We are planning a two week trip to France in May 2017. We fly in and out of CDG, and have full 12 days excluding the flight days. We have been to Paris before and spent 4 full days then and did a lot of touristy things. We love food, wine, staying like locals, strolling, cafes, bakeries and shopping. The difference this time is that we are returning with a three year old in tow! My husband and I have varied opinions on what all we should cover. I have been researching and looks like besides a few days in Paris, exploring Alsace would be nice. We also want to check out other wine regions - may be Burgundy and/or Bordeaux? Given big names Bordeaux, I'm worried it will be too touristy and I'm hoping for more exclusive/off beaten path recos. South of France looks amazing too with all the Rivera but I get nervous about just hitting the prime tourist spots. Nice, Cannes and Monaco seems too touristy and too big. My husband also has interest in checking out the Spanish Basque country. (We have been to Spain twice before and have not yet been to Northern Spain either, we absolutely loved Andalusia on our last trip though). I think with a three year old with us, we are going to be limited on how much museum and sightseeing time we can spend, so we are hoping to put together an easy going itinerary that still allows us time to be in Paris and focus more on the country side. We would like to check out Castles/gardens but don't want to focus entire trip around that either. Def want to spend time in the wine regions and still check out cute quaint villages where there is plenty to do/explore. I know this is quiet vague, but hoping for some suggestions and your absolute favorites? Would it be worth doing 1 week in France and few days in N Spain and then fly back to Paris. Also will May be warm enough to bother going to beaches? Thank you so much!
Posted by
Chicago
505 posts
Manjeena,
One suggestion is to see the D-Day beaches and other sites in Normandy. It's incredibly moving to see the invasion beaches, which stretch for 80 miles. There are related D-Day museums, artifacts and cemeteries. You can hire a tour company that will take you on a whole-day tour or rent a car to see sites on your own. Plus there are other great cultural sites nearby. The Bayeux Tapestry and Bayeux Cathedral are breathtaking. Caen has a great war museum. And Mount San Michel is not far away. There are great eateries in Bayeux.
Wherever you go, have a great time. Cheers.
Posted by
Washington DC
27156 posts
The Spanish Basque country is really nice. I haven't been to the French Basque Country. Bilbao and San Sebastian are both a manageable size, and there are a number of nice coastal villages, plus the somewhat larger Hondarribia right near the border. The southern part of the Basque Country (whose capital is Viktoria-Gasteiz) is quite near the La Rioja wine country. V-G has a lovely medieval district, and the hill town of Laguardia is charming.
But honestly, I don't think combining the Spanish Basque Country with Paris and some other area of France on a 12-day trip is very practical. With so many wonderful areas to visit in France that are easier to reach from Paris, I'd recommend concentrating on France for this trip and holding off on Northern Spain. However, the Deutsche Bahn website indicates that there is one under-7-hour railroad connection to San Sebastian, departing from Paris at 12:24 PM.
I also really liked Alsace when I visited it quite some time ago. If you prefer smaller cities, you'd likely enjoy Colmar. The food and architecture in that area are distinctive, and the train time is more like 3 hours.
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15589 posts
Alsace and Burgundy are easy to combine if you are renting a car. In Alsace be sure to visit Monkey Mountain, especially with your little one. I went to several chateaux - each was very different. Keep an eye out for the nesting storks. The villages are truly charming. In Alsace, stay in one of the villages near Colmar for 3-4 nights. In Burgundy choose an area to explore. I found Avallon to be a good base, though there are others. I'd suggest taking the train to Dijon for 1-2 nights, then renting a car for about a week and returning it in Strasbourg (1-2 nights) and back to Paris by train.
Posted by
Boston
4132 posts
A few random observations about your trip.
--May is a perfect time to travel.
--Popular sights are popular (and crowded) for a reason, but there are strategies for beating that (arriving early, staying late, spending the night etc.)
--You are not going to move as quickly with a toddler in the mix.
A 3-year old can be happy, or not, anywhere.
The above makes me think you should pick a few regions in which you will stay in one location and take day trips. I would be inclined to rule out some destination just because they are logistically outliers (Bordeaux and the Cote d'Azure), not because of fears of crowds. I'd think twice about Spain too. You'll be spending a lot of time in transit.
(Gentle remonstrance: Next time pick your priorities before you buy your airplane tickets. you could have flown into or out of Bordeaux or Nice.)
I would chose east or west of Paris, and since wine is a priority I suggest east. This gives you an embarrassment of riches: Alsace, Burgundy, and the whole Rhone valley from Provence to Lyon. Burgundy a world-class wine region and the others not exactly slouches either. No wine in Normandy though cider is interesting.
You really can't go wrong there with a car. I'd crack open a few guidebooks and see what calls to you. Plenty of cute and quaint in all of these regions, out in the countryside, though I would not use Lyon as a base for daytrips. Provence has magnificent Roman antiquities.
As a bonus if you have an afternoon flight home, there are direct trains to DeGaulle from Provence and from Lyon that bypass Paris, useful if you configure your itinerary to end in one of those locations.
Posted by
Paris
2466 posts
The weather in May is generally nice, in France. Always a good idea to prepare for rain, though.
There are several public holidays in France, which can make things a little difficult, if you don't plan ahead. Some people go on mini-vacations, some take 3 day weekends. Check before you go.
It won't be warm enough to go into the water in France until sometime in mid-June or July, but the beaches will likely be uncrowded.
There are a lot of easy day trips by train from Paris - Provins is a Medieval town that's fascinating. You can Google a list of trips that take only an hour or so from Paris and see what you think.
I'd try to concentrate on fewer places to visit, especially with a young child along. There will be a lot of waiting around in lines for transportation, no matter if you fly or take the train.
Posted by
OP
7 posts
Thank you for all the suggestions and details.. This is quiet helpful and gives us a good guideline to best plan the trip.
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15589 posts
Don't hesitate to come back with more questions as you plan. I got so much great advice and suggestions here for my trip last year!
Posted by
Charm City USA
183 posts
When you say 'checking out other wine regions':
If you are going for 2 weeks, you will not be able to go to Paris AND Alsace AND Burgundy except by whirlwind. With a little one in tow, it seems you will need to allow for some extra slack in the schedule as well.
For Alsace, in addition to the Monkey museum, the Centre des Cigognes et Loutres (the one in Hunawihr-- there are 2!) is pretty cool. They do a twice-daily feeding show that is a lot of fun (cormorants, otters, seals, penguins). The wine villages all seem to have pretty fountains (good for kids). Haut Köningsberg is a nice site, too. The Alsatian museum in Strasbourg is really interesting. I think they do quite a few programs for kids there, but they also have a large doll and toy collection as that was a production center for those industries. I just came back from a cycling holiday in Alsace and found it pretty relaxed. The bus tours/day trippers to the smaller villages seemed to be from Colmar and the crowds cleared out at sunset.
Northern Spain, I would recommend you use a car. Unless you only want to go to one or two towns and stay there. San Sebastian is great, as is Bilbao. But I'm not sure if there are reasonable flight connections in and out that work with the Paris tix.