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Trip Report -- France
My husband and I just back from a 2-week trip to France and I wanted to post our trip report to help others who may be traveling in the same areas. First of all, I want to thank the travelers on this board for all of their help in planning this vacation. I printed out suggestions and various posts from this message board to help with restaurants and sights on this trip and the advice was invaluable.
<u>PARIS:</u> We spent 5 days in Paris and stayed at Villa d'Estrees in the 6e. We took the train from CDG to the St. Michel-Notre Dame metro stop. When we got out of the subway, we were a bit confused as to exactly where we were. I thought the train would drop us off at the St. Michel stop -- but it's different from the RER stop. So, if you stay at the Villa d'Estrees, be sure to remember that the RER drops you off just outside of the Notre Dame and you have to cross the river to get to the hotel. We had no trouble finding the hotel once we realized where we were! Villa d'Estrees was a great choice for us. It was a wonderful boutique hotel with wonderful rooms in a fantastic location. The staff was extremely helpful with restaurants, adaptors, anything we needed. The only complaint I had was the room was a little too hot. The thermostat is set to a certain temperature and couldn't be any cooler. So, we had to keep the windows open at night and were a bit distracted with the street noise. Fortunately, my husband and I are sound sleepers and it wasn't that big of a deal for us. The hotel doesn't turn on the AC until May, I guess. We enjoyed some wonderful restaurants, while we were in Paris. We ate at Le Coupe Chou (5e), Vins de Pyrenees (4e), Cucina Napoletana (4e), Chez Janou (4e). Cucina Napoletena is an Italian restaurant recommended by our hotel. It's a tiny little place with about 8 tables. This was a "locals" place. There wasn't a single American in there, which was a bit refreshing, but communicating with the Italian owner was a bit challenging! However, the food was AMAZING. Fresh, fresh, fresh! So, if you're in for a "locals" experience and you know some Italian, give it a try! <u>LOIRE VALLEY:</u> We took the TGV from Paris to Tours, where we rented a car. The only problem we had here was we accidentally got off at the St. Pierre de Corps stop (which is one stop before Tours). The train conductor made some announcement at that stop (in hindsight, we realized he said Tours was the next stop). So we had to take a taxi to the Tours train station and get our car from there. Fortunately, it was only a few miles away. We drove straight to Chenonceau then to our hotel. We stayed at Le Manoir Les Minimes in Amboise and like every review I've read, it was wonderful. It was extremely charming, and our bathroom was the cleanest one I have ever seen. Since we were only there for one night, we stayed in the tradition room (which is on the top floor). But, I would have loved to have experienced the deluxe room. They looked really nice. The hotel recommended we eat at Le Pavillon des Lys (9 rue d'Orange, Amboise). We enjoyed a delicious 7-course meal there in an elegant townhouse. The food was wonderful and inventive, service was excellent and the setting was romantic. They also offered a selection of cheeses before dessert. The cheese cart was about 5 feet long! It was huge! I wish I had taken a picture of it! http://www.pavillondeslys.com/ The next morning, we drove to Dordogne and stayed at Hotel L'Esplanade in Domme for 3 nights. What an amazing location! The view was even better than I had imagined. We loved the location and really enjoyed the view from our room. We tried the hotel restaurant the first night and it was very good. One of the most memorable meals we've had on this trip (and we had a lot!) We sat right by the window and watched the sun set as we enjoyed our meal. The hotel itself is nothing fancy. Very comfortable, but kinda reminded me of my grandmother's house. We were in a room in the "annex" section of the house and it smelled a little smokey. The other rooms seemed to be a little more updated, but my husband didn't seem to mind our room. He thought it felt very private. We visited Font de Gaume, Rocamadour, Sarlat, Beynac, Castelnaud, and La Roque-Gageac. We had another amazing meal at Le Presidal in Sarlat (6 rue Landry). It's a historic mansion with a beautiful courtyard. The menu included a number of different prix fix menus and a huge selection of a la carte items. We went with the prix fix and I enjoyed my favorite meal on the trip -- the food, the ambiance and the friendly and helpful service made it my favorite. I started with the tartare of salmon with 5 spices, the duck fillet with sweet and sour sauce and creme brulee for dessert. My husband had the shrimp with snow peas, bean sprouts, red peppers to start. The beef filet for main course and ice cream in puff pastry for dessert. The whole thing was amazing. 32E for all of that. Our last night we ate at La Meynardie in Salignac. Our friends had recommended this restaurant and we were really looking forward to this meal. We pulled up to this wonderful farmhouse in the middle of this forest. It was such a charming location. We loved the look of the restaurant, but the food turned out to be mediocre and the service was less than stellar. The two women who were working the restaurant (one who I presumed was the owner) were not very attentive. The service was very slow. We were really disappointed with the meal. Maybe it was just an "off" night for them. Dordogne was probably our favorite part of the country. It was so incredibly beautiful. We knew 3 days would not be enough, but we saw as much as we could in a short amount of time. <u>PROVENCE:</u> We then drove to St. Remy and spent 2 nights in Provence. We stayed at the lovely Mas de Carassins. I cannot say enough wonderful things about this hotel. We loved our room, the gardens and the pool. No detail was forgotten at this hotel. We visited the Pont du Gard, Arles, and Les Baux. We had dinner at La Gousse d'Ail and La Serre. La Gousse d'Ail was wonderful. Good food and excellent service. We got there at 7:30 -- the first ones to arrive -- but by 8:00, the entire restaurant was full. Having worked in the restaurant industry before, I can appreciate when everyone gets seated at once and there are only two people working the restaurant. Even so, the owner greeted everyone who entered enthusiastically, and with another woman, everything ran very smoothly. We were amazed. The next night, we had dinner at La Serre. Another very charming little restaurant. We ate in the atrium area, which felt like we were in an outdoor terrace. We loved it. The food was great, but the service was very slow. The lone server was very apologetic and was very kind. And we understood the chef, the owner, was probably the one cooking for everyone. The slowness didn't bother me, it was the fact that another couple who was seated much later than us, got their food much faster than we did. We decided to go a little out of the way and drive to Gordes, Rousillon and Bonnieux on our way to Villefranche. Gordes was worth the stop and a few photos. <u>FRENCH RIVIERA:</u> We stayed at Hotel Welcome in Villefranche in a superior room and we couldn't have been happier. What a great place to end our trip. The room was nothing fancy, but we had a huge balcony (thanks to the superior room, I believe) with a superb view of the water. The hotel receptionist was very professional and helpful. We loved Villefranche for its location and number of wonderful restaurants right outside the hotel. So convenient! We tried La Mere Germaine (Very good, but pricey) and La Travestere. We visited Nice, Antibes, Eze and Monaco. We had a wonderful time in France and we’ll definitely be back. If anyone has any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask! |
Welcome home. Loks like you had a great trip
We, too, ate at Le Presidial and loved it as well. I did not have the tartare and regret it - my son had the carpaccio of pineapple for desert and was transformed. It was delicious. I don't remember what I had, have to find the receipt, but it was good, and a lovely setting. The staff couldn't have been nicer to a large american family with children. |
Sounds like a great time, lavaflow. We'll be covering much of the same ground in June, including the Dordogne Valley and St. Remy (we, too, are staying at Mas de Carassins).
Can you tell us some more about your experiences at Font de Gaume, Rocamadour, Sarlat, Beynac, Castelnaud, La Roque-Gageac, Pont du Gard, Arles, and/or Les Baux? They all seem like special places from what I've read...but I'd love to get your first-hand view. |
Thank you so much for the trip report with the food recommendations. We leave tomorrow for France and are staying at the same hotels in Provence, Domme and Amboise. Very timely report for us!
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Hi Lavaflow - I know exactly what you experienced getting to Tours! We were warned several times beforehand about the two stops and still nearly got confused.
Thank you for the lovely trip report.Am keeping the details for "a next time in France!" |
How was the weather in the French Riviera?
Nice trip report. Thanks for postimg. |
Mr Go -- I'd be happy to give you more info! We made reservations for a French tour at Font de Gaume because they didn't offer any English tours in April. It was still amazing. So, if you haven't done so already, I would make a reservation for an English tour. The cave paintings are a must-see and I heard the Font de Gaume was the best.
We loved Sarlat and visited it twice! Once in the morning on market day on Wednesday and once in the evening, where there were fewer people. We loved strolling around the maze of streets and alleyways before having dinner at Le Presidial. We drove through Sarlat to get to Font de Gaume (which I think is the easiest way to go if you're coming from Domme). We got a little confused and had to backtrack a bit. If you're going this route, just follow the signs to Sarlat, then to Les Eyglies. Font de Gaume is on the way to Les Eyglies. We visited the castle at Castelnaud and really enjoyed it. It was worth the 15E. Not much else in Castelnaud except for the castle. We then moved onto Beynac and really enjoyed walking through the town there too! It's so charming...don't miss it! We decided not to see the castle there, since we already saw Castelnaud. But, we walked to the very top to the viewpoint that Rick Steves talked about in his book. We then drove to La Roque-Gageac and again, wandered through the streets...enjoyed lunch on an outdoor terrace overlooking the river. All three towns are very close to one another, so it was easy to visit all of them in one day. We heard Rocamadour is amazing, but overall, I wasn't really all that blown away. I thought it was very touristy. But, it's still a must-see. We parked at the top, near the chateau and walked down, then back up. We weren't really that impressed with Arles! That was probably the biggest disappointment. It seemed dirty and rundown and didn't have the charm like the other towns we visited. We didn't spend much time there.. walked along the river for a little while and wasn't that impressed with that either. We visited Les Baux and enjoyed the hike up to the castle ruins. By now, however, we had seen so many cute towns and castles, we were kinda tired of it! (I can't believe I would even say that!) While there was nothing disappointing about the town, I think we saw Les Baux at a time in our trip where we had seen a lot of similar towns. But, it's so close to Amboise, you probably want to at least stop by. We really enjoyed the Pont du Gard. It is a marvel. We liked hiking up to the different viewpoints...we took so many pictures of the structure! We went in the late morning (before noon) and there weren't as many people. By the time we left, the parking lot was packed! So, if you can do it in the morning, I would recommend it. I hope that helps! Let me know if you need more details. |
Viajero2-- The weather in the French Riviera was perfect! About 72 degrees and sunny! Not quite warm enough for us to lay out, because it was breezy, but great for walking around and sightseeing!
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Thanks, lavaflow. That's exactly the sort of information I appreciate the most. The guide books can only tell us so much...but first-hand tips (like going to Pont du Gard in the morning) are what keep me coming back to this incredible forum!
Glad you enjoyed your stay. I can't wait for June to get here! |
Small note about Saint Michel-Notre Dame RER station. Coming from CDG, the back of the train is at Notre Dame. The front of the train is at Saint Michel. If you had gone out of the exit at the front of the station, you would indeed have been at the same place at the Saint Michel metro.
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From Domme I wouldn't go through Sarlat to get to Les Eyzies. I mean, you can, but you can also go straight along the river with its beautiful views to Beynac and then turn off at St-Cyprien, go through Meyrals straight to the main road into Les Eyzies. As you come to the intersection, Font de Gaume is right there on your right.
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You covered alot and made great choices.
Welcome back1 mimi |
kerouac -- Ah ha! That makes much more sense now! Thank you for clarifying that for future travelers!
St Cirq -- I'm so glad you chimed in on the directions. I figured you might have a better way of getting there. ;) We ended up going through Sarlat, since we wanted to visit the Wednesday market beforehand. |
Lavaflow, Great trip report. When you visited Nice, Antibes, Eze and Monaco did you do so by car or train? Would you have done anything differently? I just started planning my trip and am torn between renting a car or relying on public transportation. We plan to be in Nice and do day trips for the first half, then down to St Tropez for the second half. Thanks a bunch!
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Thanks for a great trip report. We're off on Monday for two weeks in France--Loire, Ile de Re and Paris. Staying at the Manoir Les Minimes in Amboise and can't wait to see the place. I've never seen a negative review anywhere. We'll be there 3 days and will certainly check out Pavilion des Lys and that wonderful cheese cart. Only two more wake ups and we're off.
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kiki1 -- Funny you should ask about our mode of transporation down in the Nice area. We had planned to drop off our car in Nice and just rely on trains/buses to visit Eze, Monaco, Antibes, etc. because we had heard the public transportation was quite good. However, at the last minute, we decided to keep the car because we didn't want to drag our luggage around and try to find our hotel.. then have to catch an early train to get to the airport. So, we had a car and it turned out to be fine. I was concerned about traffic and lack of parking, but neither was a problem. There was a lot of traffic getting from Nice to Antibes (construction) and it didn't help that we got lost (I didn't bring any maps because I didn't think we would be driving!) so being in the car that day was a bit frustrating and the train would have been easier. But we really enjoyed our drive to Eze on the middle corniche and then onto Monaco. We "scoped out" the location of the train stations in relation to the city itself and it seems very convenient if that's the way you want to travel and get to different towns. I think either option in this case is fine. We enjoyed having the flexibility of getting to and from places whenever we wanted, instead of having to rely on public transportation. The trade-off was to deal with a little traffic and find parking.
Have a great time!! |
Thanks for your help. As of now, I'm leaning toward no car for most of the trip, but maybe renting one on my way to St Tropez from Cannes/Nice. Any advice on this? I've read mixed reviews on the drive being scenic or not.
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Momliz, I'd understood that you planned to cycle around the Dordogne...did you change your mind?
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Well, duh...sorry, just ignore my previous posting. Momliz, on first read I thought that this was YOUR trip report.
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kiki1-- Unfortunately, we did not go west to Cannes or St. Tropez, so I apologize, I'm not much help on this! Maybe someone else can comment on whether the drive is scenic or not.
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Hi Lavaflow.
Glad to hear you had a wonderful trip and liked Villefranche and Hotel Welcome! I finally figured out how to email my pictures, but now you don't need them as you have tons of your own I'm sure! Glad everything worked out. We also stayed at Les Minimes in Amboise a few years ago, and it was one of the highlights of our trip. |
Great review! Brought back some fond memories of my honeymoon, which was spent largely in Paris and the Loire Valley last year. Glad you had a wonderful time!
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Lavaflow, we are spending 3 days at the hotel welcome and are not sure about the additional 3 prior to a wk in Paris. Do you think it would be too long to spend 4-5 nights at the welcome? Thanks.
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hellokittie-- Sorry it has taken me so long to respond! I don't think 4-5 nights would be too much at all! We stayed 3 nights, so we ended up having 2 full days to sightsee. I would have liked to stay an extra day just to lounge at the beach or relax. I think 4 nights would be just right. Hope that helps!
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lavaflow,
Just saw your trip report and really enjoyed it. I love the story of getting off the train at St. Pierre de Corps instead of Tours. We (four couples) did the same thing some years ago, and will never forget the sight of the conductor in his little hat running up the platform, waving his arms and shouting "No Tours! No Tours!" We finally realized what he was saying, threw out bags back on the train, and climbed aboard just as the wheels started moving. Those are the times you remember. Byrd |
What a wonderful report! Very informative and readable. Sounds as though you had a delightful trip, well-planned and executed. DH anxious to visit Giverny next spring and I have long wanted to visit some of the areas in your trip. Thanks!
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