This is my first trip to France and I would love to have some help. I plan on going to France at the end of May, about 12-14 nights. I'm still waiting for my Visa Appointment but I will need my itinerary as one of the required documents.
My wish list for now: Paris, Mont St. Michel, Chateaux de la Loire, and maybe Chateaux d'Aquitaine if possible. I plan to stay in Paris for the first 4 or 5 days, then get out of Paris, rent a car, and start moving.
Current Itinerary: From Paris (4-5 days) - Mont-Saint-Michel (1-2 days), Loire (3-4 days), Aquitaine (1-2 days) and 1 last day back to Paris.
I really want to visit so many locations in each place, but I don't want to pack up too much. Could anyone give me some advice, such as any place I should visit; or in the Loire Valley, where should I stay (Amboise, Tour, etc), and the order of chateaux to visit. Thank you.
Posted by
Paris
7300 posts
Hi,
Your outline looks quite good to me. When you say Chateaux d'Aquitaine: do you mean Bordeaux "chateaux", i.e. wine estates? Or the actual castles further east in Périgord? You don't have much time for the latter, but you have time for Bordeaux.
I would aim for the following, assuming 11 nights in France:
- 4 nights in Paris
- Train to Rennes, rent a car in Rennes, 1 night on Mont Saint Michel
- Drive to Langeais, Amboise or Chaumont-sur-Loire (all of those are good bases for the Loire chateaux if you have a car). You could visit Fougères castle on the way.
- Spend 3 nights in your chosen base. Visit max 2 chateaux/attractions per day. Chenonceau is a must-do IMO, all others depend on what you want to see
For the remainder:
Option A - Bordeaux
- Return the car at St Pierre des Corps (Tours), take the train to Bordeaux
- Spend 2 nights in Bordeaux, take a winery tour (if that's what you had in mind)
- Take the train back to Paris for a final night
Option B - Périgord. I find timing a bit tight for that one (I think Périgord deserves more time), but well, you could do this:
- Stay only 2 nights in the Loire
- Drive to Sarlat or somewhere in the area, stay 3 nights
- Drive back to Bordeaux, return the car, take the train back to Paris for a final night.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thank you @balso. The truth is initially I only planned up to the Loire Valley, and I did not know where to go next so I thought I'd visit some medieval chateaux and the nearest were Castelnaud-la-Chapelle, Bonaguil, and Roquetaillade (sorry I did not do any research). After reading your post, I think I was too greedy and will remove the Aquitaine region. Could you give me some suggestions in the Brittany region that could fit the itinerary besides St.Malo? I love medieval towns and sceneries (not modern historic places like D-Day Beach).
Posted by
Paris
7300 posts
Removing Aquitaine is a smart choice!
You could extend your stay in northern Brittany. Dinan is a historic medieval town and you could use it as a base to visit St Malo and the beautiful coastlines around St Malo (east to Cancale, west to cap Fréhel).
Staying on Mont Saint Michel is quite the experience, but it has its drawbacks (dealing with luggage across the causeway, eating at mediocre restaurants), so if you want to keep things simple you could conceivably visit Mont Saint Michel as a day trip from Dinan.
And if you want medieval castles, I will stress my recommendation for Fougères. Angers is also on the way from Dinan to the Loire valley.