David

My wife and I are planning a vacation to France the first two weeks of July. Besides spending 4 - 5 days in Paris, we have no clue on what to do. My question is simply, "What would you do with two weeks in France?". Don't bother wondering what my preferences are, I want to know what YOUR preferences are. The only qualifier is we'd like to see three to four "areas", we're not necessarily on a tight budget (but I'm not Bill Gates, either), and Paris is obviously a must. I'm really looking forward to everyone's ideas. Hope I get some responses! Thanks everyone...

Beth

Hi David, <BR>well, I've never been to France, but I really would like to go. What I would do, is after the 4-5 days in Paris, I would spend 2-3 days in Normandy, to visit the beaches and WWII sites, and also to go to Bayeux to see the tapestry. After that I would spend a week in the countryside, most likely in Provence visiting small towns, seeing castles, going to wineries, searching out great small restaurants.

wes fowler

David, <BR>My initial reaction was to suggest you spend all of your time in Paris (my first trip to Paris lasted three weeks which was no where near enough time). Discarding that idea, how about a week in Paris - 4 days at the beginning of your trip, 3 at the end - and a week devoted to touring the vineyards and villages of Champagne and Burgundy with perhaps a detour south to Strasbourg. You could do so from a central point, Beaune, for example, or Dijon and settle in without going through the rigors of packing and unpacking every day. If you're interested, drop me an Email. I may have an itinerary or two that might be of interest to you.

Andria

David, I am actually going to France 6/26-7/10 and I will be staying in Paris for at most 2 nights, (but I've been to Paris before), I'm hoping to go to the Riviera and spend some time in Provence and maybe Annecy in the Alps. I would suggest that you visit Les Chateaux if that interests you and your wife at all. There's a lot of wine tasting to do in the Loire as well. Or you could take the above suggestion and go to Burgundy where there are also some castles and many wonderful vinyards. I'm actually going back this trip to go to my friends wedding in Meursault, which is located near Beaune, near Dijon. It's a wine-growing town. Plan on making hotel reservations soon. The summer months are peak tourist season as you may know. I'm assuming you haven't been to France before. I'm very much partial to the Loire Valley because I studied abroad in Tours and I love the region. It's so green and beautiful. I would definitely try Mont St. Michel although I think I'm going to skip it this trip. I'd rather go in April when it's not peak tourist season. I try to avoid Americans as much as possible when I go. That's sort of why I go to France, is to get away from the US and I'm a French teacher, so I need to immerse myself in the language as much as possible as well. Are you going by rail or car when you go? If you need hotel suggestions in Annecy, Tours or Paris, let me know. It's best if you email me personally because I don't have a lot of time lately to make it back to this website. Good Luck. <BR> <BR>

G.E.

I spent six weeks backpacking with two friends through Europe. by far the best places we visited were Paris, the French Alps (Mont Blanc) and the South of France. We were on a tight budget and enjoyed ourselves very much. We spent ten days in the South of France in June. We used Nice as our base and traveled by train to Monacco, Cannes, and Antibes as day trips. Then stayed two nights in Saint Raphael in order to visit Saint Tropez. It was the best time. The people were very nice and we stayed in a efficiency like hotel. I highly recommend making an effort to visit the South, especially if you enjoy relaxing on the beach.

Diane

My recommendation is the Dordogne area. Lovely scenic mideveal villages, lots of castles (some of which are B&Bs), beautiful scenery, cliff towns along the river - great picnic places. Caves and cave art. Wondeful food, reasonable prices. You do need a car as a lot of the towns are quite spread out. <BR> <BR>We stayed at Chateau d'Arnac. Their web site is www.chateau.mcmail.co.uk. I'd go back in a minute. <BR>

margaret

I'd spend a week in Paris and a week touring the Loire Valley. What's there? Lots of chateaux, great food,local color, medieval villages..I've actually done this trip -- a few times!- The Dordogne area is also terrific, but hasn't the glamour. <BR>Margaret

Carol

I'd plan to spend a week in Paris, maybe do daytrips to Versailles, Giverny and Chartres, and almost a week in the Loire valley, returning to Paris the day before my return flight. I'd take the TGV from Paris to Tours and then rent a car and stay in a chateau, maybe the Chateau de Chissay, with a pool--for morning or evening swims after a wonderful day of touring. <BR> <BR>I'd save the Riviera and Provence for a separate trip. <BR> <BR>A word of advice--the Loire valley is everybody's idea of a great summer vacation place, so if you decide on it, now's the time to make your reservations!

elvira

My two choices (besides just staying in Paris, which is choice numero uno) are: <BR>the Dordogne Valley - I iterate Diane's observations; and the Haute-Savoie, neglected in summer but extraordinary scenery and unspoiled villages.

steve

We were in France this past summer and went to three great places: Strasbourg, Paris and Annecy. Because of free tickets we flew in and out of Zurich and took trains everywhere(choosing the places because it was sort of a circle). <BR>Paris is wonderful and it's great to spend as much time there as possible. <BR>Strasbourg is highly interesting because of the mixture of French and German cultures. <BR>Annecy in the Haute Savoie region is on a beautiful lake in the French Alps.

Lou

I have traveled to France 10 times for pleasure and like one place as well as the other. I would suggest to spent 4 days in Paris in the beginning or the end of the trip. Travel by auto is very easy. I live the countryside in France and always try to stay away from the large cities. Normandy, Brittany and the Loire Valley is a wonderful trip. The south of France is great but during July the riveria is very crowded and I would avoid in July..Strasbourg (alsace area ) is great visiting Annecy is beautiful country. You need to research what area you want to visitand plan accordingly. bottom line you can not go wrong. France is just a great country to visit. Don't listen the people who tell you the people are not friendly. Ofcourse the countryside is the best and my recommendation

julie

Okay, We have beento France a number of times. My choice (and I can see it might be unpopular) is to get out of PARIS asap (we found the folks there unfriendly, if not outright hostile) and picnic your way to Provence, the one place among all the many I have travelled I would like to maintain a separate home. Weather is great, folks are friendly, scenery grand, and lots of three and 4 star, mom and pop hotels where Americans are welcome.

Adina

My priorities--after about 4 full days in Paris-- would be a few days in the French Alps. I've been to Chamonix but hear that Megeve is a nicer base. The scenery and walking around the Aiguille Du Midi is amazing and the gondola over the glaciers to the Italian border is so beautiful. Annecy and its countryside are nice also. The Loire Valley and the chateaux are wonderful but there's alot to choose from. I loved Chenonceau. Provence-- Avignon, Les Baux. You can do all of that with trains. You definitely need a car for Burgundy and the Dordogne its definitely worth it. Get the Michelin Green books on each region to see what you really want to see and have fun.

Jenn

Hi!! I really liked Lyon. It is the second largest city in France, but my favorite was Nice and the Riviera. The Cannes Film Festival is sometime in May so maybe you could catch some of it. <BR>

dan woodlief

My brief two cents: 4 days in Paris, 3 days in Normandy/Brittany (or Alsace),4 days in the Loire Valley (include Chartres) with a car, and then end with 3 days in Paris.

Louis

Having lived in the south of France twice for brief periods I got to travel quite a bit. If you're leaving from Paris, then I second the suggestion of driving south through the Loire vally. The autoroute, their tollways, are very good and you can do 130km/hr - about 80mph which you can push close 90. The Chenonceaux,Chambord and Amboise Chateaux are about the best. You can also include Tours, the route A10 will take you right through it, and Chartres to see the cathedrale in this trip. <BR> <BR>If you go north to see Le Mont St. Michel you should also stop and check out St. Malo. The chateau and ramparts are impressive. You should also go south from there to see Nantes, for a long time the seat of the Dukes of Brittany. <BR> <BR>I know of many more places but then you need to take a train east or southwest or southeast. The distances are quite long and you will spend a good part of your time driving. That would include must ses places like Toulouse, Carcassonne, Le Puy, Conques, Avignon, Arles and Nimes, just to name a few.