asykes1

I am planning to drive with my boyfriend from Paris to Biarritz in July - it will take one week. We would like to stay in nice places along the way, relax on the coast, and eat delicious food. I thought the following itinerary makes sense.

July 31-Aug 2: Normandy/Deauville
Aug 2-3: La Rochelle
Aug 3-5: Bordeaux
Aug 5-6: Dunes de Pilat

I would LOVE any suggestions on other areas we should visit, and more importantly, where we should stay and eat. All advice welcomed - thanks!

cigalechanta

In French Basque country we stayed the the beautiful village of Ainhoa at the Hotel Ithurria. If you are driving to Biarritz where we stayed at the Clare de Lune (no restaurant) You shold enter Spain to see the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao. The food is very good there.

Robert2533

You didn't mention the type of accommodations your looking for. There are a number of great places to stay along the coast between Deauville and the Pays Basque region, but very few of them will have any openings during this period. There are also very few places with air-conditioning, which you might want in late July, early August.

Let us have a little more information on what you're looking for and your budget, and someone might be able to point you in the right direction. Otherwise, you might want to visit the gites-de-france web site, or the guides de charme web site for a little more upscale accommodations.

Also, that is a very long drive to make inside of a week and actually enjoy the countryside. You may want to reconsider.

RonZ

Suggest you use mappy for planning driving routes, realizing that time estimates will be less accurate for secondary roads than for the autoroutes.

asykes1

Robert - I'd love more advice. My boyfriend and I have gotten a bit more specific about where we are staying and I hope the places we've chosen are good. If anyone has thoughts, please let me know:

1) first two nights: Royal Barriere (in Deauville, Normandia) - I am wondering if it would be better to stay in Honfleur though?

2) Next two nights: Congnac/Bordeaux region - Chateaux Mirambeau (and we plan on doing a day trip prior to arrival in Mt. St. Michelle)

3) Next two nights: stay in Bordeaux region at Les Sources de Caudalie. Make a day trip to Dunes de Pilat while there.

How does this sound?

StCirq

The Dune de Pylat is only a 30-minute drive from Bordeaux, probably not worth changing hotels, etc., to see it. Just do it as a brief day trip from Bordeaux, combined with Arcachon and Cap Ferret.

StCirq

The Dune de Pylat is only a 30-minute drive from Bordeaux, probably not worth changing hotels, etc., to see it. Just do it as a brief day trip from Bordeaux, combined with Arcachon and Cap Ferret.

While in La Rochelle, be sure to go out to Ile de Ré, if only briefly.

If you do a search here on Bordeaux and La Rochelle, you'll find plenty of suggestions for hotels and restaurants.

I have a file on Bordeaux as well. If you'd like it, e-mail me at [email protected].

Robert2533

The Royal Barriere in Deauville is quite nice, but I haven't been there since 1995. I would take a closer look at the village of Honfleu as you might find it to be a bit more charming, but without the jet-set crowd.

I can't comment much on the Chateaux Mirambeau (one of the classics) and Les Sources de Caudalie since we haven't stayed either one of them, but both are very nice with everything you could want, but I don't believe either is air-conditioned, which I'd highly recommend in early August as tends to get very hot and humid in the summer time in the Bordeaux region. It's also what helps make the wine as good as is.

We tend to stay at smaller, boutique style hotels and B&B's as often as possible and have reservations at Edouard VII (http://hotel-edouardvii.com/) in Biarritz this summer in mid-July. It's a small hotel within easy walking distance of the beach (10 minutes), far less expensive than the Hotel du Palais and it's air-conditioned.

asykes1

actually chateau mirambeau is completely air conditioned (according to its website). I am not sure about caudalie though....it is a good point.