Please sign in to post.

Were go (8 nights) between Britanny and Provence ?

Posted by (Montréal, Canada ) on

Hi ! 
We have a 32 nights family (2 adults and 2 kids of 8 and 12)trip in France this summer (july 10 to august 11). We will stay 5 nights in Paris and 8 in Normandy and Britanny.

We now have a hard time figuring out what to do between on Britanny base (Dinan) and Provence. We will keep 11-12 nights for Provence, Alps and Lyon, os that leaves us with 8 nights to place somehere between Dinand and Provence.

We have some ideas : 

1) Puy du fou: lut that means a lot and a lot of people in the heat of july. That would also meane to nights thre (before and after) 
2) Nantes: For les Machines de l'ile,  We dont know if Nantes itself is a worthy stop. 
3) Dunes de Pilat + Bordeaux: we already seen bid dunes in Michigan (USA), and it will be croowdy. Bordeaux seems meh for many people. 
4) Dordogne: 4 nights around Sarlat seem like an obvious choice. 
5) Carcassonne : one night stop in route
6) Auvergne (near  Clermont Ferrand): that would mean to cut Carcassonne. 

Many choices, not enough time  ! So any ideas for a family with 8 ans 12 years old kids that love swiming, to rides, bike and kids stuff are welcome !

Thanks !

Posted by
7216 posts

I would go Puy du Fou, Dordogne, Carcassonne. I find Nantes entirely unexciting (but this is my very personal opinion), and Arcachon for the dunes is a bit of a detour. 2 nights - 4 or 5 nights - 1 or 2 nights would be my time allocation.
If curious about Nantes, you would have time to stop between Dinan and Puy du Fou.

Posted by
4132 posts

I'd plan the 8 days around the Dordogne and I'd stay there for at least 5 nights, with a car. You would not regret more time there either.

5 nights is only 4 full days. You will not run out of things to do and it may be the highight of your trip.

Posted by
8411 posts

We will have our granddaughter in Paris for a couple of weeks this spring and are doing a two night side trip to Nantes just for the Machine d'Iles -- so we think it is very much a worthwhile stop when you have kids this age.
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/2019/09/13/les-machines-de-lile-nantes/
The city would not be a destination otherwise but is pleasant, has excellent public transport and we are pleased we did it as a side trip last spring.

Be sure your time in Nantes is when the elephant is walking and the marine carrousel is operating. You will want to have reservations for the elephant ride well in advance. It would be a shame to be there if these things are not operating. The workshop is also interesting.

Posted by
766 posts

I agree with Adam to spend a week in Dordogne: canoes, swimming, caves, castles, markets. Perfect!

This topic has been automatically closed due to a period of inactivity.