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I have 10 days free after Paris in May - please suggest (read first).

Hi, I am a single man, healthy, active, and a professional photographer. I have some time after doing a photo shoot in Paris. Before I return to the US, I can take up to another 10-14 days to have fun, see and explore; budget is no issue. I still have to book my return flight, so maybe Paris unless I end up in Spain, then Madrid. Can you suggest places that are amazing in mid-May 2025, fastly coming up, that fit these criteria:

  1. Don't choose another busy city. Paris will have done that. So start in Paris and suggest an itinerary. I am interested in culture, people, food, art, seafood, walking, hiking, biking, and, of course, being single, and I will find it excellent.
  2. I looked at Bordeaux and going south to Biarritz and San Sebastián as one route. I don't need to see Normandy or go back to Lyon, Nice or Arles, that area. Been there. Provence, was there (not everywhere) but feels like another time.
  3. Yes, I'm fortunate and very appreciative of your time to suggest really cool little places and where to stay, and for how long.
    Finally, I lived in Italy, so let's not take me there, even though I loved it. Hmm, maybe to Spain. Barcelona is too nuts for me or my timing.

I would appreciate your ideas, and if you know of places you love, I'm ready to send you a thank you online. PS: I'm in my early 70s, not married anymore, and I live a great life. Phew! That's probably more than you needed to know, and I am in your hands. Thanks and my name for here, for now, is Hal.

Posted by
3369 posts

There's always Provence and the French Riviera. Fly home from Nice.

Posted by
709 posts

San Sebastián is great. I've seen some folks slag off the tapas crawl in Old Town, but this was one of my favorite memories from my visit in 2018. I don't know if you do any landscape photography, but the Basque Coast Geopark features unique flysch formations. I wonder if you could cycle there. And Bilbao has the Guggenheim and the Viscaya Bridge. Others on the forum are more familiar with the smaller towns in that area.

Posted by
1778 posts

Well, I love France, but I sense that perhaps someplace other than France would work for you. Three places come to mind...Sicily (yes it is Italy, but set apart from the mainland in spirit), Portugal and Turkey.

Sicily has history going back to the Greeks. Great food, cool towns, archeological sites, churches, limoncello, cannoli, the sea and a bonus..... A VOLCANO! I'm dreaming of getting there in the next couple of years.

Portugal really charmed us. More great food, lots of joyful celebrations, the sea, beaches, a terrific maritime museum, a culture distinct from Spain, more good wines and port. We were in Lisbon, Porto and Evora. The ambience there was one of happiness. I need to return to visit Sintra, Fatima and Coimbra, plus the Algarve. We did it on our own and used public transportation everywhere...very easy and efficient.

Turkey was done with Insight Tours and covered most of the really varied history of Turkey, from Hittites to the Romans to the Ottomans to Ataturk. Cappadocia was otherworldly. All the coastal areas we were in were beautiful. Pamukkale is unique. And we loved the food in Turkey also! (honey, apricots, seafood, tomatoes, lemons, Turkish style pizza, tea)

You may note a theme here.....to me a lot of a place's culture is expressed in the food and the meals (how they are organized, sourced, prepared, served, shared and how long they last). Sharing a meal is always an opportunity to learn about a place and the people who live there. Lucky you to have this time to see a new place.

I haven't discussed hiking and biking (not in my wheelhouse), but all these places have those options. And I haven't given details about the particular sights to enjoy. I'm sure you will be able to suss out the many options in each place.
Have fun!

Posted by
21787 posts

See if any of this interests you.

Favorite Tourism Video https://youtu.be/1nd5AtZIrTk?feature=shared
Anthony Bourdain describing how visually pleasurable it is https://youtu.be/0nd9DuDGCz0?si=aa0c19KaJHEtabkX

And yes, I read. I dont see this as a busy city. It's too spread out for that. For photography, its hard to beat; new, old, polished, rustic, active culture. There is a key phrase. Unlike a lot of places the culture is still very real. Very little museum about the city. And so freeking large, with a little guidance, you can get to the most real depth of it.

Discout flights from Paris make it accessible.

But not for everyone. Just an idea.

Posted by
1778 posts

P.S. Hubby and I are 82 and 81. We visited Turkey and Portugal while in our mid 70's. Knees and backs were a little wonky, but we managed pretty well. Our trip to Sicily will be on four titanium knees, so I don't expect any big problems then.

Posted by
2 posts

This is fun, to read your messages, even if they might not resonate totally ... but they are reassuring. Let's keep these ideas to France and maybe Spain please. I'm new on this forum and so far it's great. Hope to get some tips...

Posted by
483 posts

I’ve become a big fan of self-guided cycling as a way to be close to the ground, to see places in Europe through the back door and to meet locals.

So in France, let me suggest the following with the thought that if you keep your 10 to 14 days in France you will easily experience what you want.

  • From Bordeaux, cycle … Bordeaux wine country, or the coast beyon the wine country around Medoc/Pauillac, or take the train to Bergerac and cycle to the Dordogne. As a French friend said before we went to the Dordogne, you will eat well.
  • Loire Valley. Chateaux, wineries and cycling with great ease.
  • Other cycling possibilities … Alsace, Burgundy and more …

See

https://www.freewheelingfrance.com/

https://www.levelovoyageur.com/en/

https://www.discoverfrance.com/bike-tours/france-bike-tours

Also see our Trip Report from two years ago at https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/fabulous-tour-de-france-2-weeks-on-foot-and-by-train-2-weeks-by-e-bike. That will shed a little light on our Dordogne and Loire rides.

From my point of view, Velo Voyageur did a wonderful job in selecting charming 3 star hotels. If money is an issue for you, they offer a less expensive package of mostly 2 star hotels. They were also flexible …. We wanted the Dordogne with one more night in the middle in of their 7 day loop. Pas de probleme. For the Loire, we wanted the middle 7 days from their 14 day trip from Orleans to the Atlantic. Bien sur!

Later this year we will be in SW Germany and eastern France for 30 days, with one week cycling the Mosel in Germany, 4 days cycling in Alsace and 3 days cycling in Burgundy. All three trips will be self guided cycle tours arranged through VeloVoyageur, with some changes as I have requested.

Posted by
1816 posts

One thing to consider, is that may is when the spring winefests start. Along the Rhine and Mosel valleys it will be very common to see small vineyards with billboards out front for the "new" or "green" wine.

Here's a couple examples of fests just over the border in Germany.

The Rhineland-Pfalz days in Neustadt on the Winestrasse:
https://www.neustadt.eu/Tourismus-Wein/Top-Events-Aktuelles/Rheinland-Pfalz-Tag-2025/

The Middle Ages Market in Illingen:
https://www.neustadt.eu/index.php?&object=tx,2636.167&ModID=11&FID=2636.10234.1&kuo=1&ort=0&vo=0&va=0&call=0&bn=0&sfodddrt=0&sfvort=0&sfreg=0&sfort=0&k_sub=0&La=1