Trip itinerary for Southern France
 

We are planning a trip through southern France at the end of September and wondered if this itinerary is really workable. We will fly into Paris and then to Biarritz. We will be staying five nights in Seignosse at a home of a friend. From there we have planned the following:
Carcassonne - 2 nights
Collioure - 3 nights
Arles - 2 nights
Lyon - 2 nights
Beaune - 2 nights
near CDG - 1 night
Does this sound feasible? We have been to Paris many times so do not plan to include it in this trip other than flying in and out of CDG. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

It sounds fine, although it's too bad you won't be seeing anything of Provence.

Collioure is a jewel. If you have a car, you'll be able to visit a lot of other villages nearby. Banyuls sur Mer is great. Port Vendres is good too and it's within 2 kms. Argeles is lovely sandy beaches and the long promenades.

Also close by is Sorede, Laroque des Alberes, and the adjacent villages. They're a very easy drive and they're beautiful in September.

Enjoy

Blackduff

Wow - you're doing a lot more driving than I would be willing to do. You will be passing by (and not visiting) some wonderful areas on your way from Biarritz to Collioure, and then to Provence. If this were my trip & it started in Biarritz, I would explore the Pays Basque, Pyrenees, and the Roussillon region (Collioure), and stop there. Recently, we spent 2 weeks in the Pays Basque region, and two weeks in Roussillon and we were on-the-go all the time. We've spent 16 weeks in Provence.

However, if you have your heart set on spending a lot of time in the car, and just touching down in places long enough to sniff the air and perhaps decide which areas interest you the most for a return visit, then here are some suggestions.

>>From there we have planned the following:
Carcassonne - 2 nights

Two nights in Carcassone and only 2 nights in Provence is a bad division of time, IMO. At most, Carcassone is a 3-4 hour visit. I would just stop & visit it on the way from Biarritz to Collioure.


Collioure - 3 nights
Arles - 2 nights

I think there is a lot more to see & do in Provence than in Roussillon. I would add the 2 "saved" nights from Carcassone to Arles.

Lyon - 2 nights
Beaune - 2 nights
near CDG - 1 night

IMO, Beaune is just a 3-5 hr visit max - unless you want to spend a couple of hours tasting wine. There is no need to get back to CDG the last night. Instead, get to Dijon (short drive/train from Beaune) and take the 6:30am TGV that gets to CDG at 8:20 am. I think Dijon is a much more interesting town than Beaune. If you are a real early riser, you can even take the train from Beaune to Dijon and connect with the 6:30am - we did this once.

I just realized that you may be taking the train to everywhere you mentioned. If so, I would still recommend as little time as possible (based on train schedules) in Carcassone, and add Montpellier as a stop on the way to Arles. Three days just in Collioure in late Sept is too much time, also. The town itself is only a 3-5 hr visit. I would recommend Avignon over Arles - there is more to see & do there than in Arles. I would also only stay 1 night in Beaune, and either add it to Montpellier, or add Chambery as a destination on the way from Avignon/Arles to Lyon (we did this once).

Stu Dudley

blackduff,

Where are Sorede, Laroque des Alberes, and "the adjacent villages" in relationship to Collioure and are they just as beautiful in May? I'm thinking about spending in a week in that area in May.

Have you any other recommendations?

Nessundorma
Sorede, Laroque, et al is about 15 kms. This is the mountain area adjacent to Collioure. This is the area where the mountains meet the sea.

http://www.sunfrance.com/mer/index.p..._art=753#a_753

This is a very beautiful nature around this area. There are not big hotels on the beach. You won't find too much construction messing up the coastal area.

I like Sorede, since I like there. It's bike rideable to the sea yet it's cool in the summer. I can walk up the mountain (tough to walk)and meet the Spanish border.

http://www.pyreneesmediterraneanprop...com/index.html

This is another site about this area. I did this site but it's not finished, so a lot of photos are not included. But, there's still enough to see what shows around Collioure.

If you do pass this area, you're going to please your few days.

Blackduff

Thank you very much blackduff!

Did you travel very much across the Spanish border along the coastline? I hear the driving is difficult by that the towns are beautiful Or are they built up too?

From Rosas, in Spain, to the French border is pretty curvy and beautiful. It also takes a bit of time.

The better drive would be from Figueras towards Perthus (co-frontier) and then back down to the coastal roads again.

If you go to Collioure, make sure you return along the coast to Banyuls sur Mer and the lovely vineyards growing along the coastal hills. Plus, there are more than a few places to give a Degustation or free drink. Banyuls makes a drink called Banyuls (funny it would give it this name)and it's a sweet aperitif drink. Give it a try, if you can.

Certainly some of the other small ports from the coastal border but Banyuls starts the important places to view.

Maillot, is a well known sculpture and one of the most in France lived in Banyuls. There are a lot of his statues around this area. Most of the statues are of lovely girls, mostly nude. Maillot is a bit less known than Rodin but it's still a very worthwhile visit to his museum in Banyuls. Plus there's good vineyards cooking that nice Banyuls.

I don't want to downgrade Carcassonne but this is certainly equal of a place to visit.

Like they say, enjoy.

Blackduff

Maillot really known as Maillol. I guess I'm getting too old to write.

Sorry

Blackduff

I've been to the Maillol museum in Paris. I'll definitely check out Banyuls, but I better buy a bottle of the apertif to take home rather than drink and drive.

I've heard Carcassone is pretty, and I may go there, but I think I would like to stay by the sea.

topping

I think Nancy's thread got hi-jacked

Stu Dudley

You are right, Stu! That's why I wrote directly to you.

Nancy, do you have hotels picked out yet? I am particularly interested in the Collioure and Carcassone areas. We'll be there in a coupla weeks. I'll be posting a trip report before you leave (hopefully!) but I'm wondering if you have any specific places in mind... Thx. (Is this another hijack...?) Oh, just in case, I can recommend the Sheraton at CDG. A bit expensive, but ultra clean and quiet and oh-so-convenient.