One month France itinerary advice

Hi BB,

I will share an insight that I learned from a wonderful 5-week trip years ago. In a nutshell: vary the pace.

You are already varying the terrain, and you are moving at a reasonable clip, not too fast. But a long trip is not a sprint and it is an opportunity to take a good chink of time, 5 days or a full week even, and spend them in some wonderful spot where you can stop and smell the cafe creme. As well as explore the area at a depth that is not otherwise possible.

I'd suggest Provence; with four nights you are almost there. I'd suggest 6 to 8.

2: "is this even necessary?" No. Nothing is mandatory, you should suite yourself. The Loire chateaux bore some of us to tears.

3: In my opinion, the Dordogne deserves 4 full days, which would require 5 nights. 4 nights arguably if you are in a hurry. 2 days is just not worth all the trouble to get there and then to get on to your next destination.

5: I've already sounded off about Provence. Stay in Arles. Spend more time. You will not regret it.

If you are having doubts about the Riviera, I'd suggest you leave it for another trip.

As for Colmar versus Dordogne: This is a tough choice. Personally, I rate the Dordogne higher (and have been to both), but if you leave it off you can have a much simpler itinerary with a lot less driving.

Alternatively for wine and small towns you cold add another day to Burgundy (Beaune). There's lots of both there.

I really urge you to think about pacing, and how to get the most out of your month. Have a great trip!

Thanks my main question about my trip is should i just stick to one home base in provence for the full time or split it up.

I am doing this whole trip by train and though Avignon might be a good base, but I've heard some negative reviews. Any thoughts?

With the loire valley should I reduce my stay so I can experience more of the dordogne and provence? Is there enough to do and see in the provence region in a 6 to 8 day span?

Stay in Avignon (I heard some bad reviews? What does that mean?)
or Nimes or Aix they are all good hubs to get around in Provence instead of changing hotels.
I'd go to Nice and one of the hill top towns like Eze and even Monte Carlo on the Riviera.
Its beautiful by the sea.
I was there last year and am going back about a month from now based in Juan les Pins Antibes.
I have not been to the Dorgogne yet but I may make a trip there from Bordeaux next month.
I would stay in the the Loire one city Amboise or Blois would be enough.

Ive read on some forums that it seemed dirty and may not be the best option is all. I know this is a big question in a lot of forums (good home base in provence), but I wanted to here different opinions specific to my itinerary.

Thoughts on aix en provence?

Avignon dirty? I did not notice 3 years ago.
Aix en Provence have not been.
To tell you the truth that Provence it all started to look the same to me after a while except for the hill top towns like Rousillon and Gordes and Les Baux.

I would drop the Dordogne is rail is your sole intended mode of transport. This area of France is more isolated and less well served by public transport. Head to Bordeaux instead.

5 nights in Paris
(Day trips to reims and versailles)
3 nights in the Loire valley (In just one location)
2 Nights in Bordeaux
1 night in carcassonne
5 nights in provence (in just one location)
3 nights in lyon
3 nights in beune
3 mights in colmar

Aix-en-Provence is a college town, but is still nice to see.
If you were to use this as a base, you could go on the train as far as Aigues-Mortes, then would have to rent a car to see Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer - only about 40 minutes.

I think Avignon would be a better base, though it bores the hell out of me.

You should buy tickets 90 days in advance of your departure, and some TGV trains will need reservations.
You will need to rent a car at some point to see the other places you intend to go to.

Could you share what time of year it would be when this trip is to occur? Weather and availability of activities vary depending on time of year.

Province is not easy to cover comprehensively without a car. Most of the Provencal places you want to see do not have train stations (Gordes, Roussillon, Les Baux, Uzes, Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer, St. Remy, Pont du Gard). Bus service isn't available to Les Baux at all except in July and August (when you have to deal with heat and crowds throughout southern France). Some of the other towns have quite limited bus service (especially outside July and August) that will make it difficult to see more than one of the small towns in a day. Realistically, you will need to take at least one full-day bus or van tour to knock off 3 or 4 of them at a time. That will probably cost you over 100 € and will tie you to the tour company's timing.

I believe Avignon is probably the most convenient base for Provence, over all, for tourists without cars. I spent a week there for that reason and thought it was fine.

You need to spend some time Googling "Bus A to B" to see what you will be facing, transportation-wise. You'll need to expand the time allotted to the area or cut back on your destinations (or both) unless you're willing to be take a bunch of bus tours. That research will help you figure out whether you can simplify matters and have just one base in Provence. Splitting 4 days between two hotels is pretty inefficient, and I would try very hard to avoid that, especially when the two potential bases are as close together as Avignon and Arles.

As Rick says in his book, it is much easier to get around the Riviera without a car than to do the same in Provence. Nice is a fab base for the Riviera if you want to make a bunch of quick trips to surrounding towns. Note, though, that Nice is a large city that is not 100% polished up for tourists.

As far as public transportation is concerned, I believe the Dordogne is even tougher than Provence, though I haven't yet attempted it. You might consider a bus tour in that area.

Four days in the Loire Valley strikes me as rather a long time unless you have reason to believe you will love the chateaux. Or specifically their interiors. I know that I do not generally have any interest in palace interiors, so I am skipping that area.

How wonderful to have a month in France. I am assuming you land in Paris. If you have not been before, you have allotted very few nights to Paris itself. I have spent many weeks over the years in Paris and have yet to see everything. I LOVE Paris. You may be jet lagged so your day of arrival may not be a full day depending on where you come from.

Versailles takes at least a half day, so you are away from Paris for another half day.

Reims will likely be a full day away with about 3 hours of train total plus getting to & from the train station in Paris. Perhaps you are driving? I have yet to visit Reims but did some research about it; I was considering at least 1 night stay to see the light show at the cathedral and fit in 2 tastings. 1 day may be too short.

Overall you have 3.5 days in Paris, one potentially jet lagged. Doable if you need to, and Rick has a plan in his book to see the top sights in 3 days. I recommend longer in Paris.

I visited Some of Provence on Rick's tours so I have seen a number of the places you list. I stayed in Remy for 2 nights on my own and enjoyed it. Try to visit when market day is on. Yes, it is difficult to see all the places you list on your own and with little time.

I think your plan is pretty good with few one night stays. I do like the Riviera and am returning to Villefranche sur mer, 3 km from Nice, this fall for the 6th time for a full week. I don't think you can fit in the Riviera this trip without taking other places off your list. There are many places to visit in this area. Do try and return when you can spend more time near Nice. Pairing Provence and the Riviera on a future visit would be great.

Have a great trip!

Thank you every one I decided to cut of loire completely and do that on another trip along with northern france. This will allow me to spend more time in provence and dordogne.

I am traveling only by public transportation I have done a lot of research and it seems that using only buses and trains is manageable in both provence and dordogne. I will be traveling next july

Is transportation really that difficult without a car?

In Provence we paid someone 60 euros for a half day tour to some of the places to get the best views great photo ops from a distance Rousillion, Gordes, Les Baux, and the Sénanque Abbey hard to access by public transportation, although I know if I researched it well enough I could have figured it out. So that is another alternative if you can not figure out the buses. The one problem with buses is you have to know the schedules when a bus is going back the other way so sometimes you have leave or stay longer than you want at a particular site.

The problem you're going to run into is infrequent or non-existent buses on some routes. I am not thrilled at getting up (perhaps) before 6 AM to catch a bus. Nor do I like to live by a bus schedule that forces me to spend 5 or 6 hours in a tiny, tiny town when there are other places not that far away I'd also like to see (but cannot, because there are no bus links). Be very aware of how much schedules drop,off on Sundays and holidays and outside the months of July and August. Saturday is also iffy on some routes.

You can have a fine vacation without a rental car, but try not to get overly attached to specific potential destinations that do not have train service unless you find documented proof that buses will be running frequently during your period of travel. Don't forget to check the schedules back to your anticipated base. Sometimes that's where it falls apart.

Hello,
I recently returned from a month in France, two weeks in Provence & two in Paris, and would like to some random observations. It will most likely be in the 90's, in Provence in July, so pace yourself and plan mid-day breaks. In the morning the cruise ships unload onto buses and head for the villages & abbey you mentioned-- Roussillon, Lourmarin, etc. They become very crowded and can be rather unpleasant. So visit in the morning or late afternoon, if at all possible. At Les Baux it is worth the 10 euro to visit ruin at top. I very much liked Arles, and thought Avignon offered more options (Arles Saturday market was amazing). I may be removed from the list serve for saying this, but recommend Aix-en-Provence be a day trip. Getting around by bus is doable, but can take a lot of time. Seriously consider renting a car to visit those harder to reach places. If you are a nature lover, do rent a car to see the Carmargue (get a good map & bug spray) and I would skip St. Maries-de-la-Mer. Church was interesting, but very touristy. Time better spent exploring the countryside. Paris is wonderful and it is a big, crowded city. If I had to do it over again, I would have spent one week in Paris, and the second week in another part of France. Enjoy! Whatever you decide to do, you'll have a wonderful time. Adrianne