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Help me plan my trip to France (August)

Posted by on

Hi,
We are a family of 3 (2 adults and a 9 year old) renting a house in Versaille the first week of August (8/4-8/10 which is the 2nd week of Olympics and then plan to travel to other parts of the country for a week (8/11-8/16). This will be our second trip to France (Paris, Normandy and MSM April 2022). We have tickets for a couple of events but also plan to do other things we didn't have time to do during our first trip. We are having a little trouble planning the second week. We would like to go to the Loire Valley (stop at Chartres on the way) but after reading this Forum extensively think 5 days in the Loire is too much. We are considering going back to the Normandy area and visiting some of the small towns we didn't see on our first trip (Rouen, Caen, Honfleur, etc.). I'd really appreciate ideas, thoughts, opinions for the second week. While we would like to do the Loire, we can be persuaded otherwise and very flex with the Normandy idea since we did go there (briefly on trip number 1).

Also, in case folks are interested in week one we are going to try and see things we didn't see during our first trip (please excuse spellings) to Paris:

Musee d'Orsay
Tuileries Gardens and Orangerie
Saint Denis
Gardens at Versailles (they were not in bloom when we were there, but we saw the palace)
Day trip to Giverny
Olympic events (wish us luck with the insane crowds lol!)

Thank you, fellow travelers!

Posted by
3279 posts

If you are going by train as opposed to renting a car, I’d suggest La Rochelle or Bordeaux. Easy one way rail trips and TGV back to Paris.

Posted by
1340 posts

rebeccakmandell,
Since you will have a car for the second week, yes, do visit the Loire. You can see two chateaux easily in one day, plus one the day you arrive from Versailles. So, two nights there (1 1/2 days). The third day go to Brittany, an often neglected part of France with its own language and culture. The scenery is imposing, there are wonderful towns to visit (Quimper, St. Malo, Dinan), and of course the menhirs of Carnac. Castles and fortifications will please your 9 year old. The coastline is dramatic and is a nice counterpoint to the Loire Valley. As in Normandy, cider, camembert cheese, and calvados are prominent on menus, as well as great seafood (especially shellfish). The Breton crepes and far breton are specialties you shouldn't miss while there also. The four days you have left after the Loire Valley will be full. (The drive from the Loire will depend on where you have been staying there. When we drove the opposite way, from Pluneret to Saumur, it took 3-4 hours, but Saumur was in the western part of the Loire, and Pluneret knd of in the southeastern part of Brittany.) It should be a very doable trip within your time frame.
It is also possible for you to return your car in Rennes and take the train back to Paris.
I hope that whatever you decide on, you will have a terrific time!

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