My wife and will Be spending 4/5 nights in the following cities in September.<BR>Les Eyzies(Dordogne Valley), Luyne(Loire Valley),Perpignan, Les Baux de Provence,Dijon, and Strasbourg. We are going by Train and renting a car. Looking for day trips from these cities. Thank you for you help- Mort

Mort,<BR>As concerns Dordogne, you can contact Sarlat's tourist office, they will send you their touristic guide (free) with 15 day trips suggestions.<BR>email : [email protected]<BR>web site : www.sarlat-tourisme.com<BR>phone : 00-33-553-31-45-45<BR>fax : 00-33-553-59-19-44<BR>

Mort,<BR><BR>You have a lot of choices for day trips from Les Baux....<BR><BR>St. Remy, Arles and the Abbaye de Montmajour<BR><BR>Luberon villages - Gordes and the Abbaye de Senanque, Roussillon, Lacoste, Bonnieux, Menerbes, Oppede-le-Vieux, l'Isle sur la Sorgue (if you're doing this on a Sunday there is a large market and antique market in l'Isle)<BR><BR>Pont du Gard and Uzes <BR><BR>Aigues Mortes (walled city)in the Camargue<BR><BR>Avignon and Villeneuve lez Avignon, and a drive through Chateauneuf du Pape<BR><BR>PB<BR><BR><BR><BR>

Provence suggestions are right on.

thank you david and PB- would appreciate suggestions for Dijon and Strasbourg<BR>thanks, Mort

hi<BR><BR>Lots of info about the south of france here -<BR><BR>http://tlp.netfirms.com<BR>

Second the Provence suggestions, plus Seguret (tricky to find, but worth the search) and Orange is worth seeing for their Roman Theatre. Also liked Arles. Chateauneuf-de-Pape wasn't worth seeing in my opinion. Also liked Vaison La Romain and a walk up to the castle ruins.<BR><BR>If you can (though it's a little out of the way) northwest of Grenoble is a little town called Chambery -- darling, with its elephant fountain. Worth just driving through the mountains there.

Mort:<BR><BR>Daytrips from Les Eyzies include Beynac, La Roque-Gageac, Sarlat, Domme, St-L&eacute;on-sur-V&eacute;z&egrave;re (for interesting/attractive towns);<BR><BR>Font-de-Gaume, Les Combarelles, Cap Blanc, Bara-Bahau, Lascaux II, Rouffignac, La Roque-St-Christophe, Le Village Troglodytique de la Madeleine (for prehistory);<BR><BR>Monpazier, Lalinde, Belv&egrave;s, Beaumont (for bastides)<BR><BR>Beynac, Castelnaud, Montfort, Biron, Les Milandes (for castles).<BR><BR>Obviously, some mix-and-matching of the above would make the best kind of daytrips. And be sure to include a visit to one or more local markets.

I love Colmar, just south of Strasbourg, but also love the pottery villages north of there, esp. in Soufflenheim... you can cross back and forth across the street into the ancient half-timbered houses draped with wisteria vines, picking up great handmade souvenirs. The pottery frequently features the storks so prevalent in the area, but all the designs are charming. And the food is great!

thanks everyone- appreciate your time and efforts. Will be trying to coorinate and assemble all the info.<BR>Any additional info is welcome.<BR>thanks again,<BR>Mort

We just returned from 16 days in the Loire Valley, Burgundy, and Alsace. Burgundy was my favorite (maybe because I had been to Alsace before). We preferred to stay in Beaune, a beautiful town, since it was smaller than Dijon. In the Burgundy area be sure to see the Fontenay Abbey and nearby the utterly charming medieval village of Noyers. Another beautiful medieval village near Dijon is Chateauneuf-en-Auxois. When I go back to Burgundy, I would wish to stay there --- where you are transported back to the 16th century -- and not even many tourists! Chateau Rochepot, out of Beaune is certainly worth seeing. Also, the Dijon tourist office has information on taking a boat on the Burgundy canal ---- it looked so beautiful, but we didn't have the time. Most hotel-boats accomodate only about 6 passengers, since part of the canal is extremely narrow. Canal cruises are generally for a week, but there are also those for 2 days, I believe.<BR><BR>Hope this helps. Feel free to e-mail me with any questions. Janet

Thanks everyone - Your a great help.<BR>Janet, if you could reply on your stay in Alsace- i would really appreeciate it.<BR>thanks<BR>mort

Mort: You've received lots of suggestions for the other locales, so I'll confine my recommendations to the Perpignan area. Drive to the coast to scenic towns of Colliours and Banyuls-sur-Mer for pleasant walks, lunch, and tanning (the latter, if you''re a sun-seeker). Also, don't miss Ceret and its world famous museum of modern art. Wish we'd had more time to spend in that area; the Pyrennes are lovely. Sigh...next year. Carla

Very jealous now. What a great long trip.<BR>My tips for the Strasbourg bit. Fully agree with Colmar, big town. Also Riquewihr and Kaysersberg, quaint Alasace towns a little north west of Colmar, full of charm and atmosphere. Also Turckheim west of Colmar probably THE best place to visit the wineries and sample and buy the truly wonderful wines of Alsace.<BR><BR>Fron Perpignan a visit to the old walled town of Carcassonne is a must.<BR><BR>Tony

Hi<BR><BR>South France info here -<BR><BR>http://tlp.netfirms.com<BR><BR>Use the message board for more questions<BR><BR>Peter<BR>

Janet, I am impressed ! I was brought up in Dijon, and couldn't have done better ! Maybe we could suggest Mort to travel the "Route des grands crus" between Dijon and Beaune, especially in September, it could be wine picking time, depending on the season. Another chateau worth visiting is Bussy Rabutin, where the Marquise de Sevigne used to live. As far as the sites in the Yonne departement are concerned (you mentioned Noyers sur Serein, I would add Auxerre and Chablis), keep in mind that they are further afield and that, although feasible, they would require a very early start. Finally, don't forget that the Burgundy region is made up of four departements. Saone et Loire, between Dijon and Lyon, has got an almost Southern feel to it. Tournus is a great little town with a famous romanesque church; Autun, and its roman ruins, is also worth a visit, as is Cluny, even if the abbey is not as well preserved as, say, Fontenay.

Out of Strasbourg, drive the Alsatian Wine Road. The small villages are delightful and in September you may begin to catch some of the vines and other foliage beginning to turn the hills to gold. Obernai, Riquewihr, Ribeauville, Barr, Egusheim Kayserberg, Turkheim, all wonderful. Try to take in Haut Koenigsburg, the castle way up in the hills/mts. inhabited by Kaiser Wilhelm. If you're into food, the Auberge de L'Ill in Illheusern is one of the least expensive Michelin 3 stars in France. Go for lunch to experience the great sense of aesthetic tranquility of having an aperetif in the lovely garden among the willows fronting the river while making your luncheon choices from their classy but traditional menu.

If you are planning to spend 30 days in the French countryside, consider a car lease rather than the combination train and car rental. Over the past 30 years I have leased a car whenever possible, and it is cheaper than renting for long periods of time (30+ days). Car leasing is available from Renault and Peugeot. Two years ago we leased a Renault Clio diesel and this Peugoet 307 diesel because we were traveling extensively with two other adults and needed the bigger car. Both leasings were hassle free, diesel is cheaper than gasoline (10 or more cents per liter), and still cheaper at sueprmarkets (about 10 cents per liter less than at regular gas stations), and you go farther per liter. Look up Renault and Peugeot on the web for more information. A lease must be done at least 4 wqeeks in advance and is not available to EU residents.

Once again, thank you all for your help with information and recommendations.<BR>The sightseeing info is extensive-I'm sure our days will be full. <BR>Any hidden treasures for resturants-whether dinner or lunch - would be greatly appreciated.<BR>thank you all again<BR>Mort

There are two restaurants that I would recommend in the Dordogne. One is Le Clos Sain Front, 5 rue de la Vertu, 24000 P&eacute;rigueux; tel. 05 53 46 78 58. It has a very nice patio, the food is excellent, with a subtle fusion element to it. Reservations are a must for Saturday lunch because of market day. The price was around 25 to 30 euro person, including the wine.<BR><BR>The other on is Auberge de Mirandol, 7 rue des Consuls, 24200 Sarlat. For 17 euro plus 2 euro supplement if you order the fresh foie gras (which you should), you will have a well-prepared meal that will cover the expected dishes of the P&eacute;rigord: foie gras (fresh and demi-cuit), confit (duck or goose), and even escargots for those who want to range further afield. This five course meal is worth the price. We went with friends for the second time, and he was looking for those French dishes that are less likely to be found in the States. He was not disappointed, and I felt that the second time was as good as the first.