90 Days in France - on my way

Have a wonderful trip! Check in every once in awhile and let us know how it is going.

Hi Debbie, just checked travel.state.gov and you can travel visa free if your stay is UNDER 90 days. I would then allow another day or two in case of a cancelled flight, etc. You also want to make sure your passport is good for three months upon your return home.
Have you checked your airlines passport validity rule? Some have a six month requirement so please check to avoid interruptions in your travel plans.
My suggestions between Lyon to Marseille is to sleep in Avignon and visit Pont du Gard, Nimes, Uzes, Orange and Cotes du Rhône wine road.

I second a stop in Provence. I might suggest Arles as a base also.

Have a wonderful trip debbie!

I recommend staying in St Remy, a wonderful, charming small town near Avignon and Arles. We were there in Sept and loved it.

Seconding Susan's suggestion of St. Remy -- great place to base and to absorb the ambiance of a smaller town.

When are you leaving for France?

Thanks for the suggestions, I will check them out. I'm actually only staying 86 days, I understand the schengen 90 day limit on staying without a visa.

Five days is an excellent amount of time to spend in Provence.
I would suggest Avignon, as someone else has. It's a town but one that has a variety of sights to it.. I stayed in Avignon on at least two trips. From Avignon, it's possible to catch a train or bus to any other town or city for a daytrip; so it's a really good base for the Provence region. You can go to Nimes, Arles, Aix en Provence or many other Provencal locations.

Avignon also has a lot of history. There is the Palais des Papes (French Popes Palace) and some nice architecture. If you cross the river there is a beautiful monastery a walk up the hill (if I recall). The restaurants are varied (from traditional French to Vietnamese) and there are cafes and boutiques to browse.
If you're there on a Sunday morning and can leave town early, make your way to L'Isle Sur La Sorgue, a town with the most fantastic antique and bricant market. It fills up the whole town from 8am - 1pm. Afterwhich, the town goes to lunch and shuts down. Some decor shops and eateries are still open after the lunchtime for the rest of the day; but the antique, food and flea market is the best in Provence.

Love France! I went through Paris airport very quickly in December enroute back to the USA. They were having a transit strike; bad timing for me. I visited Lyon once; it is a very nice town. Pink! Bouchon cuisine (very hearty) and dishes using offal.

Bon voyage!

Follow the WHO and CDC guidelines and have a great trip.

I cancelled my trips.

Pointless spending almost 90 days there, with so much uncertainty. The atmosphere won’t be the same. Things are changing too rapidly. Better days will come.

We will meet some other time, Debbie. Bonne chance ❤️

I cancelled my plans yesterday. No point in testing fate. Tomorrow will be a better day.

Debbie and Ginger, I know you are very disappointed having to cancel your trips, but I think you have both made the necessary decision.

I hope you will be able to come at some time in the future.

An update to Ufkak’s posting above: France has not yet advanced to Stage 3, but Thursday evening 3/12, President Macron announced that all schools nationwide will close as of Monday 3/16 (without a predetermined end date for the closures); and yesterday the Prime Minister announced a prohibition on gatherings of more than 100 people, which means that the Louvre, Orsay, Eiffel Tower and Versailles are closed, and Disney Paris will close as of cob tomorrow (Sunday).

Debbie and Ginger, I’m sorry that you had to cancel your trips. I think you made the right choice.

Everything is closed - museums - everything. It was the right call for you to cancel.
Employers (such as mine) are restricting not only work travel, but also personal travel (within France) - for example, I cannot go from Avignon to Arles - it's serious.

andrew.reis, please don't make up facts and post them here. It is very irresponsible.

Unless you can find specific sources to back up your claim that 80-degree temps will stop the spread of this virus, you should delete your post.

I have found multiple sources that say only that warmer temps may slow the spread slightly, or that we just don't know yet.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/will-coronavirus-go-away-with-warm-weather/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/marshallshepherd/2020/02/27/will-spring-temperatures-stop-coronavirus/
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/coronavirus-warm-weather/
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/public-health/2020/03/03/will-warm-weather-help-slow-the-spread-of-coronavirus-in-texas/

To those that had to cancel your travel plans, I am very sorry and know how disappointing that must be. But it was absolutely the right choice given the developments even in the last few days. Perhaps, given some that were looking at a 90- day trip, things may calm down to where you can visit in a month or so and salvage at least part of you plans. Remaining flexible and positive is helpful right now. I wish you the best.