s6656

We, family of 4 with 2 young kids are going to France at the end of Nov 03. I know it is short notice but we are so used to last minute preparations. But this time this sudden break was caused by the reasons beyond our control.

We will be there for about 20 days. We are planning to see Paris (also Disneyland) and drive along and stay in the following areas:
a) Provence and the Riviera
b) French Alps
c) Rhone Valley
d) Burgundy
e) Alsace
The above were made after reading Frommers & Rick Steves guidebooks in the library for an hour.

We would like to seek advice on how to distribute 15 days in the above areas or should we drop some of the areas and keep it for the next trip. We don?t like to move around and were looking for good villages to use as our base to explore the regions.

Any suggestions on family activities in particular to the regions? The kids wanted to see some snow, I am not sure if it is possible in the Alps during the period we are there.

We are planning to stay in B&Bs or families who have room for hire. Again any suggestions on good host are welcomed.
The main purpose of our trip is to enjoy the French culture, food and maximize our interactions with the locals. And yes, we know a little bit of French that we hope to put in practice.

Thanks for your inputs.

babette

That seems like a lot to tackle in 15 days -- even if you were the sort that liked to move around.

adrienne

Hi s6656,

You didn't say how old your children are but you might want to visit the d-day beaches in Normandy and then go to Mont St-Michel. Perhaps the caves in the Dordogne area which children would love.

Pick up a copy of "Paris for Kids" or "Paris for Families" (not sure of the title) which lists lots of things to keep the kids amused in Paris. There might also be something like that for France. There are chateaux outside Paris that you can see in a day trip. I would take them to Versailles for the spendor of it.

In Chantilly (day trip from Paris) there's a living horse museum and a chateau.

France is a large country and your itinerary seems very spread out. I would limit the amount of moving around. Perhaps rent an apartment for one week and stay put.

The Riviera and Provence are great areas but I'm not sure how much there will be for young children. Same for the Rhone and Burgundy areas.

You might want to base yourself in the Paris area where there's lots to do and then do some overnights via trains to other areas.

allovereurope

If you don't like to move around, you have 5 places in 15 days (I'm assuming Paris is the other 5 days of your trip). That leaves 3 days in each place, less driving time, which really means 2 1/2 days in each place max.

I've found that the driving takes up a larger part of the day than I planned--after breakfast, it's 9 am, then you pack the car, then you start driving, then you have to stop for the bathroom, lunch, backtracking, etc....it's usually 4 pm by the time you get to where you want, and the sights are all closing for the day. This happened to us driving through France and we don't even have kids, which I'm sure can add time to every part of traveling. If we did it again, we'd say that if you want to enjoy yourself, pick fewer places.

But again, it's all a question of peronal taste as to what is too much "moving around". I know when we were younger it was much different than it is now!

ira

Hi,

One more voice to suggest that you choose fewer destinations. You are covering a lot of territory outside Paris.

MGB

To try to answer a couple of your questions - There should be some snow in the Alps. We were in Chamonix in late sept in 1999 and they had already stopped the buckets to Italy because of snow. Probably 2 to 3 nights here depending on what you want to do. We did 2 nights. On our only full day it rained and we could not go up. Fortunately the next day was gorgeous and we only had to drive to Annecy (about an hour away) so we could spend a lot of time the next day and delay leaving until later.

We went to Chamonix after visiting the Riviera. We stayed in Villefranche (a rick recommendation) and ended up going back last month because we enjoyed it so much as a base. We stayed at the La Flore which has rooms that have 2 bedrooms with a shared bath and terrace. The one we had this time was a loft arrangement. It is 5 minutes from Nice, about 20 from Monaco, a 5 minute drive to cap ferrat, and a short 10 minute walk to the beach. I do not know how warm it will be when you are there in November. Also Eze village is close by. You probably would need 3 or 4 nights in the riviera region depending on what you want to see. We spent a morning in Nice, afternoon at the pool, evening in Monaco for dinner and casino. Then a day trip to Monaco to tour and see the palace area, afternoon in Eze, picnic dinner. Another day was spent seeing small cities and then an afternoon at the beach.

With 2 children it may be different as far as keeping them entertained. Beaune is very quaint and the marche aux vins was great fun. Alsace is picturesque in Colmar and Strasbourg.

Hope this helps.

Gretchen

You seem to imply 5 days in Paris including Disneyland. That isn't very long for Paris. I'd cut down on some places--the Riviera in December might not be so great--and it is a long drive.When you finally get an itinerary you might look for gites for places to stay.

s6656

Thanks for the inputs.
After reading the book in detail, I realised it is a lot of places. Now the problem is which places to leave out now. For a first time visitor to France, what are the areas I should consider first. I don't want to spend more time in Paris that the 5 days as we are not crazy about city sights.

My kids are aged 8 and 9. For them they enjoy the villages with a lot of animals. Infact, the last time in germany, they enjoyed the country sites. Things like going to the local markets and eating at the local cafes are things that we enjoy doing. We are from the city and the only animals they know are the cats and dogs whcih are kept as pets.
Thanks once again.

ira

>....For a first time visitor to France, what are the areas I should consider first. I don't want to spend more time in Paris that the 5 days as we are not crazy about city sights.<

But, mon cher ami, you have not yet seen Paris.

ira

Hi again,

In addition to Disneyland, you might like to do a day at the Zoo.

See suggestions for kids at this site
http://www.frommers.com/destinations...nav=0062021105

parisian

If I can propose a selection from your proposed stops, I would suggest
- Paris
- Burgundy (after 3 to 4 hour drive)
- Northern Alps (Chamonix is a good place to see and touch snow)(after 3 to 4 hour drive)
- Alsace (count on a full day of driving)
- Back to Paris (count on a fairly large part of the day of driving)

StCirq

Five days IMO for a first trip to Paris, including Disneyland, is not enough, but if that's what you want, so be it.

You cannot realistically cover the ground you proposed in 15 days and expect to "explore" much at all.

Provence is just a 3-hour TVG ride away, so that makes some sense. You could base yourself near Avignon and see the Bouche-du-Rhône area for 4-5 days. I personally wouldn't bother with the Riviera at the end of November.

Normandy is a good idea. The attractions don't close for the winter, as do so many things in rural France, and there's lots to do and see. A base near Bayeux would allow you to see all the D-Day sites as well as enjoy the beautiful scenery. You could get to le Mont St-Michel as well as some of the closer towns in Brittany.

Much as I love the place, I wouldn't recommend the Dordogne at the end of November. LOTS of things are closed, and many of the things that make the Dordogne special can't really be appreciated that time of year.

In sum, I'd pick two areas other than Paris.

s6656

Thanks for the all the good advice.
We will be staying in Paris about 5 to 6 days and spend the other 15 days in Provence and one other area which we still haven't decided.

I will keep all updated within a few days. Thanks once again for all inputs.

Beatle

Disneyland- And you want European culture- YUK! Even with 2 young kids I would skip it. With 20 days and your ambitious itinerary, surely there are fun "European" sites/activities. Adrienne mentionned a good one- the Dordogne caves. Save Wally world for Florida.

Patrick

I wonder how many people who put down Disneyland in Paris have ever been there?

I have not been, but with 2 young kids assuming they have been to Disney World or Disneyland in the US, I think it would be a great way to not only have fun, but see how some of the same things are interpreted in a different country. I'd say with 20 days, spending one day at Disneyland and just having fun and seeing how the French do it -- is very worthwhile. Go for it. It will be a nice break for you as well as for the kids.

I'm no kid, but I keep thinking I want to go to Disneyland Paris some time because I really do think it would be interesting and fun to compare the same attractions they have there but are modified for the European setting. Maybe this summer?

Beatle

Original poster said main reason for trip was to experience French culture. Yes, I was in Disneyland and would still skip it even with little ones. I'm not putting Wally World down, but it didn't seem consistent with the main purpose for going. Several good suggestions are on this post for other things to do. If the kids are hell bent on going, then go and enjoy. (Who knows, maybe they have a giant slide the size of Charles DeGaulle's ego

Surfergirl

Chamonix is a really nice town to visit. You might consider basing yourselves in Grenoble (nearly surrounded by the alps) then drive from there to Chamonix for the day, or to Annecy. Grenoble is a wonderful university town, with a nice park (Parc Mistral), and the ride on the Teleferique de la Bastille (cable cars that take you over the Isere river up to the fort) is a lot of fun (wear warm clothes!).

s6656

Thanks for all those comments.

We will be staying in Paris (7 days), Provence (5 days), Alsace (5 days)and probably a day or two somewhere in between Provence and Alsace since it is a long drive.

s6656

Thanks for all the inputs.

We have finalised that we will be staying a week in Paris, Provence
and Alps region.For Provence, we will be based in Arles and Alps
region in Anncey (tentative). If it gets too cold in Alps in mid dec,
then we may shorten the stay and move to Lyons or Alasce.

Now we are looking for places to stay except for Paris, where we have
free accomodations. We are looking for budget accomodation which ever
is cheaper either B&Bs or self catering. ANyone have any
recommendations.

Anything to add ?

thanks

Michael

Try Gites de France for a listing of BBs by region. A two corn ear B&B is about the same as a two star hotel, except that the rooms are larger and generally more attractive. Plus it includes breakfast. We paid between 35 and 45 euro for such a room. The Gites de France site indicates which hosts speak what other language besides French. We never had to pre-pay to reserve, but we took along the faxed or e-mailed reply as proof of reservation.