I want to find one base town per week in france to explore the region. Some sggested one week in Montpellier ( for heart of provence and best in Languedoc Rousillon), second week in Tours ( for Loire chateaus) or Strasbourg ( for Alsace Lorraine). I will have my wife and 14 year old daughter on board. Any pointers, ideas, disagreements ?
Posted by
Lebanon
711 posts
Hi Mark... Here are some thoughts.... We photograph in France and were there in September , and October. For Provence we used Isle-sur -la Sorgue as a base. Stayed at the Hotel Nevons.The Nevons is very reasonable and the rooms in the anex are huge. Best of all they have their own parking lot that no one else can use. Isle-sur la - Sorgue is right in the middle of Provence and so close to all the Luberon villages and all the Cotes de Rhone villages. It is also close to the Var and some of the Riviera. Isle-sur -la Sorgue has a Sunday antique and brocante market that is one of the best in Europe. Your daughter would love all the clothes and scarves and there is a lot to do in La Sorgue for such a little town.There is a laundramat, and quite a few restaurants and about 200 antique shops open on the weekend.What we liked the best was the ease of getting around the south of France from there.
Posted by
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
191 posts
When I was a 15 girl (although not very girly-girl so will depend on your daughter), I did a school trip to France for two weeks and we were mostly in Normandy. We did tours of the d-day beaches, Mont St. Michel and a bunch of other things. It was amazing, and I would definitely recommend that you consider Normandy. As for a base town, I think someone else here may have a better idea than me--we all stayed with families in Caen.
I was in Amboise for a couple of days in September and would love to go back and do a full week in the Loire Valley.