First International Trip Planning

For 7 days, I would choose one region, find a central base, and day trip from there. I think Provence would fit your criteria very well as there is a nice mix of beaches, nature, small towns and villages. Probably choose a base where you can visit both the Cote d'azure and Provence. Invest in Rick's Provence guidebook to get an idea of what you can see and do while there.

Time of year and budget are two important variables you didn't mention. To me, the beaches of Southwestern France into Northern Spain and those of Brittany are better than those of the Mediterranean. The Basque country and Pyrenees could fill your nature needs. For beaches Deauville/Trouville in Normandy are also super . . . .depends on the time of year. How are you planning to get from place to place?

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Yes, I was thinking it would probably be more wise to stick to one region; there's just so much to see!

Sorry, I thought I mentioned the time, we will be going in September. As far as budget, without considering flights/hotels it would be ideal to stay around $1000 for 2 people for the week (food/attractions/transpo), although as I am new to this I don't know how reasonable/unreasonable that is. I was planning on trains/buses, but car rental is not totally out of the question if it's unavoidable.

Well, too, you should start figuring your costs in Euros. At the current rate of exchange, 850 Euros for 7 days for two people is about 60 Euros each per day. Could you do that?

I suppose I should budget for more just in case, based on what I'm seeing 75-100 euros/day is more normal. Would you say that's the case?

I think as a “novice traveler” here you really need to sit down with a guidebook and get a good sense of where you think you’d like to go based on your interests. It’s all subjective really. My travel dreams always started with a town that sounded interesting... and how far is that from this... and what else is nearby? Rick’s guidebooks are VERY good at giving you guidelines for sightseeing essentials and building an itinerary out of that. They’re written for Americans who often have limited time on the ground. They also help you get a sense of your budget. Provence sounds like a good fit for you, but that’s a high speed train ride from Paris. Does that make sense in your budget? Is it worth it?

Also, again it’s subjective, but New York is not Paris. I could spend days in Paris and not set foot in a museum. Paris is the museum. There’s plenty of daytrips from Paris that might appeal to you too.