I am coming to Paris again and am spending a week, and then traveling to Nantes to visit friends for a few days... we have 3 weeks to spend in France and was wondering what were some of your 2nd favorites to Paris? I have been through the Normandy area, and I have also been to several places along the French Riviera... SO?? Thoughts? In the book that I have, Annecy looks quite adorable? Also thoughts on the Loire Valley?
Things we enjoy... medieval towns, museums, sidewalk cafe culture, easy places to wander, vineyards, cute architecture, chateaux, cathedrals...
Thanks for any advice.
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There are thousands of possible places, from big towns to small medieval villages..
big towns that I like: Lille, Strasbourg (both have buildings that aren%26#39;t French in style as these towns only became French late in their history), Lyon, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Marseille..
In your case I would suggest Rennes as it isn%26#39;t far from Nantes and has an interesting old town.
medium twons: Arles, Aix, Nimes, Sarlat..Le Puy.
small towns: Carcassonne (the modern town below the walled city on a hill, by the way, was built in the Middle Ages, and yes they built towns with streets at straight angle from one another in those days), Provins, Dijon, Troyes ..all 3 near Paris..
Rocamadour, Chinon..
You need to be very realistic so will need to look at a map of France first then see how accessible they are from one another by train without backtracking and how much it will cost. Same if you rent a car...side road take lots of time, big highways have tolls , gas is expensive (nearly 3 times higher than in the USA)
It is also more interesting to stay in a town for at least 3-4 days and get to know it well rather than doing 1 town each day
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3CONILS... Thanks so much. Yes, I have been studying the map all weekend, trying to decide what to do in addition to my one week in Paris, and 4 to 5 days in Nantes. I have also been looking at trains versus car rental. I would prefer to do the train thing... no problem with renting a car for the day here or there, but in general, don%26#39;t really want to get around by car. Yes, I agree, I want to spend more than just a day somewhere.
Does anyone have any suggestion on what would be the best base to explore the Loire Valley?
Thanks again :)
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Just returned from Paris %26amp; loved the Loire valley. Amboise was nice (the chateau %26amp; chapel were great)and Chenonceau was really beautiful. Have lunch at the L%26#39;Orangerie restaurant on site, if you can. We also liked Barbizon, great for a relaxing day %26amp; close to Fountainebleu. Very cute town with lots of lovely cafes.
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After Paris I perfer to go into the countryside. It makes an nice change from the big city.
The Loire Valley is great and has pretty much everything on your list.
It%26#39;s too big to cover from a single base however and a car is pretty much a must.
I spent 8 days there split between b%26amp;bs in Blois and Chinon and loved both towns. I like the small towns as opposed to being out on a farm somewhere
Blois didn%26#39;t seem touristy at all and has a very walkable (if hilly) market/shopping city center. Market day was great also (Saturday). It%26#39;s chateaux is worth a visit and it a great proximity to Chambord and Cheverny.
I can highly recommend the B%26amp;B La Petite Fugue www.lapetitefugue.com Great location, charming owners, with custom full breakfasts.
Chinon is smaller and older - a maze of streets to wander around in. The castle was closed for renovations when I was there but it didn%26#39;t matter. From Chinon I was able to range out to: Villandry, Azay-le-Rideau, Langeais, and Fontevraud Abbey
I strongly recommend you mix seeing large and small chateaux, they have a much different flavor.
There is a good website chateaux-de-la-loire.fr/list_of_castles.htm that lists all the chateaux along with links to further information.
They also rate the chateaux (1 to 4 fleur-de-lis) and from the 10 or so that I saw I feel they nailed the ratings dead on.
Amboise seems very overrated - I don%26#39;t understand why so many folks go there.
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Thank you so much...
I will check into Blois and Chinon, both were on my list. I will also check out your B%26amp;B recommendation.
Have any of you done many vineyard tours in addition to the Chateaux?
It looks like traveling from Nantes, we could hit many cute towns all the way to Blois. Saumur looks very appealing too. My map shows many references to vineyards, so interested in places along the way that would be the most interesting in that general area.
I suppose I am getting off base enough that I should post this in a different forum, but was just wondering what Paris lovers... like myself... also love doing outside of Paris. I could spend the entire 3 weeks in Paris and be content, but my husband wants to experience some other areas, and I am fine with that too.
Thanks for all your help, and any more ideas are appreciated.
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What time of year is your visit?
I went to Annecy in June and it was fantastic.A great time of year to enjoy the lake,pedal boats, bike riding and a trip to Semnoz (alpine scenery) on the bus.
I also enjoy Strasbourg and Bordeaux.My son%26#39;s favourite is Dijon.
Of all of these Bordeaux might be in the right direction for you but get to Annecy one day and judge for yourself.
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Hi there,
Read all suggestions to your query and there are lot%26#39;s of gret ideas.
My main point would be as you have about nine days after subtracting Paris and your friends:
CHOOSE ONE REGION AND SPEND YOUR TIME VISITING TOWNS/VILLAGES/NATURAL WONDERS IN THAT AREA.
Of course the Loire region would be great - its towns and chateaux are spectacular. Another region could be Alsace - Strasbourg/Colmar and Riquwihr are all fantastic.
A third region would be the Dordogne/Lot - nine days would be perfect to visit a region rich in history/medieval villages/caves/stunning river scenery and great food. We will be going there for two weeks in September/October and have found many ideas on TA - also just purchased a guide book of the region for as we know it quite well there are still so many charming places that are hidden away and we needed to find out about these. If you require more info on this region - just ask - many TA experts will pitch in!
Best regards.
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%26quot;medium twons: Arles, Aix, Nimes, Sarlat..Le Puy.
small towns: Carcassonne (the modern town below the walled city on a hill, by the way, was built in the Middle Ages, and yes they built towns with streets at straight angle from one another in those days), Provins, Dijon, Troyes ..all 3 near Paris..
Rocamadour, Chinon..%26quot;
Dijon and Troyes must have at least three times as many inhabitants as Sarlat or Le Puy which are actually tiny provincial towns.
Carcassonne is supposed to be mediaeval but has actually been heavily %26quot;restored%26quot; in the 19th Century by Viollet le Duc, plus it%26#39;s tourist tack hell - think Montmartre x 10. I wouldn%26#39;t recommend it personally.
Lesser known mediaeval towns, but much more worth the visit than Carcassonne: Pérouges (near Bourg en Bresse, Ain), Noyers-sur-Serein (Yonne, close to Auxerre, but car needed to get there), Dinan in Brittany, between Rennes and Saint-Malo.
The %26quot;cute architecture%26quot; concept makes the mind boggle, but I guess any major French city has at least an old part of it that would qualify for what I can vaguely fathom this strange notion to be.
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It this really a question about my 10th favorite town in France, or are you presupposing Paris is everyone%26#39;s favorite?
Loches is my favorite town in France, Bayeaux and Tours run it a close second. I was in Nemours and Montargis yesterday and they look pretty reasonable from a tourist point of view as well. Blois is good, and so is Caen. Poitiers is a neat little town, as is Limoges.
Don%26#39;t know about the south of France - they%26#39;re all foreign down there and you can%26#39;t drink the water ;¬)
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