Visit France
 

Hi, everyone. Me and my friends are waiting for borders to open so we can easily travel from Russia to France. Please recommend interesting places to visit except Paris.
We do not want standart excursions. We want to know the not so popular places but places recommended by citizens.

It really depends on what your interests are as there is so much to see in France.

Do you want to visit little villages ? Big cities ? Do you want to be in the countryside or in town ? Or maybe you prefer being by the sea or in the mountains ?

Are you more interested in food ? Wine ? Art ? Going out or sightseeing ?

Try being more specific so we can help you

How you plan to travel in France can also affect your decision. Rural France is not that well serviced by public transportation.

The time of year you are visiting is also a major factor, although I suppose that you are less fearful of cold weather than many of the people on this site.

I prefer northern cities like Amiens, Metz, Strasbourg or Nancy, but they seem to be poison to many Fodorites.

If we asked YOU this same question about Russia, how would YOU respond? There's a lot of Russia outside Moscow.

I think we are all looking forward to being able to plan travel again! I am not a citizen but my daughter lived in Paris and Nice for a while. In the South of France, she loved Menton, Villafrance-sur-Mer and Antibes. These towns might all be too popular for you, as they are not off the beaten path. In Northwestern France, she loved Annecy, Strasbourg and Colmars, also all popular. The popular towns are popular for a reason! ;) Happy Planning!

[QUOTE=kerouac;17156842
I prefer northern cities like Amiens, Metz, Strasbourg or Nancy, but they seem to be poison to many Fodorites.[/QUOTE]

What threads are these? Most of the posts I’ve read about Strasbourg and Nancy are quite complimentary. I can’t recall any where people disliked those places enough for their views to meet the description of “poison”.

You might like the Alsace region, famous for wine and views of the Alps. North of that area is Metz and some of kerouac's places and certainly they can be very pretty. You might also like Normany especially for the cidre, cheese and fresh marine fish. Le Mans is a lively Roman city with much of the wall still standing and a major car racing stadium to the south. The Bordeaux has a massive shopping area, famous for its Red and sweat white wines it can be a little laid back but it has great beaches and sea food.

Just a starter to wet your appetite

I am basing my comment on all of the people who say that visitors should exclusively go south from Paris -- and there are very many of them here.

Since I particularly recommend the cities that I mentioned (and also Lille) out of season and often in the dead of winter, I have met enormous resistance here, even though the northern cities are completely alive during the winter when almot all of the south of France is completely devoid of all activity.

Our two favorite regions in France are Provence & the Dordogne. Followed by the Cote d'Azur, Languedoc, and Brittany.

"In Northwestern France, she loved Annecy, Strasbourg and Colmars,"

In case tho OP wants to look up these cities - the one in Northern France/Alsace is Colmar. Colmars is in the Alps just south of Barcelonnette.

Stu Dudley

Just for clarification, Annecy is in southeastern France while Strasbourg and Colmar are in northeastern France.

I also enjoyed Nancy and Metz.

I would recommend the places which i have visited and i liked. The places which i impressed on me much. That's all. I would never recommend the thing which i didn't try.

ah, but we all go on holiday for different things, I like to go where I can cycle and taste wine, others might like to white-water raft and visit casinos.

Then there are the people who don't even make it out the door of the hotel until 11 am....