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Feb/Mar In France - Itinerary Suggestions Wanted!

Posted by (Dallas, TX) on

Hello,

My husband and I will be landing in Paris Saturday, February 27th, and heading back to Dallas Saturday, March 5th. We spent a week in Paris last summer, and this trip we are wanting to spend 2-3 days visiting Normandy, spend a little time in Paris, and explore somewhere new in France. My husband wants to do the Band of Brothers tour through Overlord Tours, and I've discovered they don't start until the 1st of March - so we would only be able to do a full day tour Tuesday-Friday of this trip. I'm trying to efficiently arrange our site-seeing. Of course there are plenty of things we could do in Paris the other days, but I'm interested in visiting the Burgundy region as well. I'm curious if anyone has done any "wine" tours/trips this time of year. I'm not sure what to expect as far as weather (if it will just be cold of if there will be snow, etc) and if the weather would make doing wine touring not as fun!

Also open to recommendations for other places to visit in France. Just need to fill in the schedule and accommodate two or three days in Normandy! We are both 26, athletic, and love wine, food, architecture and scenery! Any suggestions/recommendations would be appreciated! Thanks in advance!!

Saturday Feb 27th - land 10am
Sunday Feb 28th -
Monday Feb 29th - (yep, it's a leap year!)
Tuesday Mar 1 -
Wednesday Mar 2 -
Thursday Mar 3
Friday Mar 4 -
Saturday Mar 5 - Depart CDG 11am

Posted by
7175 posts

Saturday Feb 27th - 10am Arrive Paris (2nts)
Sunday Feb 28th - Paris free day
Monday Feb 29th - Train to Dijon/Beaune (2nts)
Tuesday Mar 1 - Dijon/Beaune - Burgundy wine tour
Wednesday Mar 2 - Train to Bayeux (2nts)
Thursday Mar 3 - Bayeux - Band of Brothers tour through Overlord Tours
Friday Mar 4 - Late train to hotel at Paris CDG (1nt)
Saturday Mar 5 - 11am Depart Paris CDG

Posted by
137 posts

Bayeux and Rouen are steeped in French/English history and served by a train from Paris (about hour away) or a 2hour drive. Between Rouen and Paris is Monet's house and gardens in Giverny. Enjoy!

Posted by
3953 posts

Monet's home and garden doesn't open until very late in March.

Posted by
841 posts

Given that you love food and wine, Burgundy would be an excellent destination. The problem is that it is on the opposite side of Paris from Normandy. To get from one to the other, you'll probably have to go through Paris (and change train stations). You will spend a good part of a day going between the two, and on a short trip that isn't a very efficient use of time.

There is plenty to do in just Normandy (but it isn't known for wine). If you really want to do wine and Normandy, you could go south to the Loire valley (for some Sancerre) or you could go to Reims for champagne. Reims is close enough to CDG that you might be able to stay there the night before you fly out. (Are you renting a car or traveling by train?)

Normandy has it's own unique cuisine that I'm sure you will enjoy and, of course, you can drink wine anywhere in France. It's just not full of vineyards.

Posted by
243 posts

With the relatively short trip , I would agree that there is not enough time to get to Beaune for a Burgundy wine trip. However you may want to check how long the TGV's travel time is to Beaune. I believe that it takes 3 hours to get to Bordeaux however that may be longer than you wish to spend. A trip to Reims and Epernay is quick and ideal to visit the Champagne caves as the temperature is the same year round.

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