The Best of France
 

Where would you spend 10 days traveling by car for first time visit to France? The trip would have to end or begin in Paris. Can't miss sites,accommodations, food, history and culture.

kinda a broad topic... but i'll give it a shot.

with 10 days and a first trip to france, i'd do the following:

5 days paris (with on reserved for versailles). in paris check out: musee d'orsey, louvre, eiffel tower, opera, sacre coeur, the marais, latin quarter, champs-elysées, arc de triomphe, st-germain, montmartre, rivoli and the islands...

then, with the other 5 days, i'd pick a region within a couple hours by car or train and head out and stay there... ie: loire, champagne, alsace, normandy / brittany, or burgundy.



then

Get the Green Guide for France. It will indicate the highlights that should be seen. Then use Mappy or viaMichelin to determine distances and driving times, and plan your itinerary accordingly.

I agree with JMWF; split your time between Paris and one region. But the region depends a lot on what interests you - do you want to see another city? Chateaux? More recent history? Spectacular scenery, or just pretty? With more info you'll get better suggestions.

I've actually been to Paris. I meant to ask what regions outside of Paris would you first visit.I loved Paris but only plan on spending 3days/2 nights. I've considered Burgundy wine country, Loire Valley, or maybe Bordeaux with a stopover in Champagne or Versailles.Looking more for countryside less city. Chateaux, spectacular scenery would be great. I know I can and have read guides but I'm looking for comments and suggestions from many peoples personal experience.

Forget Bordeaux until about your 15th trip to France. I love the place, but you won't. And Champagne certainly isn't a stopover on the way to it (you do have a map, I hope).

For a first visit outside Paris, I'd do the Loire, Normany, Strasbourg, or Provence.

Your time is very limited. Even having "been to Paris," I doubt you've exhausted the city.

I did trip of Loire Valley (Orleans, Tours) and then went up to Normandy (Mont St. Michelle, DDay, etc.). I did about 5 days and felt it was wonderful trip.

I would spend a 6 days in Paris, and then train to Dijon, pick up a car and drive through burgundy for 4 days, then train back to Paris...

Actually maybe head to Burgundy for 4 days right away, then train back to Paris for 6 days and then you dont have to worry about being back in time for your flight.

To me Burgundy is exactly how I pictured France!

Pics of Burgundy - http://picasaweb.google.com/jamie.a.shearer/Burgundy#

DOH - sorry, missed the part about Paris.

What about hitting Burgundy for 4 nights as above, and then heading to Provence for 6 days?

You can take the tgv back to Paris from Avignon...

Apologies for any diversion; StCirq what do you mean by your comment "Forget Bordeaux until about your 15th trip to France. I love the place, but you won't"..... I'm intrigued.

For proximity..I'd do Paris and the Loire. Loire: castles, small towns, scenery, decent wine.

stevelyon, I mean that there are a thousand places in France that are more appealing to the average traveler than Bordeaux, unless you are a serious oenophile or have relatives there. I spend a good deal of time there because I have a house in France and it's one of the nearest big cities, so I go there occasionally. But it's not a traveler-oriented city, other than the Place du Parliament area, which draws crowds from the cruise ships that dock on the Gironde nearby. It's insular and doesn't cater to tourists. You'd have to be pretty well versed in French life and history, and speak the language well, to find it appealing for more than a day or two.

For lush countryside/great food I'd do Paris & Burgundy; for Castles/great food I'd do Paris & Valley (Loches is our favorite base, which is off the beaten track, but that's why we like it); for surf & turf I'd do Paris & Normandy cheese/cidre route and coastal town of Honfleur

One of these combinations, not all 3. You could visit Chartres/Giverny exiting Paris if you had a car and were on your way to Normandy or the Loire.

The Burgundy area sounds great. After reading the posts and some guidebooks I will concentrate on traveling Paris to Burgundy.Thanks. Thinking of 3-4 nights in Paris. Plan then on getting a car to drive to Burgundy.Do you think spending a night in Champagne before departing is good idea? What is the most scenic drive,what towns and villages are worth visiting . Should we pick just one town or city as a base( Beaune,Dijon area) for 4-5 nights or
drive to the area around Chablis and stay to 2 nights and then proceed to wine country and spend 2 - 3 nights. Suggestions welcome.

I loved Burgundy! I spent 12 days driving around Burgundy a few years ago - solo. I took train to Dijon and picked up car there, after spending 2 nights. Then some time in Beaune (which is a good base to see that part of Burgundy). Then I drove south to the Beaujolais area, which is gorgeous and spent several days. Then back north
toward Vezelay (also gorgeous). There is so much to see all along the way, chateaux, abbeys, and the food is best in France, to me. I would love to do that trip again! You won't have as much time as I did, but I don't think you can miss, whichever area you decide on. I think I did a trip report, which you might be able to find by clicking on my name. It was a few years ago, though. I'm sure I reported on the hotels I stayed at, which were great.

Hi Malan,

Champagne isn't exactly on the way to Burgundy... I love the champagne region and it is for sure worth a visit, but it just happens to be a couple hours in the wrong direction for burgundy...

i'd get straight to burgundy and enjoy that area and save champagne for another time. just my two cents.