lenochka

Hello travelers,

I am traveling to South of France with my husband and a ten year old daughter in April of next year for two weeks. Our tickets are to Toulous and them back from Paris.
I would like to be able to see a little bit of Provance and include south western region of Bordeaux as well.

My current idea is as follows:
day 1 - Toulouse - arrive
day 2-5 - take train to Avinion
rent a car and travel back to Toulouse trough some cities (need help where to stop)
day 6-8 - stay in Toulouse (my friend lives there) and take small trips to near by cities - agian need help identifiying those cities
day 9-10 - overnight trip to the region of Bordeaux
day 11 - back to Paris on the train - a day and a half in Paris
day 12 - back to SF

How does that sound?

Can anyone recommend destination spots.

thank you for your help

StuDudley

Here is what I would do:

- Arrive in Toulouse & spend 3-4 days there. Toulouse is our 3rd favorite city in France.
- Drive to Provence/Avignon & spend 4-6 days there.
- Take the 3 hr TGV from Avignon to Paris & spend the remaining time in Paris.

I think Provence & the Languedoc are both a lot more interesting than Bordeaux. With only 2 weeks available, you want to reduce the needless driving as much as possible. Four destinations in 13-14 days is only about 2 1/2 to 3 days in each place - after you subtract driving time. That isn't enought time in each location, IMO.

My wife & I have vacationed for 18 weeks in Provence and 8 weeks in the Languedoc (and about 1 week around Bordeaux). I have a 27 page itinerary for Provence/Cote d'Azur and a 35 page one for the Languedoc. I've sent them to over 3,500 people on Fodors & aol. If you would like a copy of them, e-mail me at [email protected] & I'll attach a copy to the reply e-mail.

Stu Dudley

StCirq

Forget Bordeaux. You have limited time, and it's too far to go for too little reward. Visit Toulouse, then the Avignon area, then TGV back to Paris.

Toulouse deserves at least two full days itself. Use another two to travel around the area (Albi, Auch, Castres, Castelnaudary, all the small towns around there - not sure why you just want cities).

From Avignon you have loads of options in the Bouches-du-Rhône, the Lubéron, and even the Côte d'Azure if you want. Then dump the car and TGV straight back to Paris.

juliae_mei

Yes, do spend a day in the major cities, such as Bordeaux, Avignon, Marseille, but don't focus on those areas. Focus on the smaller out-of-the-way towns and you will feel like you've had a more French experience. You can consider staying in an agritourisme or a small farm with small hotel or B&B, it is much more authentic. I love to stay on the side highways as I drive, it is slower, but it is much better in terms of the real France. You could also do a hub-and-spoke itinerary where you stay in 1 central location and take day trips out into the countryside. The train will be your best option for long-distance travel, and often, the local public transportation (train) is quick, clean, affordable in Europe - it is the way Europeans travel. Distances are not as long in Europe as in the U.S.

Best

StuDudley

>>(Albi, Auch, Castres, Castelnaudary, all the small towns around there - not sure why you just want cities)<<

We love Albi, but Auch was only OK (we were there this year). We've never visited Castres or Castelnaudry. I would add Cordes, Gorges de l'Aveyron, Bruniquel, the cute Bastide village of Castelnau de Montmiral, and St Antonin Noble Val (especially on a Sunday morning when their farmer's market is in full swing). All these that I've added are just north of Albi.

Note that shops in cities are closed on Sundays and often on Monday mornings also. So visit the countryside, and "tourist" cities like Gords/St Remy/Roussillon, sites like the Pont du Gard, and cities with Sunday markets like St Antonin & l'Isle sur la Sorgue on Sundays.

Stu Dudley

StuDudley

>> You can consider staying in an agritourisme<<
If you are in Italy. In France, it's a "Gite".

Stu Dudley

amer_can

Stu dudley suggests some outstanding places..Take it to heart. Been there, done that and would hit them all again in a heart beat. You'll have lovely experiences in lovely locales.

annhig

what Stu and St. Cirq said.

I'd avoid Bordeaux on this trip - it's way off your route, there's loads of things to do between Toulouse and Avignon, and your DD will be dead bored by the vineyards if visiting them is part of your plan.

lenochka

thank you all for wanderfull suggestions.
I am leaving Bordeaux out of this trip. We will have to be fulfilled by Napa for a while .
You are right Annhig - i have to consider that I have a child with me. Wineries were my destinations.
@Stu - thank you for your email - it will take me a while to get through attachments. The descriptions are superb. How do you reserve Gite - are they on the internet/special website/through travel agency? can you reserve it for a day and then move on. And can we find them while we are traveling or should we reserve them in advance?
Would anyone recommend purchasing TGV tickets in advance or can we purchase them on the spot? I am concerned that there may be a srike and we will be stuck with tickets we will not be able to use.
thanks again

annhig

lenochka

Here's the link for the official "gites" organisation:

http://www.gites-de-france.com/

you can normally only rent a gite for a week, but they also list B&Bs [Chambres d'hote].

there are also many private agencies that rent them out on behalf of owners - French country cottages, Owners Abroad, there are loads on the www. you might be able to do part weeks more easliy through such an agency.

in April it might be able to rent a gite by just turning up, but April is early season and most gite owners will want some notice to get the gite cleaned and ready for you. you would probably have more luck with B&Bs, unless your trip co-incides with the european school Easter holidays.

The local tourist offices in France normally hold a list of the local vacancies and when we have asked for their assistance, they have been very helpful. sometimes for a small fee, they will phone the hotel/B&B of your choice and check availability and price - you then just go round there and if you like the room/s, it's yours.

opinions vary on this board and elsewhere about travelling "on spec" particularly with a child. We have done it with two kids and it worked pretty well, but I have to say that THEY preferred [and still in their early 20s prefer] staying longer in one place and getting to know the area. at 10 your DD may love being able to go into the local bakery every morning and help to buy the croissants and bread, being made a fuss of in the local cafe, getting to know the gite owner's dog.

i can't help you with the TGV question - we've always driven. if you are going to stick to cities them the train is fine, but if you want to rent a rural gite and explore the countryside, a car is essential.

StuDudley

As annhig stated, gites are normally rented Sat to Sat. Here is something I wrote about reserving them through gites-de-France
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...e-web-site.cfm

Stu Dudley

StCirq

First of all, you can't just tool around the Bordeaux vineyards and expect to be invited in - most of the main wine châteaux are only open to private visitors and vintners. So you're not missing much of anything there. Not to mention that you can sample and drink great Bordeaux wines anywhere in France.

No, you can't just pop into a gîte at will. Most are rented on a weekly basis and well (like months) in advance.

Sure, you can just buy train tickets on the spot - and you'll pay through the nose for it. If you buy PREM tickets online starting three months out from your dates of travel, you can save hugely - go to www.sncf.com or www.tvg-europe.com and don't get shunted over to the RailEurope site, where they'll rip you off royally. The French national railway is not so nasty as to leave you helpless holding tickets if there's a strike, so stop worrying about that.