Beginning planning stages, seeking advise? Lavender Fields, Riviera and Paris

I'm planning a trip to France myself for next summer, but so far I've only been reading this forum. I look forward to everyone's suggestions in this thread.

You might research the Calanques near Cassis; the area sounds different and dramatic; might be just the sort of thing for you.

I've been pricing flights into France and out of London, and--while certainly more expensive than Paris--Nice is not exorbitant from my origin. I found no advantage in using Marseille, Montpellier, Barcelona, Turin, Milan, or Geneva instead. Since your trip is so short, in your shoes I'd want to fly into (or out of) southern France.

The TGV makes the run between Nice and Paris pretty fast; some trains take less than 6 hours. I looked at trips nearly 3 months out, and a fare of €39 was often available.

Where to stay / what to see in southern France is a rather frequent topic here. You'll find some useful information in previous threads.

Thanks acraven!
Calanques near Cassis does look beautiful and dramatic.

Will definitely spend some more time planning and reading older threads. I am still very early in the process and could determine we need more time and add places to see thus making it a larger trip to be done in 2018 instead, keeping any trips lower cost for 2017 to save up.

Early to mid-July is the prime time to see both lavender and sunflowers. I spent 10 days in that area in 2012 and had plenty of photographic opportunities for both. I took the TGV from Paris to Nice for 3 nights, then took the train to Avignon for 1 night, then rented a car for the other 6 days. While in Nice I did day trips to Monaco and St Paul de Vence both of which were scenic with many good photographic sites. After my one night in Avignon, which I enjoyed because it was during the theater festival (tons of photo opportunities there), I stayed in Roussillon as a base but I think there are any number of good towns to base in for seeing the lavender and sunflowers. There are lots of lavender fields all over Provence but the area around Gordes and Sault are excellent places to see them. Check out the lavender routes here: http://www.moveyouralps.com/en/routes-de-la-lavande. I saw several sunflower fields all over but the area around Arles and also between Gordes and Avignon are good places to concentrate on.

Since you are from Boston (as am I), you should consider Icelandair - they are currently running hundreds of dollars below every other carrier, and you can use Geneva and Paris airports. I would recommend flying into Geneva, spending a couple of night in Annecy (45 minute drive from Geneva airport), then on to Provence, drop the car off in Avignon and TGV to Paris for the rest of your trip. I strongly preferred the Cinque T to Nice and the surrounding areas.

So, 2 nights Annecy, 4 nights Provence, 3 nights Paris is what I'm suggesting.

-Matt

Don't be fooled, the Riviera (Nice etc) is a haul from the lavender.

Personally I would not want to cram 3 such destinations into 9 days (considering jet lag, travel time etc). But it is absolutely doable if you are nimble.

Fly into Nice and get a taste of the area. I don't think you will need a car for that, but one arguably might extend your reach. You wll need a car to get to Valensole, and incidentally I take your word for it that there is lavender there. A car will also let you enjoy some of the other highlights of Provence, if that interests you.

You absolutely do want to take the train to Paris, from Marseilles or Avignon. The train is just so much faster, and you do not have time for a road trip.

Just hitchhiking on "acraven" comments on Cassis: We enjoyed the boat ride (the 5 callanque trip) during our day trip to Cassis. We were a bit surprised that these callanques are more like bays than the long, narrow, fjord-like inlets we were expecting from the published travel literature. That said, it was still a worthwhile hour or so on a beautiful day in May. You will certainly appreciate the photo ops if you drive the Route des Cretes above Cassis. It will put you in mind of Cinque Terre. Lots of turn-outs with great views over the Mediterranean. If you arrange your arrival to approach Cassis from the south-east (which we were able to accomplish with an unintended navigational error coming from the north-west), the Route will lead you directly into Cassis at the conclusion of the ride. Parking in Cassis was something of a challenge, but worth the effort.

I agree with Adam. I was in Provence in late June2015 and saw tons of lavender and sunflowers. I think that a bit later ( early July) is better, but I was lucky. I spent 8 days in Provence - stayed in Lourmarin and St Remy and enjoyed driving around - could have stayed longer. There's lots to see in that area. Adding the riviera would be too much for me. I prefer to spend more time in an area to really see it - but everyone is different. You'll have a wonderful time. sue

I'm following along here, mreynolds. I think we like the same types of trips! I think you commented on my trip report to Italy last May perhaps (where we also stayed in Pienza and Cinque Terre)? I too am starting to plan a France trip for next May. In fact, I would build the whole thing around seeing the lavender in mid-summer as well, except we're tacking our trip onto a Copenhagen conference my husband will be attending. (A free plane ticket is a free plane ticket!)

I haven't been back to France since I was an exchange student in college decades ago, but am looking forward to brushing up on my French. Mostly interested in Paris and Provence. Pondering adding the Dordogne or Burgundy. As always, I'm torn between settling into a few cities for a longer time or dashing all over the country. (It seems there's never enough time no matter how much you have.)

I've been (briefly years ago) to Nice and Monaco and they don't interest me as I, like you, prefer off-the-beaten path countryside destinations and hill towns. That said, I remember Cap Ferrat (between Nice and Monaco) as being one of the most stunningly scenic drives I can remember and am pondering driving it again. I'm also a bit intrigued by the Languedoc-Rousillon region for Spanish influence. Check out Carcasonne.

In 2015 I spent 10 days in Provence. I took the train from paris to Avignon and rented a car. I stayed in Lourmarin (Valensole would probably work too) for a few days and saw lots of lavender and sunflowers. There are tons of beautiful towns - Gordes, Rousillion,Bonnieux and beautiful drives - way more to see than 3 days allows. I then stayed in St-Remy and took day trips around there - Les Baux, Arles and surrounding country side. I would save the Riviera for a different trip. I was there a bit earlier due to family constraints and was worried I was too early. I won't ever forget the feeling of driving around the corner in the countryside and seeing beautiful lavender fields as far as the eye could see. Enjoy! sue