Degas

Taking my two college kids (19 & 21) to Europe in late May 03 for 14 days. Have already seen Paris twice and wanted to do a good mix of different experiences: big city, small towns, lakes, mountains, and countryside. Plan to use train/bus transportation. Interested in hiking, bike riding, photography, art, history, old buildings, local markets, and trying new food and drink. Plan to fly into Milan and out of Lyon. Would appreciate comments on pace, ease of travel and suggested experiences/daytrips on our “first draft” schedule below:

Day 1 Lake Como (early PM arrival)
Day 2 Lake Como
Day 3 Lake Como
Day 4 Lake Como – Day trip to?
Day 5 Nice
Day 6 Nice
Day 7 Nice – Day trip to?
Day 8 Avignon
Day 9 Avignon
Day 10 Avignon – Day Trip to?
Day 11 Avignon – Day trip to?
Day 12 Lyon
Day 13 Lyon
Day 14 Lyon

rex

Day 4: Milan, Bergamo or Pavia

(and by the way, day 2 or 3: Vila Balbianello!!)

Day 7 - Monaco or St Paul en Vence

Day 10, 11 - Pont du Gard/Nimes or Arles or Orange (try to catch an actual performance some evening at le Theatre Antique) or Les Baux

Best wishes,

Rex
[email protected]

bobthenavigator

Hello Degas, You say you want small villages but you plan to stay in Nice and Lyon--hardly small. I would opt for either Menton or Villefranche rather than Nice, and I would hit Annecey rather than Lyon. Your day trip options are Lugano, St. Paul de Vence, and Les Baux. However, you have too much time in Provence--how do you plan to get around without a car in Provence?

Degas

Thanks for the recommendations. I'll give Menton and Villefranche a look instead of Nice. Picked it just because it looked centrally located.
With Lake Como on the schedule I thought Annecy might be too similiar. However, it does look appealing. Drawback was flying out of Lyon in the morning. Looked like like I would have to spend the night prior to departure in Lyon. Pushed toward using trains because friends told us it was easy and cheap in the part of France. May look at renting a car for a few days. As far as having too much time in Provence, Avignon looked like it had enough to do for two days with the rest of the time for easy daytrips. I'm open to other suggestions.

bellairegirl

I would recommend a day trip to Lugano from Lake Como. (I actually did it the other way around; I was staying in Lugano and took a day trip to Lake Como.) This will give you a taste of Switzerland (albeit with an Italian flavor). I would take a short ferry ride from Lugano to either Gandria or Morcote.

lafrancaise

I think you are spending way too many days in Avignon. The city itself with the Palais du Pape and its environs can be seen in one day. I would concur with Rex and choose another Provence city - Nimes was nice - and then catch a bus to Pont du Gard. Also, I made Orange my base and then took a bus to St. Remy de Provence to explore Vincent Van Gogh's area and the Roman ruins there. Also, definitely try to go to Vaison-la-Romaine with its remarkable Roman ruins, nearly all intact, and its unqie walled Medieval city up on the hill, separated by an old Roman bridge. Bon voyage!

lafrancaise

I think you are spending way too many days in Avignon. The city itself with the Palais du Pape and its environs can be seen in one day. I would concur with Rex and choose another Provence city - Nimes was nice - and then catch a bus to Pont du Gard. Also, I made Orange my base and then took a bus to St. Remy de Provence to explore Vincent Van Gogh's area and the Roman ruins there. Also, definitely try to go to Vaison-la-Romaine with its remarkable Roman ruins, nearly all intact, and its unique walled Medieval city up on the hill, separated by an old Roman bridge. They have a wonderful weekday market there with lots of great food to eat and enjoy. Bon voyage!

Degas

RE: lafrancaise

Are you saying to skip Avignon or just stay only two nights and then a couple of nights in say Nimes or Orange?

Thanks

Judy

Nimes and Orange are not really far enough from Avignon to warrant a move. If you are using Avignon as a base there are several daytrips you can do without packing up and moving....Nimes, Orange, the Luberon, Arles, St. Remy, Vaison la Romaine.

Degas

topping

Lexma90

Are your kids involved in choosing these destinations? They doesn't necessarily sound like places young people would choose, and while there's some history and art, there's less than in other areas. For example, not too much history/art in Lake Como. History, but mostly of the Roman kind, and less art, in the Avignon area. Lyon, I'm not familiar with.

I know lots and lots of people like Lake Como, but (and I visited it in my late 20s) my husband and I didn't find it that interesting, though it was of course beautiful. Consider what you would do while there. I think there's hiking in the area, but you should check on that.

I'm not sure that anywhere else on your trip are places for hiking or bike riding.

I would definitely say rent a car for the Provence portion; it's much the easiest way to get around. We spent 3 days wandering around Provence in our rental car, taking lovely back roads. And with 3 drivers, nobody will get tired of driving.

Avignon is nice for a half-day visit. I prefer Arles to stay in; it's a bit smaller, but still enough restaurants for a good choice. For Avignon, depending on where you stay, keep in mind the time and hassle getting your car in and out of the city. Another possibility for a centrally-located base is St. Remy, which has a fantastic weekly market. It's a lot smaller than Arles or Avignon, though.

Here are some further thoughts:
Orange - the theater there is worth some time
Pont du Gard - my pretty blase husband insisted on going here (I'd seen it on a previous trip without him), and he was awed. I think I recall there are canoe rentals there.
Arles - Sometimes there's bull-fighting (the non-bloody kind) here.
We spent a leisurely day driving on scenic roads from St. Remy east to Roussilon, Gordes (prettier from the outside), Bonnieux and some other villages I can't remember the names of.

Degas

Thanks for the continued feedback. The kids are not much help in selecting places to go. Its been pretty much an attitude of "Anyplace will be great - we trust you dad" They do want to reduce the mumber of moves and use just a couple of bases to explore a region before moving on.