grajaraman

StCirq,
Managed to cajole the husband into dropping the bridge plan. So, here is what I have so far:
Luxembourg
Versailles
Saint-Jacut-de-la-Mer
Angers
Île de Ré
Bordeaux
?
Luxembourg

On the way back up from Bordeaux, is there a town you can suggest where we can spend a night to break the journey ?

FrenchMystiqueTours

Chartres would be about half way and only slightly off your direct route to Luxembourg from Bordeaux.

grajaraman

FrenchMytique, you are awesome.

bilboburgler

before you tuck into the cognac keep and eye out for pineau-de-charentes a vin doux natural (which means it is man made by adding grapes juice to cognac, or lesser spirit) a fine way to end an evening meal

FrenchMystiqueTours

@grajaraman

http://www.chartres-tourisme.com/en

http://www.discover-chartres.com/

Malcolm Miller Cathedral Tours:

Daily tours of Chartres Cathedral from Easter until late October are at 12 noon and 2.45 p.m. Not on Sundays, and during the winter occasionally or on request.
E-mail address is [email protected].

http://www.discover-chartres.com/mai...cassiette.html

http://www.chartres-tourisme.com/en/maison-picassiette

grajaraman

Quick question, on the way from Ile de Ré to Bordeaux, would you recommend spending a night at La Rochelle ?

snowgirls

We are Canadian and loved La Rochelle so much we stayed 4 days instead of 1. Did a day trip to Ile de Re to see salt flats and beaches, spent great nights eating seafood outside around the harbour and shopped along the many car free streets.We stayed at the Novotel on harbourside. right across from the new Aquarium( also a great place to visit)

grajaraman

I have 7 days between Ile de Ré and heading back to Luxembourg. How should I split this in Bordeaux ? I have Arcachon and the parts, now Cognac (thanks to StCirq), maybe Dordogne ?

grajaraman

Thanks snowgirls. Any recommendation on where to stay in La Rochelle.

StCirq

Frankly, skip Bordeaux. And don't even think about the Dordogne, which merits at least a week. Use the time to visit the Cognac area and La Rochelle and Arcachon, Cap Ferret, the Dune du Pilat, etc. If you want to go into Bordeaux city one day, from, say, Arcachon, fine...you can hit the highlights easily in one day and get an urban fix, but there is so much to keep you occupied on the "ocean side" of Bordeaux, it's ot really necessary.

bilboburgler

"Quick question, on the way from Ile de Ré to Bordeaux, would you recommend spending a night at La Rochelle ?"

No, Ile de Re and La Rochelle are so close, an over night stay would only make sense if you were walking it. La Rochelle is pretty but not wonderful. Have a look at Tripadvisor for some of the things you can do there, might as well stay on the ile.

Michael

Unless you plan to drive straight back to Luxembourg, there is nothing wrong with driving back from La Rochelle via the Dordogne and the Massif Central (get a paper map of France in front of you to see the geography). While a week is better, it's been known to spend just a couple of days in the Dordogne (visit Domme, Beynac, La Roque-Gageac, Lascaux II) to get a taste of it. If you really like it, you'll come back.

snowgirls

http://www.tripadvisor.ca/Hotel_Revi...Charentes.html
Stayed here and were totally happy. 1/2 block to a bakery where we bought breakfast each day and ate at the harbour.
Visited museums there, aquarium, shops, one whole day at Ile de Rei.Every night, a carnival atmosphere around the harbor- bands, vendors, food carts, just brimming with life.

StCirq

Totally agree about the Dordogne and Massif Central, but I got the impression the OP was going to make a beeline back to Luxembourg (which is why I thought two days in Provence was not a good idea).

grajaraman

Michael, StCirq, you guys should be professional planners.
We have reservations on Ile De Ré for 4 nights, thanks to bilboburgler's suggestions.
I, now need to plan my days between 14th July - 21st July. We have time off from our individual workplaces until 22nd July, ideally, I'll sleep in my own bed on 22nd night.

Southern France to me, means wine, maybe a cooking class and hikes. And, I know there is so much to see and do, hence the confusion.

bilboburgler

Ile de Re ideas
http://www.mybikeguide.co.uk/Ile_de_Re_Guide.php

grajaraman

Thanks pal.