Littlefrenchbird

Hi all,

Planning 2 weeks meandering (by car) through Southern France and trying to come up with an itinerary. I've already done Paris and Normandy and want to explore the south now, though I'm not necessarily interested in the Riviera itself - definitely want to do part of Provence, but what else.....?

What is your favourite little French town and why?

THANKS!!

StuDudley

Why not the Riveria? If you get a little inland from the coast, there are dozens & dozens of "gems".

Define "south of France??
Provence, of course, along with the Languedoc & Roussillon, Pyrenees, Pays Basque.

How about the Aveyron, Perigord, Lot, Quercy?

How about Entrevaux, Colmars, Embrun, St Veran, & Briancon in the Alps?

Stu Dudley

Underhill

Our favorite little French town is Dieulefit, in the Drôme region. It's little known to the tourist trade, close to the potteries that produce the region's well known yellow tableware, and near any number of medieval perched villages. Dieulefit makes a good stop on the way to the olive town of Nyons and the Roman town of Vaison-la-Romaine. The area leading from the autoroute to Dieulefit is ablaze with lavender in the summer months.

Our favorite place to stay is Les Hospitaliers, a fine little hotel/restaurant in the medieval village of Le Poët-Laval--it's about 5 miles from Dieulefit. Nothing beats dinner outside on the terrace, watching the stars come out above the quiet valley.

Littlefrenchbird

StuDudley: south of France to me is literally the bottom half of the country. I'm not much of a beach/waterfront person so I don't want to spend much time on the south coast. But I'd love to hear more about those "gems" a little bit inland I'll definitely check out all the towns you've mentioned.

Underhill: Dieulefit sounds great and is on our way (part II of our trip is Switzerland).

Thank you both.

Anyone else?

StuDudley

Is your request just for "general" information, or for your specific "meander"? How about villages in the Pays Basque on the Atlantic coast - farther south than Nice, but 7 hrs away from Provence and 12 hrs from Interlaken Switzerland. How about the Dordogne???

If this is for your meander, perhaps describe your general route and I'll post some of my favorite "cute little villages" - but I'll have to do it tomorrow.

Stu Dudley

tom18

Check out Frejus, founded by Romans.

Michael

There's a book by Michael Busselle titled <u>Discovering the Villages of France</u>. That could give you some ideas of which villages to see. This might also be useful: http://www.villagesdefrance.free.fr/

cigalechanta

The South of France, has so many places I enjoyed,
The Cathar country, the Perche villages. Uzes in the Gard,,
The Camargue,The Corbieres, Perpignan, The list is amazing what to see. Read up what might appeal to you.

FrenchMystiqueTours

In addition to the recommendations you'll get here I think you should get a good guidebook or two. Many people like Michelin Green Guide or DK Eyewitness Guide. To estimate your drive times there are many websites you can use. I use viamichelin and it will give you info on drive times and distances, toll and fuel costs and suggested routes. Keep in mind that the drive times do not consider stops (food/gas/bathrooms) and do not consider bad traffic and weather.

The other very important thing is to have good maps. I prefer Michelin maps and you should get the ones with a scale of 1:200,000. They are full of icons for all kinds of touristically and historically interesting things such as châteaux, churches, abbeys, ruins, caves, megaliths, designated scenic roads and lots more. Many of these noted icons will not be mentioned in guidebooks and you can incorporate them into your drives as you wander throughout a region.

StCirq

I think trying to plan a trip around what villages strangers on a travel forum think are "cute" is a backwards approach. First of all, the "South of France" is a huge area, encompassing a large variety of completely disparate regions and cultures. Second, there are thousands and thousands of "cute villages." I love St-Geniès, St-Salvétat, Saint Férriol, Brousse-le-Château, Arcangue, St-Chamassy, and many, many more, but they're all over the map and might not hold any appeal to you at all. I think the better way to go is to arm yourself with books and maps and, first, figure out what part of the south of France you're most interested in visiting (there's WAY more than Provence), then research what looks to be a logical route from point a to point b and get to know what villages along the way or nearby might appeal to you. You can test them out here to see who's been and liked them.

Rosiekins

Once you arrive at your destination, talk with local people for tips of places to visit. When we visited Provence, the French couple who own the B&B where we stayed suggested we visit Goult (one of their favorite villages) and see Gordes only from the road (more touristy, especially when we were visiting in August). They were right on for every one of their tips! We did the same thing last year in the Dordogne - asked our "landlady" for suggestions. We enjoyed a lovely marche at St. Cyprien, the village of Limeuil, and Les Jardins du Manior d'Eyrignac - places we had read about but hadn't decided to visit. All were excellent suggestions.

StuDudley

I second St Cirq's recommendation. You'll find cute & interesting villages everywhere in France - we have. First, determine your general driving route and the regions you want to cover. Then I'll suggest villages that we've enjoyed along that route. It would be a waste of my time to post about villages in the Pays Basque, Pyrenees, Dordogne, Lot - if you are only traveling in Provence.

Stu Dudley

bmw732002

Check out this wonderful trip report!

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...blue-skies.cfm

NO not mine......but I wish.....

-john

FrenchMystiqueTours

^^ But it is mine. Thanks John!

Viajero2

I loved Montauroux and Callian-- about an hour from NICE, which I also ADORE! These are two medieval hilltop small villages, at some point both have been on the Short List of Prettiest Villages in France. They are small, historical, not overcrowded with tourists, nice locals, beautiful surroundings. Christian Dior lived in Montauroux for a number of years and you can still see his chateau from the side of the road.

TPAYT

One of our favorites is Tourrettes-sur-Loup.

http://www.beyond.fr/villages/tourrettesloup.html

It was a beautiful drive up there from the coast and a charming village with unusual shops. Oh, I can't forget Tom's Ice Cream Shop----the best lavender ice cream I've ever had anywhere.

Littlefrenchbird

Thanks everyone, that's great.

I know I'm asking about a pretty big geographical area but that's just it - I'm trying to narrow my focus down to a few regions based on recommendations. I have guidebooks as well.

StuDudley: All I know is that I'm starting in Limoges and ending in Chamonix. Once I've determined a few choice areas to see, I'll connect the dots so to speak...

StuDudley

Thats a pretty large area. Best plan to cover that region is to spend no more than 1 or 2 nights in one hotel/B&B - although most people (including us) prefer to stay in an area for more time than that (we usually like 2 to 4 weeks in one spot).

If your plan is to concentrate on interesting towns & small villages (less than 85,000), I'll see if I can come up with a recommended route & name some towns & villages.

Stu Dudley

Littlefrenchbird

Stu: that's very generous of you. I think we have different travel styles - for me the driving part is half the enjoyment... I like to stop often and look around, and I'm quite happy to land in a different place every night (or every other night).

TPayt: Tourrettes-sur-Loup looks wonderful and probably going on my list.... thanks

iris1745

Michael already gave you something similar, but review this site. http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Most_beaut...rench_villages