I am planning our 25+/- night vacation beginning in Corsica and ending in France. This is a very rough itinerary. We are planning on renting a car for most of the trip. If you have any suggestions, it would be much appreciated. Our goal is to have the best weather in Corsica for snorkelling, swimming, kayaking, etc. so Corsica will be our first stop. For Provence and Burgundy the goal is to do some cycling, wine tasting, experiencing quiet, quaint villages. We tend to enjoy a slow(ish) pace when we travel taking time to experience the culture, scenery, picnics, lovely cycling mostly on trail - not busy roads, water sports, wine on our Gite patio, etc.
Mid September Fly Edmonton to Paris
Fly to Corsica OR Connect to fast train to Nice or Marseille
Fly to Bonaficio or other airport in Corsica (Still haven't decided where exactly but we know we want to spend some time in/near Bonaficio.
Spend 7-10 nights exploring Corsica with rental car.
Fly back to Marseille or Toulon to explore Provence (possibly stay near Avignon or Isle sur la Sorge)
(4-5 nights in Provence area)
Drive to Burgundy area with a 4-5 night stay in Beaune or split 2-3 nights in each of Beaune and somewhere along the route to Beaune and then 2-3 in Beaune
Return car rental and Train to Paris for 2-3 nights with overnight trip to le Mont-St. Michel.
Fly home to Yeg from PARIS.
*SOME OTHER areas we would love to visit but not sure if it would be too much for this particular trip: Lake Annecy, Loire Valley (maybe Blois to do some day cycling), Perros-Guirec for some seaside time.
We are open to doing some driving and some train travel.
Thanking you in advance for nything you could add/simplify/suggest/etc.
Posted by
Long Beach, Ca, usa
1162 posts
AlbertaMax,
If you spend ten days on Corsica, that leaves up to 15 days in the other parts of France, before subtracting a day for travel from Corsica to wherever in the mainland you select, so 14 days for all the places you would like to see...Provence, Burgundy, Mont St Michel and Paris. This part sounds very rushed, with too much time transiting from place to place.
Try 7 nights in Corsica (6 full days)
One day transiting to someplace in Provence. (I recommend Arles or St. Remy de Provence over Avignon or Isle-sur-la-Sorgue, but that is just my preference.) Give yourself 4 full days (5 nights) to explore the many villages and sights in the area. This brings you through night 12. On day 13 drive to Burgundy area (Beaune is lovely) and spend 4 nights there (3 more full days). Now we are through night 16. Day 17 would be going to Mont St Michel. This would take a full day. Spend one night there to enjoy the morning on the Mont (night 17). If you leave Mont St Michel around mid-day the next day (day 18), you could head to Paris by way of Bayeux/Honfleur/Rouen/Giverny, or by way of the Loire Valley....there are several places you could head for on your way to Paris. You still have a week before leaving on day 25. Just be sure to be in Paris or the airport area the night before your flight home (night 24). You can drop your car the last day outside of Paris and take the train in. (Driving in the city is horrible, IMO, plus parking is a pain, and pricy.)
Fyi, taking the train from Burgundy area to Mont St Michel means going through Paris, so you could drop the car in the Burgundy area (Beaune or Dijon, e.g.), train to Paris, and go on to Mont St Michel for 2 nights, then back to Paris. (I believe you need to change train stations to do this.) Or stay in Paris with an overnight trip to the Mont. (It is really not very doable as a day trip.)
One other thing...if driving from Beaune to Mont St Michel, you might check the route to see if you could stop for an hour or so at Fontenay Abbey...beautiful and impressive!
I hope I have been of some help with my suggestions.
Have a wonderful time!
Posted by
Seattle, WA
357 posts
Have you thought about cycling more, taking the train for longer distances, e.g., Provence to Burgundy or Burgundy to Paris and not renting a car at all?
Last year, we spent 30 days in France that included a week of biking in the Dordogne and another week of biking in the Loire. “Self-guided tours,” meaning we biked 40 or 50 km a day, sometimes more, sometimes less and the bags were moved by taxi from hotel to hotel (or B&B). All travel was on very quiet back roads and farm roads. The vendor we chose arranged bike rentals from a local shop, charming hotels (we typically stayed in 3-star hotels as we requested), luggage transfers, routes, and supplied maps and GPS connections that kept us on route. The other two weeks of our trip were in cities (Bordeaux to begin, Nantes (to visit someone we know), Chartres, Versailles and five nights in Paris at the end) via trains.
You could do your Provence travel by bike for those four or five days, perhaps, if you focused on a relatively discrete area, such as the Avignon-Isle sur le Sorgue and the Luberon or Cotes Du Rhone-Avignon-Arles. And then another 4 to 5 days through Burgundy.
Such bike tours can be arranged everywhere throughout France. SEE https://www.freewheelingfrance.com/ for tons of information and possibilities in all parts of France through numerous vendors. This is a well organized website and easy to use. freewheeling is a British woman’s labor of love and it is a great resource. You will find many trips to choose from and vendors are often willing to modify their suggested trips to suit your needs.
Whatever you finally choose, Bon Vacance!