Hi all
My husband and I are wanting to do one week in France and one week in Spain at the end of August.
We want to do 2-3 nights in Paris and then I like the idea of going to Bordeaux and visiting the local wineries before going on to Spain (Sans Sebastien and Barcelona). Does this sound like it would be too much for one week? Also can anyone provide some guidance on whether we should drive around the wineries ourselves or do a day tour?
thanks for any help!
Serena
Two or three days in Paris and then a wine tour is plenty for one week. You can't possibly include San Sebastien and Barcelona, unless you can add another week.
I'd not do Paris in fewer than 4 nights which gives you 3 full days -- hardly enough but a chance to get a bit of the Paris experience. How do you propose getting from wine country to Spain? With two weeks, I would want to fly from Paris to Spain on Vueling or Easyjet. Unfortunately Paris is not in wine country so doing a wine side trip is more difficult. if the goal is to then move on to another country. Perhaps head to the countryside immediately after arrival -- like a train to Beaune, and spend a couple of nights there and do some wineries in that region, then train back to Paris for 4 or 5 nights and then fly to Barcelona.
Sorry, Serena, I misread your post and thought you had only a week overall. Apologies. Discount entirely what I wrote.
There are other wine regions much closer to Paris than Bordeaux. I think Janet's idea of going to Burgundy (Beaune) when you arrive is good. With one week in France I would spend 2-3 nights in Burgundy (will you be driving while there to see the villages?) and the rest of the time in Paris. Fly to Spain from Paris. San Sebastien and Barcelona are on opposite sides of Spain. You will probably want to fly from one to the other.
When planning a trip I like to think about how many nights I will spend in each place. Two nights = one day, three nights = two days, etc. Don't forget to factor in how much time it takes to get from one place to the next. It will take longer than you think. Getting your things together, checking out, traveling to the train station or airport, waiting for the train/plane, travel time, making your way to your next hotel, then checking in there eats up time. Usually at least a half a day or more, depending on how far you're traveling.
Edit - I just saw your question about driving. If you only have one full day in wine country you could do a tour. With 2 days you might enjoy driving. They have zero tolerance for drunk driving there. If you plan on tasting, go for the tour.
Serena,
Does your time frame of two weeks include your two travel days? With two week, you might consider something like this....
With such a short trip, I'd suggest skipping San Sebastien for now, as it's on the opposite side of Spain and the extra travel time will reduce your already short touring time.
Thanks everyone.. You've definitely given me something to think about.
We will be seeing a bit of Tuscany later and visiting a couple of vineyards in our trip so would you think we could skip the French wine country altogether and spend more time at Paris, sans Sebastian and Barcelona? Obviously we need to have another few trips to Europe in the future because there is so much to see!
Serena, of course you can skip whatever you want! It's your trip. And there is plenty of wine in Paris.
But if you want to visit a famous wine region, Burgundy is as celebrated as Bordeaux, and much handier to your itinerary.
I like Kent's suggestion and add that there is a morning TGV train from Dijon (to which you can easily connect from Beaune) that goes directly to deGaulle without transfers. If you fly from there you can be in Barcelona by mid to late afternoon. So 5/2 days, Paris/Burgundy, is quite feasible.
Champagne is close enough to visit as a day trip from Paris.
I would allow a minimum of 3 full days (4 nights) in Paris, especially since you arrive after a long-haul flight and are dealing with jetlag.
A day trip from Paris to Reims (cathedral, nice town, champagne houses) has been on my list for several years, but I still haven't made it, despite 2 stays in Paris.
