For me, one of the best things about travel in France is the opportunity to see contrasting regions.
Are you going to Bordeaux because of an interest in wine, or for another reason? My reaction to Bordeaux was that it was a fairly large city, and I was little diasappointed. On the other hand, St. Emilion, which is fairly close, was more what I had in mind—- a small town on a hill, vineyards nearby…
How will you be traveling? Entirely by rail, or will you be able to rent a car at times? And when will you be in France?

My favorite region in France is Bretagne/Normandie, Dinan’s a nice city there. But what i like best about France is travelling all over, and visit small towns everywhere. It gives you the best impression of what France is really like.

Especially if you rent a car, there are many great places in France. Here is what I did…

4 days in Paris – my favorite European city

A few hours in Rouen – a neat little old town, famous for having burned Joan of Arc at the stake.

A few hours around Normandy – the driving is very scenic, the beaches are very sobering.

A day at Mont St. Michel – a tour of the old abbey is great. Walking around the "island" is incredible in the early morning, whe no one is around.

A few hours at Chateau Villandry in Loire Valley – I didn’t even go in the Chateau, as the extensive gardens are the main attraction

A few hours at Oradour Sur Glane – a small town that was wiped out by Germans, but the ruins have been left as a memorial and a reminder

A day canoeing on the Dordogne river near Sarlat – some of the small towns are sorta neat, but a bit touristy. I found the Dordogne to be much more scenic than the Rhine.

A day in the walled city of Carcassonne – some people probably find this city to be pretty touristy, but it is great to walk around it at night, when there aren’t that many people around

A few hours at WWI sights in the Somme valley – again, pretty sobering. And for someone who didn’t know a lot about WWI, it was also very informative.

Many of these sites are hard to get to without a car. A few bigger places that are near Paris that I really liked are Bruges (a well perserved medieval town) and Brussels (which remined of Paris a bit, only smaller), both in Belgium. If you want any more info, let me know. There are also all the beach towns in the South of France, but I didn’t go to any of those. For whatever it is worth, most people I know found Bordeaux to be very boring. Maybe serious wine fanatics really like the place, I don’t know.

Provence!!!!

The above itinerary for Normady is in fact amazing. Do it just the way the writer put it. Breathtaking!!

Provence is also amazing. Avignon, south to Nimes, etc. Lots of medieval stuff along with Roman architecture.

My reccomendation is to go from Provence into the French Alps. The Chamonix region is breathtaking with lots of views and hiking.

France is beautiful anywhere you go. Just remember that you can’t see it all at once and to concentrate on one region along with at least 3-5 days in Paris. I’ve been there twice for a combined 7 days and I still haven’t seen the Louvre or Notre Dame. There’s so much to do!!

I like the advice that you’ve received. I’ll try to ention a few other places to think about: Alsace (Stasbourg and Colmar), Burgundy (Dijon and especially Beaune), Lyon, Beaujolais (only if you have a car), the Alps, Annecy, and one place along the Med. coast (if you’re near Carcassonne, that place could be Collioure; otherwise perhaps Nice or, even better, one of the nearby towns such as Juan-les-Pins or Antibes).
Obviously, you won’t be able to go everywhere, but try to design your trip to take advantage of contrasts between regions, and to include some of the small towns in France.

Paris is beautiful, one of my favourite cities…keep it on your list!
Strasbourg is an interesting city, I thought that it was very German..being on the borders thats quite obvious but the influence was amazing! They also have the best scnapps I ever tasted!

Normandie is gorgeous, I loved visiting Bayeux and seeing the tapestrey, the DDay beaches were also amazing…Arromanches les Bains especially.

This xmas/new year I visited friends who are now living in Normandie, whilst there we visited La Chapelle Montligeon…which I highly reccommend its a small village with the most magnificent church I ever saw! We stayed in the small village of Remalard, which to be honest doesnt offer much…except that its located in the stunning Commune du parc du perche…a beautiful area.

Ive been to Lille and thought that it was quite ordinary and boring!

I second Britanny. My favourites were Vannes and the Morbihan coast, and Nantes (actually that’s in another region now, but it’s the historical capital of Britanny).

I actually thought Lille was very nice, but I’ve only been there for a few hours.

Im friends with a few of the foriegn exchange students that frequent my work, and they have suggested that I visit St. Topez (sp) if I wanted to visit someplace beautiful that is a little off the beaten path. I lived in Toulouse for a few months and I thought that place was gorgeous as well, if your into the red brick architecture, etc.
I second a day trip to Rouen though, its worth one day on your itinerary IMHO….hope this was of any help!

Normandy

I would also suggest the area around Toulouse – a very nice French village area, with larger cities nearby (Nice, Marseilles, Cannes), villages with history (Rennes-le-Chateau was my favorite), and easy access into Andorra and Spain, right through the Pyranees, and Monaco and Italy further towards the Alps. At least you’d know there’s a lot to see and do in that small corner of the country.

Check out Lonely Planet or World Travel Tips at http://www.worldtrav… for more France ideas, and ideas on the neighboring countries.

N….

quote: My reaction to Bordeaux was that it was a fairly large city, and I was little diasappointed.

Me too,
I’d rather recommend going to see Dune de Pilat (near Bordeaux), Arcachon or other areas in the close nearby.
Radu[url=‘http://www.outdoorholiday.com’ title=‘Hiking in Transylania’]Hiking in Carpathians Mountains[/url]

Depending or what you are mainly looking for, I’d say not to miss Bretagne, Loire’s Valley or the Alps. As I am a keen mountaineer, I really enjoyed the Alps (Massif d’Ecrans).
About the coties, Lyon is the one I like the most. Full of culture, painted walls, a great Parc de la Tete d’Or and relaxing environment (a hilly area that you can hike/walk for a couple of hours)

All best,
Radu[url=‘http://www.outdoorholiday.com’ title=‘Hiking Vacations in Eastern Europe’]Hiking in Carpathians[/url]

There’s a region in SW France called the Perigord-Dordogne. It’s got a lot of romanesque stuff still in pretty good shape. There are a lot of rivers. It’s nice.

Thanks for all the advice. It’s a lot to think about. All I have to do is plan the route now. I’m going along the southern coast of France from Italy through to Spain, and then back into France from San Sebastian. I’ll be heading back to London from Paris. I intend on travelling by either trains or buses, so I will be limited with some places. I have officially taken Bordeaux off my list (I’m in no way a wine fanatic.. I don’t even like to drink it) so that has saved me some wasted time!

quote:
I like the advice that you’ve received. I’ll try to ention a few other places to think about: Alsace (Stasbourg and Colmar), Burgundy (Dijon and especially Beaune), Lyon, Beaujolais (only if you have a car), the Alps, Annecy, and one place along the Med. coast (if you’re near Carcassonne, that place could be Collioure; otherwise perhaps Nice or, even better, one of the nearby towns such as Juan-les-Pins or Antibes). Obviously, you won’t be able to go everywhere, but try to design your trip to take advantage of contrasts between regions, and to include some of the small towns in France.

oh yes, annecy. i went paragliding there, above the lake, when i was 11. trust me, you have to do that sometime. its the most beautiful thing ever. so if youre in the alps, go paragliding!