DH and I will fly into Paris September 28 and depart October 8. It will be our second trip to France and we are very much looking forward to it. First trip was Normandy for 4 nights and Paris for 5 nights. This trip we'd like to spend 4-5 nights in a different region and end in Paris (hopefully making a day trip to Chartes for a Malcolm Miller tour while he's still doing them). Those that are of higher interest to us: Brittany, Alsace, Burgundy and Dordogne. We are open to renting a car and have typical interests: ruins, architecture, charming medieval villages, history, food, wine and art. I've been reading about the areas and watching RS episodes and they all look pretty fabulous. So, I'm wondering if the October timeframe makes any of these areas better to visit at that particular time than another? Probably can't go too wrong here but we do want to make the most of our time considering the time of year.
Posted by
Olympia, WA, USA
6713 posts
I don't think you can go wrong here if you pick just one area. Brittany might be a little chilly and windy that time of year, but that's just me guessing. We spent a week in Burgundy a few Octobers ago, based in Beaune, and enjoyed it a lot. You'll be too late for the harvest but the vineyards will have beautiful colors.
We drove from Beaune to Bayeux via Chartres in a long day. If you want to visit Chartres, I'd suggest driving there directly from Burgundy -- there's a new autoroute that stays well south of Paris -- and then dropping the car in Chartres and taking an easy one-hour train to Gare Montparnasse. That saves you a round trip in and out of Paris. The same strategy would work for the Dordogne or Brittany, but maybe not Alsace which is further east.
Posted by
London
243 posts
I absolutely loved Burgundy. I went in the summer, but I imagine it would be just beautiful in the fall (I've found that the leaves are just starting to change in Paris in mid-October, so I imagine Burgundy is similar at that time). I stayed in Beaune, which was very charming. Hotel Dieu offered some really interesting history. The food and wine are of course excellent, and I did highly enjoyable bike & wine tour that I recommend if you feel up to it (http://burgundybiketour.com/)!
Posted by
San Francisco/Marin County
9436 posts
Another vote for Burgundy! We stayed in Beaune as well and loved the town. They have a great outdoor market btw. We did both of RS scenic drives and both were amazing. Saw some of the most charming towns I've ever seen in France. We stayed 4 nights and would have liked to stay longer.
Posted by
OP
KS, USA
677 posts
I definitely need to do more research about the areas we're interested in...I spent a few hours this evening back-combing through the RS France forum and found a few gems of posts. And I'll be buying the new RS kindle version tomorrow (got one from '14). Right now I'm leaning towards Alsace, Burgundy, or possibly Brittany (but weather seems more dicey for Brittany, though I'd love to see Carnac). For Alsace, I did just find a "new wine" festival in Eguisheim and a "grape harvest" festival in Barr that first weekend in October that we will be in France. Both look fun but I can only find limited information on them. Could be a great way to connect with local culture?! Also, sounds like Burgundy has some fans and janettravels44 has some great blog posts about the area. Thanks for the input thus far!
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15784 posts
Julie, I had my first trip through "France" (as opposed to Paris) last year in June, exploring the northeast, mostly Burgundy and Alsace. Alsace has all of your interests: architecture, charming medieval villages, history, food, wine and art (except possibly the last . . . but you'll be in hog's heaven in Paris for that!)
In fact, I stayed in a lovely B&B in tiny Eguisheim which was a great base to see the area. Barr is only 50 kms away, so you could easily enjoy both, and Colmar, just "across the highway" from Eguisheim has much to offer, as does Strasbourg.
Assuming you don't want to drive a car as soon as you land (bad idea), consider flying into Frankfurt and taking either the Lufthansa shuttle bus or the train to Strasbourg (easier than from CDG), then renting a car and returning it either in Strasbourg or in Paris.
Posted by
Paris
2466 posts
We took the train from Paris to Strasbourg, then rented a car there and drove down the "wine routes" all the way to Beaune. It was in October, and it was a glorious trip. We dropped off the car in Beaune and took the train back to Paris.
These websites are in French, but you might be able to find others in English, if you need to. They list many more things to do than anyone could possibly have time for, so you'll have to pick your favorites.
If you just need a map, Google "route des vins d'Alsace" or "routes des vins de Bourgogne".
http://www.tourisme67.com/routes-touristiques/route-du-vin.htm