We are planning a spring trip to France. We are planning on 23 nights. 3-4 nights in Paris(we've been before) and splitting the rest of the time between Normandy, Burgundy and Dordogne. We are in our 60's active and fit. We have no "must see" destinations other than the D-day beaches. Interested in Romanesque-Gothic architecture, small villages, cave art, Roman ruins' kayak trips, cycling and vineyards, Medieval rather than renaissance. Like to minimize crowds and one nighters. April 10-May 3 in and out of CDG but tickets aren't bought yet.
We arrive in Paris during Easter week any caveats?
Do we need a car for the D-day beaches?
Is May 1 a big holiday in France?
Will there be wildflowers?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions/comments
Brad
Posted by
Florida
1450 posts
You don't necessarily need a car for a tour of the Normandy beaches. There are lots of great tour companies which will pick you up and drive you around all day to see the beaches, museums, cemeteries, and such. And many come with great guides. My recommendations are out of date since I haven't visited Normandy in 20 years, but I would definitely proceed with the intent to hire an all-day guide for a day or even two.
Posted by
Boston
4132 posts
Don't by those tickets until you've planned at least a general route!
You may want to fly home from Toulouse or Bordeaux.
More advice: How much do you want to see those Roman antiquities? Because there aren't much to speak of at these destinations, but you could swing through Provence and see some really great stuff.
In fact I recommend this route:
Paris
Normandy
Burgundy
Provence
Dordogne
fly home from Toulouse or Bordeaux.
LOTS of small medieval villages between Provence and the Dordogne. Lots of sweet little cities along the coast, too.
No car needed until Provence (or even later) if you get about by bike in Burgundy. Wheels very helpful in the Dordogne.
I recommend those antiquities.
Posted by
Portland
3643 posts
Just to answer your question about May 1 . . . As an American, you become accustomed to holidays being celebrated by department stores sales. Not so in France. They take their holidays seriously. A couple of years ago, we landed in Nice on April 30 and were planning to visit the Matisse Museum the next day. I had carefully planned to avoid a Monday, but forgot about the date. No public transportation was running. Our hotelier suggested a taxi for 25 euros each way, but we thought that was too expensive. Good thing, because, contrary to its website info, the museum was also closed, as were all the others. All shops and even half the restaurants, closed.
By the way, it was our 3rd attempt to see that museum!
Posted by
Chicago
8554 posts
May 1 is the most reliably closed day besides Jan 1 and Dec 25 in most of Europe. You should assume every museum, tourist site and store will be closed that day unless you have evidence to the contrary. Some things do run e.g. in Paris the Seine boats, the Eiffel Tower and Jacquemart Andre are open that day. There will always be places to eat open but shops will be closed.
The bulb flowers will be past, you should see the Luxembourg Gardens in April, but there will be lots of flowers in gardens and lots of wild flowers in the countryside. If you don't take a guided tour like Overlord or whatever to the beaches you will need a car.
I love the Dordogne -- spent a week there ten years ago and again this September where we rented a cottage in Cadouin. It is a place where you must have a car. It is also just wonderful. Book your reservation to the Font du Gaume now, today if possible and you know yoiur dates. The reservations will be gone by the end of January for the year. While there also see Lascaux II the reproduced cave and Roffignac another natural cave. The museum in Lez Eyzies is also excellent if you are interested in our early ancestors. Canoe on the Dordogne above Le Roque Gageac ( the vendors will haul you upstream for as many hours as you wish to be on the river and put you in and you float/paddle down to home base) The Dordogne is fabulously scenic; the Vezere is not.
We also love Burgundy. Here area a few snapshots of a trip we took. https://janettravels.wordpress.com/category/burgundy/
It is a another place where you need a car and you can literally just drive around following signs to Abbeys and chateaux etc and have lovely days.
We spent 5 nights in Normandy a few years ago -- one at MSM, two in Bayeux with an all day trip via Overlord of the beaches and two in Honfleur with a trip on the full day to Etretat (don't miss that). https://janettravels.wordpress.com/category/normandy/
We intended to go again this fall to St. Malo and then a nice country chateau before heading for Paris but had to scrub that part of the trip when I ended up in the hospital in Menton having my elbow wired back together.
These are all wonderful areas. It is a lot to cover in the time you have.
Posted by
San Diego
1540 posts
We had a great guide (with a new 10 passenger van) for 8 of us. We booked thru Viator.com - a consolidator and they hooked us up with overlord tour company. Spent a full day touring at least 4 of the beaches and small towns with significant history of WWII and D-Day, Excellent guide who really knew his history. Day 2 we booked a tour (same company) to Mont St. Michel - also an excellent tour of the whole Mount and an excellent lunch. Take a look at the overlord site and see all the various tours that they offer and I think they also do customization of the tours to add what you want to see.
(this trip was 1 year ago in Feb.)
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15784 posts
I was in Paris for the second half of April a couple years ago and the flowers were beautiful - all the trees were in bloom, and the lilacs too. My last full day was May 1. There were lots of Parisians out strolling and window-shopping, though it was a bit drizzly. I spent most of the day in the Marais, where some of the boutique shops were open and many of the restaurants and cafes. I also went to a concert in one of the Medieval Rive Gauche churches that evening. In the morning lots of people were selling aromatic springs of lily-of-the-valley.