Help planning a month long France trip

My philosophy is to add days rather than cutting destinations, but of course there are limits.

I think the general outline of your plan is a good one. There are so many picturesque spots just in southern France. You'll see more and have a more relaxing time by not trying to shoehorn Alsace, the Dordogne and Normandy into your trip.

I spent over a month in that area last May-June, but I'm not a photographer (more a lover of walking picturesque streets and art museums), so my comments may not be helpful. For what it's worth:

• I think you would enjoy seeing at least one of the Riviera hill towns if you fly into Nice. That area feels quite different from inland Provence. The trick is finding somewhere that's not so touristy that your desire to take pictures will be massively frustrated. St.-Paul-de-Vence is very picturesque but was absolutely overrun when I was there, so I cannot recommend it without reservation; I wonder whether Eze might be better. I enjoyed the also-touristy Menton a lot, but it's not a hill town. It has two very interesting gardens.

• Cassis is quite small and very touristy, so 3 nights would have been too long for me, but if you want to walk the Calanques, etc., that's different. And I share your apparent dislike for short hotel stays.

• I liked Albi a lot but actually based in the larger Toulouse, which I found to be a very handsome city, full of red-brick buildings.

Really, you cannot go wrong. I haven't used Rick's book that is limited to southern France, but I understand that it has more coverage than the "France" book. For a trip of this length, you'll benefit from more comprehensive coverage than you'll get from the larger book.

Thanks for you comments, acraven. I'm actually not much of a fan of hotels in general. I like having a kitchen, and room to spread out. But, for the shorter stays I would consider a hotel. When I said I had never been outside of France, I actually forgot that we did have one day in the Nice area while on a Mediterranean cruise, and I think we visited Eze. But that is a good suggestion. I would have to figure out if there is a bus to one of those towns. I imagine there probably is.

I might cut Cassis back to two days. I want to take a boat trip to see the calanques.

I will have a look at Toulouse.

How did you find the weather last May/June? I am hoping it won't be too terribly hot by then.

Thanks for the recommendation on the southern France book. I will check it out,

I’ve visited both Toulouse and Albi and would recommend spending a few nights in each city though a car is a liability in Toulouse. If you visit Albi, I would highly suggest doing the route of the bastide towns outlined in Rick’s France guide. If I were to visit that area again, I would definitely want to spend a night or two in the town of Puycelci at L’Ancienne Auberge; if you’re just visiting that town, have lunch on the terrace of their courtyard. Great foods of the terroir.

We just spent a week in a vacation rental in St. Remy (Saturday-to-Saturday) and used it as a base for visiting nearby towns by car. A week there cost less than three nights in Paris. PM me if you want details. This was part of a 5-week France trip in late April-May.

Eze is definitely accessible by bus, but the frequency may vary with the season (and May is definitely not high season) as well as day of week. Rome2Rio.com is telling me the bus departs from somewhere in Villefranche-sur-Mer (quick train hop from Nice), but that needs confirmation. The tourist office right outside the Nice Ville train station was extremely helpful to me last year, providing descriptive brochures and maps for Cap Ferrat and several other nearby beauty spots. They can provide basic transportation information as well. Buses depart from scattered locations in Nice, so it's not a matter of just going to a bus station to get all your questions answered.

For sure there is bus service from Nice to St.-Paul-de-Vence and Vence. Vence is larger and much less touristy. I liked it better, but few would claim it's as picturesque as SPdV, because it doesn't cling to the side of a hill. From the photography standpoint, I imagine there's no contest. I was told that Tourrettes-sur-Loup is very picturesque and lightly visited, but I didn't have time to check it out. I suspect it is more awkward to reach by public tramsportation. That's the way it works: The pretty places with good transportation access get spoiled; the "undiscovered" spots are that way because you can't get to them very easily.

I arrived in Nice on May 1 (holiday--no public transportation from the airport) and was based in Nice for about 18 days, taking French lessons. It was definitely not too hot. I was surprised at how unsettled the weather was, with clouds moving in and out, and not all that much sun. I was told that was pretty typical weather for May. There was one total washout of a day the first week and some light rain a few other times. Other than the one day, the rain wasn't a big deal, except who thinks of rain along the Riviera?

As May progressed, it gradually got warmer and sunnier, and June kicked it up a notch. I'm traveling and don't have access to my trip notes from last year. I remember that it was quite warm by the time I reached Montpellier (also some heavy rain one afternoon there) and blistering hot in Toulouse and Albi (really stifling)--but I don't know exactly when I was in those cities. I think Montpellier was the last few days in May, and Toulouse/Albi was well into June.

I'd suggest going to wunderground.com and looking at the day-by-day historical data for recent years during your potential travel period. (Choose History > Monthly.) That will give you a more reliable idea of the range of weather to be expected. I think temperature averages are often seriously off-base these days. Some of them probably include a great deal of pre-climate-change data.

JLG, happy birthday

I think you have mostly good ideas, but slightly wrong ones about a few things.

In Provence, you would spend more than 2 weeks in towns that are very close together. My suggestion is to consolidate, and also get a car early on. The car will extend your reach into those villages and scenic spots.

So after a night (certainly no more than 2) in Cassis, you could get your car and set up shop in a place like St. Remy that is convenient to all the sights (if you have a char) and has its own charm. As a bonus, if you time this right you can rent an apartment (which usually rent from weekend to weekend) and have your kitchen.

A few nights in the Luberon are also justified if you want to spend evenings there, otherwise you can visit as a day trip. It's not far, and many of the towns you flag as "Luberon" aren't.

Aix is an okay day trip, second most overrated destination in the area after Avignon.

Look for the Transhumance festival in St Remy, whether you stay there or not.

After that, there is no reason to keep your car unless you want it. You can take the train if it is expedient to do so and then rent a second car in another part of France. You will want a car in SW France (Albi etc.), the rail network is spotty there. And honestly, Albi only scratches the surface--you have many lovely small towns, and the Dordogne and Lot.

Driving to Paris is an option, but so is driving to Bordeaux and taking the TGV, which is only 2 hours now.

Have a magnificent trip, I hope these comments are helpful.

JLG, happy birthday

I think you have mostly good ideas, but slightly wrong ones about a few things.

In Provence, you would spend more than 2 weeks in towns that are very close together. My suggestion is to consolidate, and also get a car early on. The car will extend your reach into those villages and scenic spots.

So after a night (certainly no more than 2) in Cassis, you could get your car and set up shop in a place like St. Remy that is convenient to all the sights (if you have a char) and has its own charm. As a bonus, if you time this right you can rent an apartment (which usually rent from weekend to weekend) and have your kitchen.

A few nights in the Luberon are also justified if you want to spend evenings there, otherwise you can visit as a day trip. It's not far, and many of the towns you flag as "Luberon" aren't.

Aix is an okay day trip, second most overrated destination in the area after Avignon.

Look for the Transhumance festival in St Remy, whether you stay there or not.

After that, there is no reason to keep your car unless you want it. You can take the train if it is expedient to do so and then rent a second car in another part of France. You will want a car in SW France (Albi etc.), the rail network is spotty there. And honestly, Albi only scratches the surface--you have many lovely small towns, and the Dordogne and Lot.

Driving to Paris is an option, but so is driving to Bordeaux and taking the TGV, which is only 2 hours now.

Have a magnificent trip, I hope these comments are helpful.

I would suggest more days in Nice as there is so many things to do and smaller towns to see eaily by bus or train from Nice. Less days in Cassis, as others have mentioned as it is small and not easy to get to other places by public transport. Less days in Aix, though it is a lovely city.

I loved St Remy. I spent 2-3 nights there.

I habe not visited Albi yet.

The area around Orange includign Vaison la Romaine is lovely. Roman ruins, wineries, Heaven!

Paris I could stay a month every year. There are several day trips from Paris by public transport like Giverny and Reims too.

Enjoy your trip.

I will echo some recommendations -- Pick up the car in Aix and head north into the Luberon first. You'll hit Lourmarin first and then head into the valley. It's too early for lavender. From there you can head west into the rest of Provence. But two weeks may be a lot, unless you want an immersive experience in one place. With a car, you can be much more mobile and the driving is not too bad, except in and around Aix. You do have a lot of choices, especially as you dip into the Languedoc or head further north towards Lyon. (BTW, take the TGV to Paris for your city stay, returning your car in Aix, Avignon or Montpelier).

You can fly into either Marseilles or Nice. In Nice, you can take the 400 bus to St. Paul and Vence. Tourettes-sur-loup is best reached by car. Buses and the train (train is better for points west of Nice) are easy to use up and down the coast. Just be aware in May about the Cannes Film Festival and the Monaco Grand Prix -- they can complicate some travel plans. If you head into Marseilles first, you can decompress in Cassis and then head to Aix as planned.

The Grand Prix in particular seems to affect lodging rates.

I should have mentioned in my earlier post that I faced some rather substantial waits when buying train tickets from the machines at the Nice Ville station. I never figured out whether that was related to a special event in the area or just a by-product of showing up at the train station at 10 AM. Whatever the cause, it resulted in some wasted time.

Thanks for all of your input. You have given me some ideas with which to tweak my itinerary.

One thought I had might be to go to Paris first, then head to Avignon, in the hopes of seeing both lavender and poppies. If I went for the month of June, do you think that the lavender would be blooming towards the end of June?

Congratulations and I think you're entirely on the right track, with good advice from those above. One point no one else has addressed, about your rental car. No need to return it where you got it, you can return it anywhere in France for no added cost. (Returning it in another country can be expensive though.) So no need to backtrack just for car return.

I haven't been to Provence or the Riviera but it does seem like you're giving those areas a lot of time. I would agree with those who suggest visiting the Dordogne for at least a few days, a short drive from Albi and/or Toulouse, and more or less on the way to either Bordeaux or Paris.

Happy 60th! Your itinerary looks sound. I say avoid being at the whim of public transportation since your in France for a while do one of the lease-buy-back programs for tourist and rent a car super cheap. When I was in Paris Im glad I drove the 2 lane country roads and saw some of the great wild lavender and vistas. Also a lot of small rustic villages between places you want to see. If you need any more help you can PM any time.