This is our plan arrive from Canada @4pm sept 21 in Nice airport transfer to apartment.
21st -dinner and stroll along beach. early night as i am sure we will be exhausted
22-market for groceries enjoy old town and just wander the area id like to visit the Russian cathedral
23-bus to Eze hike down to Eze sur mer train to Monaco .spend time in Monaco check out the casino
24-Costal hike ??still trying to figure out a route from Nice
25 - No plans . we are open to ideas my husband isn't a museum person and we will be doing a lot in Paris
26- Pick up car rental in am drive to Annecy arrive in afternoon.spend the rest of day and evening walking around town and dinner 27 -Hike La tournette -arrive back to hotel spend some time in the pool / hotub evening free to do whatever
28-up early drive to Colmar check in to hotel spend the day walk the town bike rental ??
29 up early drive to Reims- check in to hotel tattinlinger champagne tour ,cathedral and town
30up early drive to Arromaches les Bains check in to b&b visit area town gold beach
OCT1 -Juno beach Museum , Canadian cemetery
2-drive to Caen drop off rental -Train to Paris-check into hotel in the7th .walk. dinner Arc
3- 2hr photo session 8am free rest of day
4th free day- Moulin Rouge late show
5th free
6th Fat tire bike tour of Versailles full day
7th Notre Dame and Sainte Chapelle tour free rest of day
8th airport transfer back to Canada
I will be getting a museum pass for 4 days.maybe the hop on off bus for Paris
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15788 posts
Start by using viamichelin.com to find your driving times. For instance, they show Annecy to Colmar as 4.5 hours net (and €34 for tolls) - no pit stops, no traffic delays, no wrong turns.
I wouldn't waste the money on the Moulin Rouge. Check out the reviews. Crazy Horse used to be the best.
Posted by
North Georgia, USA
1155 posts
Since you'll have a rental car for Normandy, I'd recommend that on Oct 1 you see if Chris Emery is available to navigate you around to all the D-Day points of interest that you'd like to see. You'll get a more satisfying experience and see far, far more than if you try to do it on your own. He really brings alive what happened on that day and the days after. www.visitdday.com
Posted by
Washington DC
28083 posts
Be careful about the route you take from Annecy to Colmar. If you travel on a Swiss highway (hard to avoid if you cross the border from France) you need a highway vignette. Viamichelin puts the cost in euros at 36.20. An all-France route is estimated to take 5 hours, and folks here say viamichelin is optimistic.
The three one-nighters in a row look tiring to me.
I agree that if you have a serious interest in the Normandy sites, you'd get a lot more out of your time with a guide or on a small-group tour.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
I agree the 3 one night stays are going to be a lot . There is just so much I want to see lol . We are used to driving for longer periods of time . I want to stay in France and no crossing countries. I will go over our routes . I will look into a guide for the DDay sites. I'm trying to book a direct rail ticket from Caen to Paris . On sncf site it says they aren't available to book as of yet ?? Any one know why ?? I thought schedules came out 90 days ahead ?? Rail Europe doesn't even have them showing up ! I'm aware that Moulin Rouge is a tourist trap but I think it'll still be a fun night out. Plus tickets are already bought and paid for . Just wondering how safe the area is for walking home ?? We are staying in the 7th . Maybe we will just cab it back after a bottle of champagne walking may not be my best idea :) thank you for the responses
Posted by
Paris
2466 posts
You should probably take a taxi after the Moulin Rouge show...you might get lost in the dark.
Just look for a taxi with a green light on top and remember to print out your full address, including the Postal Code, so there won't be any confusion.
I'd recommend wandering around at night if and when you haven't had too much to drink. Paris is wonderful at night.
Posted by
Portland
3643 posts
I'm just looking at the Eze/Monaco day. I have as much interest in casinos as I have in professional sports; i.e., none. However I have heard that the Monaco casinos have dress codes. (Hearsay, since I wouldn't have looked into it for myself.). If this is so, It's hard to imagine you'll be properly dressed after a fairly strenuous hike. Certainly something to check out. That day also looks rather overfilled. Are you going to spend any time in Eze? It's worth a couple of hours, at least.
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15788 posts
I don't know if walking around after the Moulin Rouge is dangerous as much as it is just unsavory. On the other hand, I imagine everyone's walking out at the same time, so you may just find yourselves in the flow to the metro. . . . and there may be a long wait for taxis. Or maybe a long line of waiting taxis.