Weather & Hotels
 

My husband and I are beginning research & planning for our first trip to France. Hoping for some help from you to get us started. What is the best time of year to visit France with regards to weather & least crowds? Besides Paris, we'd like to visit a few small country villages, and tour the wine country. Which villages would you suggest & why? Also, need recommendations for clean, mid-priced accomodations in Paris and villages. We've always dreamed of visiting France and want to make this trip memorable. Thanks in advance for your help!

Having lived there, I think September is the nicest time for decent weather and less crowds. Having said that, weather changes, and you never know what to expect. We were in Paris 2 years ago in July, and it was rainy and cold. I've been to Paris in March during a heat-wave.

We just returned from Paris. We stayed at the Quality Hotel Pierre Arc d'Triomphe. The rooms were typically small, but very nicely furnished and very clean - nice bathrooms. Friendly helpful staff. We had a corner room which was a bit larger than the room our friends had down the hall. I checked prices for this hotel through several reservations services and through the Quality Inn 800 number. Most quoted about $150/night without breakfast. We reserved through USAirways Travel Service and got it for $134/night including breakfast. It is in a quiet residential neighborhood which was almost silent at night. About a block and a half to the Metro station - very convenient.

Tour the wine country of Burgundy, just one great village after another. We stayed in the country at Chateau de Messey. (they serve a great dinner) Web site: http://www.demessey.com/

My then-boyfriend-now-husband and I went on our first trip to France last May and we found the cutest hotel at a very good location through Frommers Paris from $75 a Day guidembook - Hotel du Globe located in St. Germain. At night we opened the windows and the breeze was nice. The street sounds were a low buzz to sleep to. The Louvre wasn't crowded and we only spotted tourists now and then. Notre Dame, though, was brimming with so many people all my photographs have other people's heads in them. When travelling to Beaune and Avignon we encountered a few other Americans ("ugly Americans" I might ad) on the train, but the cities were pretty deserted. Avignon ad Orange were hot at night without a/c in the hotel. Overall, I recommend going in May. It felt like we were discovering France all by ourselves before the rest of the world got there.

Thanks for the great tips, keep 'em coming!