorts are very busy everywhere, so you will really need to book well in advance. Brittany is a favourite destination for many Parisians, and of course the South of France gets pretty busy too. <BR>One thing that you really must bear in mind is driving at this time of year. Every weekend throughout August there is a mass exodus from Paris as people leave for the holiday resorts. The same is true for people returning to Paris on Sundays. You can find yourself stuck in huge traffic jams for hours, so if I were you I would plan to make any long drives on a weekday.<BR><BR>

Judy

Thanks to you all for the excellent information. This is exactly the kind of feedback that I was looking for - the kind of info you don't get from tour books! Thanks again.

Who

Who is this Eye Spy?<BR><BR>