Southern France for Christmas
 

I am planning a family trip for Christmas 2004 and we decided on Southern France. Does anyone have suggestions as to where would be nice for spending the holidays? We will have some small children, so we are looking for castles, historic sites, etc. I wanted to start my research based on other Fodorites opinions! Is the weather in Southern France nice in December/January?

Well, not really - - I mean, compared to Fargo, it's moderate, but in Nice for example, the number of days for December and January combined above 65 degrees F is ZERO, in an average year.

Just a reminder, Nice is the exact same latitude as Portland, Maine. Now, of course, the Mediterranean keeps it milder than the North atlantic does for Maine (Portland averages 30 days below 32 degrees in January, Nice averages zero).

But do not confuse the south of France with south Florida.

It has essentially no sand at the beach (at least in Nice) also.

Best wishes,

Rex

We stayed near Nice in December 2001 and were treated to spring-like weather; so you just never know. Since you are interested in historic sites and sights, I think you would like the area around Avignon and Arles. Lots of interesting places to go, most of which would be fine for children. There aren't, however, all that many castles in Provence, but you will find wonderfully intact Roman constructions: the Pont du Gard, the arenas in Arles and Nimes, the wonderful theater in Orange, and that's just for starters. You might also enjoy a trip down to the Camargue to see the horses, bulls, and and flamingos.

Christmas in Provence is wonderful. There's quite a bit of emphasis on
food--just look at the shops!--and just about every village and town puts up decorations. You'll have fun participating in the festivities.

The weather can vary a lot. There is a wind, the mistral, which blows down the Rhone valley, and is bitterly cold. If the mistral is blowing, you will be frozen; a few hours later, you may be sitting out of doors enjoying the sunshine. Avignon and Arles are affected by the mistral; resorts on the Cote d'Azur are sheltered from it.

Given the possibility of Le Mistral, perhaps it could be better to base yourselves over near Nice. There are lots of kid-friendly things to do there and any number of interesting "perched villages" to visit, which might stand in nicely for castles. That's the area where we were based in 2001, and we had a great time.

As a local - I can tell you that the weather in Provence in December/January can be very variable indeed. As some other posters have said, you can be eating outdoors one day and bombarded by a brutal mistral wind or even a few inches of snow the next. In terms of location, consider staying east of the Rhone as the weather gets progressively wetter the further west you go. Also, anywhere just along the Rhone river valley can get super windy when the Mistral is blowing. By contrast, over towards Aix, the Luberon, or the coast towards Nice is generally speaking more pleasant. All that to say, don't come to Provence in Decmeber for the weather.

Otherwise, I can tell you that the Christmas season in Provence is really special. Just about every little village has some kind of festival and the Xmas markets are great. All of the castles/museums/historical sites are open and a big advantage is that there are just a whole lot less tourists around. Visiting the Castle at Les Baux for example in December is a joy. Getting anywhere within 5 miles of Les Baux in August is a nightmare!!!

Hope that helps.

Kevin

Hi

I can confirm that the weather is variable ! Take a look at these photos :
http://tlp.netfirms.com/newphoto93.htm
http://tlp.netfirms.com/newphoto10.htm
http://tlp.netfirms.com/newphoto94.htm

East is warmer. However late December / January are usually dry in lowland Languedoc. The wet season generally is Sept / Oct / Nov. The weather is wetter in the Cevennes.

Weather history is here : http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv...historical.htm

For Nice in December / January, the last 21 years have produced :

Average High : 12/13C
Average Low : 5/6C
Highest : 18/20C
Lowest : -6/-2C
Rain : 3/3.5 inches

I've got Languedoc weather info on these pages :
http://tlp.netfirms.com/expat/link15.htm
http://tlp.netfirms.com/meteo.htm
http://tlp.netfirms.com/meteo2.htm

So the answer is : It can be nice in December & January ........... or not !

Peter
The Languedoc Page
http://tlp.netfirms.com

We spent Christmas years ago in Aigues Mortes, the beautiful and historic Camargue village from whence King (aka Saint) Louis departed on a couple of crusades.

Went to midnight mass at the ancient cathedral where the priest harrangued the locals on sinful living (it went over the heads of the smoking, flirting local teens in the back) then we hung out around the town square on Christmas morning while all the bars conducted lotteries for hams and other Christmas prizes, accompanied by high spirits and liquid spirts a-flowing. Stayed at the Hotel St. Louis - very, very nice, great Provencal turkey dinner that night (who knew?). What a ball.

The weather was so-so; not raining but threatening. We drove around the Camargue for a few hours and saw black bulls and white horses in the distance. Very atmospheric.

(On Christmas Eve we had been in St. Tropez for a few hours and sat on the waterfront in our short sleeves, eating ice cream. So there's another weather image.)