Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Research trip to France July 28-Aug. 12

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Research trip to France July 28-Aug. 12

On July 28 I will be leaving for France, visiting Paris, the Loire Valley, Dordogne, and Provence. The main purpose of my trip is to check on hotels and B&B's (Paris, Loire, Dordogne) and houses for rent (Provence) that might be appropriate for a large group (10-15) that I will be accompanying to France in early June 2003. In Paris I will be staying at the Hotel Muguet (July 29 & 30) and the Hotel Residence Monge (Aug. 10 & 11). I also want to take a look at the Hotel des Grandes Ecoles. I think that one of those will be fine for my group next June. Comments? In the Loire Valley I am staying at the Hotel Blason in Amboise (July 31). I want to take a look at the Chateau de Montgoger 25 km. south of Tours (rooms from E 70 for a single to E 112 for a suite) as a possibility for my group. I couldn’t stay here on my research trip because they are closed the last 2 weeks of July, so I will try to visit as I am leaving on Aug. 1. Does anyone know this chateau-hotel or know of another one in the area in about the same price range that I might consider for my group? I will then drive to the Dordogne area and spend 2 nights (Aug. 1 & 2) at a B&B called Le Jaonnet near Gourdon. I would like to have my group stay here for 3 nights next June but they only have 5 rooms, so I may have to find a larger place or another B&B nearby and split my group if we are more than 10. Double rooms here on the demi-pension plan are E 86 to E 92. Anyone stayed here? Other suggestions? Finally, I will be spending a week (Aug. 3-10) in the Luberon area (La Tour d'Aigues) and hope to visit a number of properties that I have found on the Internet. I will need to look at very large houses (5-7 bedrooms) or two smaller houses close to each other that we could rent. I have set a budget of $250 per person (double occupancy) for the week in Provence so some of the very luxurious large houses will be beyond our budget. This means a limit of approx. $500 per bedroom. I would like to have a pool if possible. Has anyone rented (or does anyone know of) houses in this area that I should check out that might be appropriate for my group? A website, address and/or tel. no. would be appreciated. Also, what towns or villages do you find most interesting or attractive? (I was in the Luberon 2 years ago and am familiar with Apt, Roussillon, Gordes, Bonnieux, Menerbes, Saignon, Caseneuve and Lourmarin.) With the group I hope to do day trips to Avignon, Arles, Aix-en-Provence, St. Remy (Glanum), Les Baux, Orange, the Pont du Gard, the Camargue and perhaps Cassis. Any other suggestions? How about good moderately priced ($30 pp or less) restaurants? I am excited about my "research" trip to France. It was fairly spur- of-the-moment and this is the first time I will be traveling alone for 2 whole weeks, but I think I will enjoy that. I'm sure that I will feel much more at ease taking a group to France if I have already seen the places we will be staying. I will be sure to post a report when I return. If anyone here plans to be where I will be during this trip, especially in the Luberon area, I would love to meet somewhere for a drink. I may be getting a little lonely by that time! You can e-mail me if you like at the above address, but substitute “charter.net” for “home.com” I know that I am asking for a lot of info but feel free to comment on any part or all of it. Thanks in advance for any suggestions you may have.

Betty: Regarding the Dordogne portion of your trip, I'm curious why you chose Gourdon as a base. It's actually a lovely town, but it's a bit out of the way for seeing the things that most groups would be focusing on in the Dordogne. Were you trying to find an area that would be suitable for taking daytrips to, say, both the prehistoric attractions and Rocamadour? If you let me know what your plans are for the group while you're in this area, I may be able to suggest something.

Hi, St. Cirq. Yes, I think I chose Gourdon partly because it seemed central to both the Dordogne and the Lot River Valleys and partly because I really liked the looks (and price!)of Le Jaonnet. I expect that my group will be traveling in 2-3 vehicles (larger cars or perhaps vans)so we will be able to get to some of the smaller places. I have been to this area before but have not yet made a detailed itinerary for next June. I would hope that we could see Les Eyzies and/or Lascaux, Sarlat, Beynac, Rocamadour, St, Cirq-Lapopie, Pech-Merle and the Gouffre de Padirac. I know that is a lot for three days so I may have to pare it down a bit. I would welcome any suggestions you might have as to other things to see and do or places to stay.

Betty: Just to give you some yardstick for figuring out times/distances, it's a half-hour from Gourdon to Sarlat, another half-hour to Les Eyzies that time of year. You can extrapolate from that to the other places. I would definitely recommend that you eat at the Hostellerie de la Bouriane, Place du Forail, in Gourdon. You should be able to feed your group handsomely there for well within your budget - try the tournados Rossini - filet mignon with truffles and foie gras. You might want to check out the rooms in the place, too. I've never stayed there, but it's a hotel also. Another restaurant to consider is the Lion d'Or in Gramat (8, place de la République). Absolutely heavenly local dishes (also within your budget), and a great place to sample the local cheeses, including the cabécou de Rocamadour Le Redouillé in Souillac (28, avenue de Toulouse) is another excellent restaurant. Try the local Quercy lamb dishes especially, but everything is good. In Les Eyzies, your group could eat well at the Vieux Moulin, the restaurant of the Moulin de la Beune. The risotto aux truffes is wonderful. Near Montignac (where Lascaux is located) in the hamlet of La-Chapelle-Aubareil, is the Table du Terroir, the best restaurant in the area. And in La Roque-Gageac there is the Belle Etoile, with a consistently fine kitchen. I'm forgetting the name of a really good restaurant in Rocamadour - when it comes to me, I'll post it.

Don't you need a research assistant? I can be ready in a jiffy!

Cassis is a beautiful town. Shops and restaurants ring a picturesque harbour. You can also take a boat ride to see the calanques (fiords).

While in the Loire, drink the local whites as often as possible. They are priced ever so modestly in the States, so they will be a steal there. The reds, particularly Saumur, are very nice, but the whites deserve the higher marks. You may drive through the small village of Ile au Than, by the river. My friend Michelle resides there, and it is a delightful place. The vegetables are coming in right now, and the food in that area is superb, very country, but superb all the same. Each evening, they do the french version of giocare a bocce, bowling the balls at the little piglet in the gravel lanes. Many happy occasions there, but haven't been back in years. Enjoy your trip.

Thank you, St. Cirq (those restaurant recs made my mouth water!), linda, and RnR, for the suggestions and advice. Betsy (that's what my family calls me, BTW), come on along! I'll meet you under the north pillar of the Eiffel Tower, OK? :>) To Carol (who posted on the duplicate thread that I am trying to let sink!) Thanks for the info on the GE. I remember your original post about it and seeing your pictures. I think that is one of the reasons I first began to consider it. About that uphill climb, that's one thing I want to check out during this trip. My group will be composed of people my age and older (50's & 60's)so that could be a problem. But someone mentioned, don't remember if it was on Fodors or elsewhere, that there is another metro station a little further away (perhaps Place Monge rather than Cardinal Lemoine?) from which it is a less challenging walk to the hotel. At any rate, I think it would have to be a really tough and unavoidable climb to make me discard the GE as an option. It seems just about perfect in every other way. (I am counting on early June being cool enough that we won't need AC.) Any other comments? Especially about Provence/Luberon?

Betty- I'm a travel agent and have used a web site, www.anamericaninparis.com to get all kinds of information on Paris such as you asked. Take a look at it. Fred is great.

the Hotel des Grandes Ecoles is a lovely area in a very convenient area which I like a lot as there are lots of nice little restaurants around there, and other shops. It is a little hilly in that area, in fact that is one reason I would not choose a hotel on rue des Ecoles of which there are a lot (like Familia, I think it's on there). I think the Hotel des GE is in a better and more convenient area, myself. You can walk "down" from the metro at place Monge, I guess, although it's a bit farther (maybe 1-2 blocks more). The Hotel Residence Monge is more convenient in that regard, being just below the Monge metro (and it has AC and a little more than the other, I think). My only comment on your hotels was wondering if they are going to be amenable to dealing with a group, I think some small hotels may not. I suppose you only need about 7 rooms or so (and I know the HGE has about 50, so it should be possible), I just wonder about the financial arrangements as that's a lot of rooms to reserve in hotels that are very popular. I guess you'll find out those things on your trip or have already. I think the Hotel Residence Monge may be more amenable, if you have problems.

Hoping for a few more responses before I let this sink into oblivion.