So, I am slowly working on convincing hubby to go over to UK/France as our Xmas gift this year (since he is not a fan of Christmas). I would be looking at going probably the first few weeks of Dec (hopefully after the US Thanksgiving but before the middle of the month when travel starts getting crazy). I would have about 12-13 nights to work with. Initial idea was London/Portsmouth (my sis is there and I see her so rarely - unless I could convince her to come to London)/Paris (would be 3rd visit)/Strasbourg/Lyon. I had read Strasbourg has one of the oldest Xmas markets in France, and Lyon has a Lumiere festival in Dec where the buildings are all lit up. I am just wondering if anyone has any other suggestions of festivals or markets within the Paris/Stras/Lyon triangle.
My tentative itinerary looks something like:
arrive London morning (we fly from Halifax thru the night, arriving usually around 9am, jet lag not too big a problem) and head for Portsmouth (2 nights)
back to London and Eurostar over to Paris (3 nights - we've seen the 'major' sites in Paris, so this would be unrushed)
train to either Strasbourg or Lyon first (would depend on when we left and when the Lumiere festival was on if we decided to do this). We'd spend 2 nights Strasbourg (have been here once before for a very quick visit) and 3 nights in Lyon
Then back to London for 2 nights and home. (I'd rather return to London to fly home - I'd rather do a direct flight home then have to spend time flying over Nova Scotia to Toronto or Montreal and waiting at the airport for a connection...I'd rather not chance connections on weather)
So what I'm wondering if within the first few weeks of Dec, if there are other things more interesting in France then the Lumiere festival in Lyon? Other Christmas markets not to miss? Maybe go to Chartres instead of Lyon? Thoughts? Ideas? Experiences?