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Best France options for November

Hello, two of us will be traveling the Spain/France/Italy route from the last week of October until the beginning of December. I have set aside roughly two weeks for France, planning on spending 5-7 days in Paris and would like to visit 2 to 3 other places for a few days each. The trouble I am having is that since it will be November, I am not sure if some of these places are 'worth it.' I'm sure they are all great, but some may be geared toward warm weather activities (not including just walking around-we will do that in any weather). So, my question for you is, out of these places which do you think are more 'worth it' in the chilly months?
-Basque Country
-Lyon
-Beaune
-Provence (most likely with a base in Arles)

We are traveling by train only (local buses as needed) and are not interested in going to a million museums or seeing every tourist trap along the way-we are there for the food, the markets, the scenery, and local culture. That said I do appreciate art and architecture, but we don't want to drive ourselves crazy if we only have a day or two somewhere. Day trips are a definite as long as public transportation allows. Any suggestions?

PS I just finished reading Rick Steves' France...

Thanks for your help!

Posted by
355 posts

I hate that I am saying this, because I love the Basque Country, but I would probably say Beaune and Arles. Logistically, Beaune, Lyon and Arles make more sense than traveling southwest to the pyrenees and then back northeast. Lyon is a large city and with the number of days you have, I would skip it. Spend a couple of days in Beaune (beautiful) and then spend the rest of your days in Arles, with day trips out into the neighboring towns.

Posted by
1329 posts

Arles has a good market and it should be going strong in November. I'd include Arles for the food, market, and potential for a day trip or two as has been mentioned.