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Itinerary help: Alsace-Burgundy-Provence

Posted by (Santa Fe) on

Hi all. My husband and I will be travelling to France next August/September and I'm having a hard time focusing on a particular area. Would love feedback on my tentative itinerary.
A few notes: I've negotiate 15 days in-country, I MIGHT be able to get another day on the itinerary. We are archaeologists, and love everything old. We're in our late 30's. Our standard travel pattern is 2-3 days in a place and move on--we like to travel when we travel!

Here we go:
Fly into Amsterdam, 3 nights
Train to Paris 2 nights and brunch
Afternoon train to Strasbourg for Alsace, pick up car, 2 nights
Drive to Burgundy (Semur-en-Auxois), 2 nights
Train to Avignon, pick up car, drive to Luberon (Bonnieux, probably) 3 nights
Drive to Nice, 3 nights on the Riv
Fly home

I wonder if we should cut Burgundy for more time in Paris or the Alsace? But I want to see some typical French villages, and I feel like Paris is Paris, the Alsace is very Germanic, and from what I can tell from Google Street View, Provence looks similar to Tuscany (visited, and LOVED last year).

I guess my question is for folks who have visited the Alsace, Burgundy, and Provence--where would you focus your time?

Posted by
2086 posts

(edited) You can find numerous lovely villages in France and how typical they are depends on the region. A village in Normandy with it’s half timbered houses differs from those in Brittany or Burgundy. And about villages you can’t go wrong in Burgundy (even you find the half timbered houses there too), Semur-en-Auxois is one of them.

Many archeological sites in France are Gallo-Roman and not so far from Semur you can visit Alésia, famous for it’s siege by the Roman army of Julius Ceasar. The museum is to my opinion very much worth a visit, it was there I imagined what would have happened with European history if he was defeated. The archeological site of Bibracte is reasonable easy to reach from Semur too, but likely you already know the two places.

Not archeological, but can be of interest is Guédelon, a construction site of a medieval castle using medieval tools and building methods. Needs a serious drive from Semur.

Posted by
7302 posts

As archeologists, you might find much more interest in the various archeological sites of Provence (Vaison, Orange, Pont du Gard, Nîmes, Arles) than in Alsace, where there is nothing of the sort.
Vienne, south of Lyon, could be an interesting stop between Bourgogne and Provence, too.

I would cut Alsace to add some time in Provence; it will also significantly reduce your total travel time and distance.

Posted by
24 posts

Thank you for the insights Wil, I had never heard of those sites, and the medieval reconstruction site would indeed be of interest to us!

Posted by
24 posts

Chani: renting a car twice to reduce the amount of time we're driving; the drive between Dijon and Avignon is about 4.5 hours. And I checked, it's actually $100 cheaper to drop the car, then pick up another down the road (though car rental places do take a bit of time to get through).

Posted by
24 posts

Thanks balso, I think you might be right about cutting Alsace. That buys us two more days elsewhere--maybe another day in Provence, and another in Paris? Or maybe add time to Burgundy? Then it would be 3 days in each location. But I can imagine really loving Provence, so 4 days there is certainly appealing.

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