France or Greece?

Do you have freedom to choose when you take the trip, or are you sort of locked in to a particular travel window? Normandy is usually very temperate in the summer, whereas the places most folks go on their first trips to Greece are likely to be seriously hot.

I've taken multiple trips to both France and Greece and am sure you'd have a great vacation in either. You'd probably spend somewhat more time traveling from place to place in Greece because of the scarcity of fast trains and the need to fly or ferry to the islands. That's just a fact of geographical life. To avoid ending up with a hectic trip to Greece, I'd advise thinking about the total time involved in each transfer so you don't plan to switch bases too often. I'm a big fan of Crete because it's a large island where you can spend a lot of time without having to head to the ferry port or the airport.

How long are you planning on being in Greece or France and when are you planning on going? I think a week in Athens is too long, it’s a city better sampled in small doses, maybe four days at most and then a visit elsewhere on the mainland, perhaps Napflion on the coast for visits to sites such as Mycene plus beach time.
A week visiting one or two islands could give you one the chance to visit one or two islands. Santorini for a couple of nights and one other, Naxos seems very popular, or maybe go a bit further afield, Rhodes is fascinating with its long history or Corfu for a very different Island.

Crete is always on my list, lovely island, lots to do and see. Chania and Rethymon are both good places to base yourself. While I don’t dislike Heraklion as much as some forum members I don’t think it’s as good a base as the other two. There are lots of choices along the north coast worth looking at, a good guidebook will help you find the spot to meet your needs.

Note: Greece and Crete are very hot from June through October.

I have visited both countries several times.

France is a larger country and with more to see. Paris alone can fillip a week to take in the sights.
I live Normandy, the Loire Valley, the Alsace, Provence and the Med coast.
For Greece, of course a few days in Athens is a good start. Taking in several of the islands is easily done booking a cruise that stops at several islands.

The food is great in both countries. Greece is a bit less expensive.

I suggest reading some guidebooks on both countries and planning your trip.

I'd opt for Greece over France but a week in Athens is too long, I'd even consider skipping Athens altogether and focus on the islands.

I've been to both (France many times, Greece only once via a cruise). Yeah - no simple answer for which to do FIRST, since the answer really is do BOTH at some point. France does seem "bigger" with more unique parts to it, but I imagine if I spent more time in Greece that would also be the case.
I have found France (and Paris itself) to be an "easy" vacation where the language is simple enough that I can get by, and I could likely throw a dart at it and spend a week exploring that area with no problem. I also think, despite what some others say, a week in any MAJOR historical city - Paris, Rome, London, Madrid, and Athens - is perfectly fine and gives you a really good taste of the city. It does require a little more research & planning (I use a "one big sight" per day rule), but being there a week lets you settle into a nice rhythm with the city.
Of course, both are far more than their largest cities, so in Greece, the islands are the big hit, and if the temps are right and the crowds ebbing, you should find them beautiful. Our cruise was at the end of the big tourism season, and crowds were way down, so that made wandering various islands much more relaxing but the weather was still nearly perfect in temperature. We will return to Greece, but probably not until after at least one more trip to France. In France, there is just about everything (and more) that you might love - similar yet different enough from Italy.

So, my vote would be France first, but start watching for a nice Greek cruise sale in 2024 or 2025. I might also suggest the Alps in France in addition to Paris. Normandy obviously is a fine choice, but I find the Alps to be something special especially if you are active and like hiking or cycling.

If you decide on France, I would consider Lyon. It is a wonderful smaller city with excellent museums, strools and of course food.

Do you prefer beef or chicken? And then decide which country is beef and which is chicken.

Read up on both and decide which calls to you the most. You can't go wrong.

Let me chime in as well to say a week in Athens is too long. My Athenian friends all said 2-3 days max and then explore the rest of the country and islands. That's what I did.

I also think a week in Paris is too long. Four days and add time to other areas.

YMMV

My sister and I spent five and a half days in Athens but we broke it up: 1) Acropolis, Ancient Agora, half of the Acropolis Museum, 2) National Archaeological Museum, 3) a day outside the city with a birding guide, 4) National Gardens and Museum of Cycladic Art, 5) day trip by bus to Mycenae, Epidarus, Nafplio, 6) Acropolis Museum morning. It all depends on your interests and what you want to see.

We have just returned from a 32 day trip .

The 7 days we spent in Paris was 5 days too long for us -BUT - we have been to Paris many times have seen all major sites and visited most major museums multiple times .
It was mid June - Paris was just too hot and crowded, most major museums were nasty ( I love the Louvre and have been many times but this time we left after two hours - it was just too crowded for us .
Our best day was the day we got in a train for an hour and got the heck out of Paris ! Chartres was amazing little city - the old town is a lovely walk through , there’s a scenic little river to walk along - food was delicious and fair price even within walking distance of Cathedral

The rest of the time , minus 4 days in London which we flew in and out of ) we spent in Greece .
Athens isn’t our thing - but the islands are amazing - we did waste 4 nights on Mykonos - where we have been before , but it’s also crowded and WAY over priced - plus frankly the vendors there just see you as cash cow prey .

Now , the absolute highlights were the rest of the time in Naxos , Paros and Syros!! ( syros was new for us and now a favourite - and only a one hour ferry from mainland !)
Cheap food and hotels , nice friendly people ! Gorgeous beaches and scenery -

My response might not be as relevant as others since I haven't been to Greece yet but we're planning our trip there for this spring so I've been doing a ton of research. However, I've been to France 3 times. I've also been to Italy and many other countries in Europe, except for Greece. I love France! As others have noted, there are so many diverse areas of the country to explore. Each one is unique, charming and well worth visiting. And the food and wine are simply amazing.

Contrary to the common French stereotype, we've found the French people to be wonderful. Honestly, the most helpful people I've ever met. For example, we were standing in the Metro in Paris trying to figure out which side of the track we needed to be on and someone came up to us, totally out of the blue, saying, with a big smile on her face, "Follow me- this way to Notre Dame!!" We didn't even ask for help (we must have looked really lost!).

Even better was when we were at the Nespresso store on the Champs Elyses trying to buy Nespresso pods from the automatic machine. Unfortunately, it wouldn't take my credit card. The line was backing up behind us so we decided to just leave. We headed out the door and a woman came running down the street after us, saying she'd get us the pods with her credit card. We walked back with her but at that point, someone else had already stepped up to the machine. This woman simply elbowed her way back in, asked me which pods we wanted to buy and proceeded to get them for us! I offered to give her cash but she wouldn't take our money. Can't say I've ever had someone do that in the US. ;-)

Every part of France is wonderful, especially the Loire Valley, Provence, etc. As someone else mentioned, the fast trains get you wherever you want to go, efficiently and inexpensively.

Given what I've read about Greece and learned from friends/family who've bee there (my brother lived on Santorini for a few months), I expect to love Greece too. I've heard wonderful things about the people, the food and overall beauty of the landscape. Each European country has something that makes it special and I have yet to visit a country I didn't enjoy so I truly think you can't go wrong either way.

Sorry I'm not more helpful but I wanted to put in a big plug for France. It's my favorite country (so far). :-)

One thing I guess I would consider is time of year you're going. I hear Greece is very hot in the summer. France is much more temperate. Maybe that will help you decide!

I don't think asking others is the right way to choose your next destination.
Do you need to ask others to know your own tastes?

The best way to choose a destination is to ask yourself:

“What do I like, and what are the real reasons why I would want to go to a certain place?”

The original poster hasn't been back here since June 10th, so perhaps the trip is on the back burner at the moment.

what a great resource this forum is; THANK YOU ALL! After my post, and all this great advice, my wife and i have decided on Greece for next year, with France the year after that. Thank you for your insight! It's such an great community - helpful, friendly, and smart!

I think that is wise - depending on when you are thinking of traveling. Next summer is not going to be the easiest time to visit France with the Olympics taking place.