Hi, My husband and I are going to be in France for 4-5 days in September (we start our trip in Amsterdam, stopping in Brugge for a nigtht and then going to Paris). We plan to spend a day or two in Paris and then go to the countryside. He really wants to visit Normandy so we are definitely going there. I was hoping there were some vineyards kind of on the way back to Paris (we will drop the car from there and get Chunnel to London). Any ideas of any vineyards between Normandy and Paris or not too far away from Normandy or Paris? I was thinking we could go to the Loire Valley but since we don't have very much time that seems like a bit too much to bite off. We are excited to do some road tripping but don't want to spend the whole time in the car.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreicated!
Posted by
Seattle, WA, USA
1068 posts
The vinyard in Montmartre is actually, I believe, the remnant of an original large swatch of vinyards that supplied much of Paris with wine. With only 5 days, you are correct in thinking the Loire Valley is too much to bite off. But Normandy's "Cider Route" is a great idea. In fact, Normady is sort of famous for NOT having vineyards... but cider is just as traditionally Gallic as wine, and delicious, to boot! The Guardian ran a piece on it in 2009, which I saved. It's still up: http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2009/oct/10/cider-route-normandy-calvados-hotel
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10245 posts
That's apple country you are going through, apple cider and calvados. You would need to drop down to the Loire to hit some vineyards, or believe it or not, the back side of Montmartre in Paris. There is actually a tiny vineyard there, near the Lapin Agile Restaurant. It's not exactly the rolling hills of the countryside, but it's a real vineyard. You can read about it here:
http://www.montmartrenet.com/article.php?id_article=64
Posted by
Boston
4132 posts
This does not solve your vineyard problem, but have you considered taking a train from Brugges to Lille (France), renting a car there, and driving to your Norman destination? It would save you some time, as you would not be going into Paris, out from Paris, and then back in to Paris just to catch your flight. Also ending in Paris is not a bad plan.
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10245 posts
I wondered the same thing as Adam about doubling back into and out of Paris. His idea of picking a car up in Lille and leaving it in Paris is a good one. Another possibility would be to pick a car up in Paris but leave it in Normandy just before crossing the Channel. Autoeurope will let you do that.