Slow Travel Feedback

I don’t think you can go wrong with any of your thoughts. We rented an apartment for 3 weeks in Lyon and very much enjoyed it. Another area I would look at is the Loire Valley area. We have friends that have spent several years doing what you are considering. They stayed in Tours but they also do not want to rent a car so their stays were in towns that had public transportation options for day trips. We stayed in a very small village for a week (Azay Le Rideau) but you would need to look at a larger town like Tours or Amboise for long term rentals. We spent several days in Bordeaux and that would also be a good base particularly it you are interested in wine (which we are). Enjoy!

I'll let others chime in on France, as it's been a couple of decades since I was there. What you are proposing is a great idea and one I've been thinking of as well.

But I did want to mention Schengen. Maybe you were speaking figuratively but it's always a good idea to remove a few days from that 90 day period. You never know if you will get stuck or something will come up that leaves you in the country too long. You definitely don't want those penalties incurred. So I would plan on 87-88 days total, rather than 90. You just never know. You might have to leave a rental place a few days early, but better that than getting caught by the Schengen police. :-)

In Brittany take a look at Quimper. We found it to be an ideal hub in Finistre. Good bus and rail connections, lots of good day trip options. A very appealing town not terribly touristed.

I would not choose St. Malo for a long stay. Dinan is very charming but pretty small for long stays.

gritz,
Will you have a car? If so, I would take one of those stays and base myself in Bordeaux/Dordogne. Two weeks in the Dordogne area, and two weeks in Bordeaux area. They are only about 3 hours apart, but each has plenty to do locally and for day trips. We spent the first part of June near La Roque Gageac/Vitrac l(Dordogne region) ast year and had great weather and were ahead of the crowds. I won't go into detail about all there is to see and do...I leave that up to you and other forum contributors. Bordeaux has the advantage of being one of the great wine regions of Europe, and has proximity to the ocean. In this general region is Carcassone, Cahors, Albi, to name a few towns we have enjoyed visiting while ion the area.
Have fun planning and executing your voyages! Lucky you!

TY Kim, Mardee, Brad, and Judy,
Appreciate all the feedback. I definitely will be cautious on the 90 day limit and leave myself a couple of days, at least, as "insurance". It looks like to get the best rental rates, a 28 day stay (month) seems to cover the ABNB timeframe. There is also a "MorningCroissant.com" rental (France Only) that seems to have very competitive rentals. I've checked them out, as much as I can, and they have been around for awhile.

I don't know if I will be renting a car but an option. I'm looking for public transport as the main mode though. Bordeaux is on the list. Do like wine! I figure I will make another visit in the 2nd 90 day and see other locales.

An TY for the Brittany Quimper. That i exactly what I am looking for, a central area in which to visit surrounding sites/towns , with ease of transport, while the home base will ""occupy" me enough on its own. Plenty of great walking/biking, parks, cafes, restaurants, churches, and maybe some town events.

TY, again.

gritz,
Brittany is wonderful and Quimper is a terrific base. Try to be there in July for the Fete Cornouaille, a celebration of Breton music and culture. And of course Carnac for the menhirs!

TY Judy.. Unfortunately July won't work this time. Appreciate the idea though.

Just thinking, is it easy to get to the coast from Quimper, it doesn't look to far. Car or public transport? Are those nearby coastal towns good for the Atlantic rugged views?

You can reach Point du Raz by bus from Quimper. Hiking paths along very dramatic coast. On the Crozon Peninsula you can reach Camaret sur Mere by bus. Very rugged coastal paths with alignments and WW2 fortifications. Cool town we spent 3 nites. Brad

So if you do this, please leave a trip report. As I move closer and closer to retirement, which I’m hoping I’ll be in a few years I’m seriously thinking about my options. My other half will not leave the United States permanently, but I’m thinking about selling the house, putting everything in storage and traveling for a year doing this kind of thing. maybe 90 days in Europe, 90 days in Latin America, etc. while we figure out where we want to live when this is all over. ( that seems to be a subject of debate ).

TY Brad & Carol, Brad, exactly what I was looking for. Lot's of great detail, it's the little things that make it work.

Carol, I would be more than happy to do a report, which will be way down the road. I, too, am still working out the details and the overview of my plans. I may or may not go permanently, too soon to decide. I have family here in the states, a bit spread out though, so maybe a slow travel of 3 mo. then home. then back out. It's only a plane ride I say and with technology, easier to stay in touch. These decisions are not ever easy, pros and cons as in everything. I have been watching a lot of YouTube, plenty of people doing the Slow Travel thing. Not to plug anyone in particular, but I found this one "brianandcarrietravels" to have a lot covered on the ins/outs of their 2 1/2+ years of doing this. Their planning, the nuts and bolts of what they did on storage, family, finances, etc. I've learned a lot, they have a lot of videos done already. They are in their early to mid 50's, a bit younger then me but still much in common.

I see you mention Morning Croissant in one comment. I'll just put in my two cents worth that I found them extremely annoying when we rented from them in 2014. Even though I clearly stated that I'm in USA Mountain time (8 hours earlier than Paris), they twice called me at 4 AM - quite unnecessarily. Then, I experienced a health emergency and had to sacrifice three months of prepaid rental. They were completely unwilling to work with us at all in terms of credit or refund. The apartment we got (in Lyon) was great, but I wish I'd known at the time that it was available on other platforms as well.

Sorry you had an issue Clawsmith.

We stayed in Provence, in a small, charming town called Lourmarin. Not many US tourists, we heard mostly French, along with some German, maybe a little Italian or Spanish. We had a lovely apartment a short walk to the center of town. We parked our car in the nearby free lot a block or so from the flat.

We were less than half an hour drive to many other towns,(Roussillion, Cadenet, Cucuron, and more), and less than an hour from Aix, Arles, Marseille, Cassis, Avignon, and others. We often went on market day to one of these towns, (Lourmarin's market is one of the best) then had lunch at a restaurant, then home for a nap, and maybe an evening experience, or light dinner at home. Delightful and laid back. This area is called the Luberon and has wonderful inexpensive Roses. We spent a few days in Cassis, a small fishing village near the spectacular calanques (rocky coves). We explored them by boat, our hardier friends hiked one of the easier paths. I can't wait to go back!

Added Quimper to my list of possibilities. I begin my slow travel life style in March 2026, after retirement. Plan on hitting France at least once a year, starting off in Paris (so far) for a month in 2026.