France itinerary plus a couple questions

Bah, I can't do math! That's 11 days, plus another for travel. I guess I could always cut the Loire Valley down to two...

For that short amount of time I would skip Mont St. Michel (as much as I love it and Normandy) and keep it to Paris, Loire and the Dordogne. Up through April you could have cold weather/lots of rain (but you never know, every year is different), so I would say May and Sept/Oct are your best bet.

Susan's right about MSM for your schedule, and you are pretty pressed to cover the Loire and the Dordogne in just 6 days. If you are determined to try, here is your best shot. Spend 2 nights (1 full day) in the Loire, no more. That gets you to the Dordogne the evening of Day 7. Spend nights 8, 9, and 10 there too, and on the morning of Day 11 get up super early and drive either to Bordeaux or Toulouse and fly home from there. You'll wish you had more time. Alternatively: 1) have a really nice tour of the Loire and a bit of Normandy and Brittany, including an overnight at MSM, over the 6 days 2) pry a few extra days loose from your lives to spend on this trip and do it right. I recommend (2).

I can probably skip going to see Mont St. Michel - my husband has already been anyways. However, I'll probably stick with Loire and Dordogne, even if I can't see everything. I'm not all that interested in Normandy and Brittany, and I would rather see a bit of things I REALLY want to see than more of things I don't want to. With that said, I've noticed my schedule is probably really heavy on touring old castles. While I LOVE that, my husband is more of a good sport about it - he'll go with me, but it's just not something he's really interested in. Are there any good wineries in those areas? Maybe some active things to do? I'll probably limit myself to just a few chateaux (sniff!).

Loire Valley has wineries,, and places that offer "degustations"( tastings!!) so hubby will likely like that area, lol We are going to check out a cave and vineyard,, its called Cave de la Grande Brosse,, check out the website, its really close to Chateau Chenouceau( which is a great chateau to visit) so we will do the Chateau in the morning and visit the Cave de la Grande Brosse in the afternoon.
In Dorgdonne area there are the prehistoric caves,, is hubby interested in those? Plus there is canoeing on the Lot river?

The Renaissance chateaux of the Loire are really nothing like the old fortresses of the Dordogne, if that means anything to husband. Another reason to go light on the Loire, perhaps. Almost every region of France has its own wine scene, some more exalted than others. The Black Wine of Cahors, though more of a curiosity than a great wine, is famous.

Teresa, having been to all the mentioned areas, and while the Loire Valley and Dordonne are very nice, given your time, these would not be my choices. I would not include Versailles. Instead, I would visit the Napoleon apartments at the Louvre. The following assumes that the two of you have not already done it. I would take the TGV to Avignon and rent a car for a leisurely tour of Provence. Avignon is a decent base, although there are many other choices. The areas to see are Cote du Rhone, the luberon hill country, and a bit south of Avignon to Nimes and the Pont du Gard. I guess that Arles is actually west of the luberon hill country. From this base, you could also spend a day driving down to the Med coast and see from St. Tropez to Cassis.

If husband does not go for chateaux, maybe drop Versailles OR drop the Loire. Also there are some fine chateaux (Fontainblue, Chantilly) as day trips from Paris, as an alternative to time in the Loire. David's suggestion of Provence has merit and is logistically sweet thanks to the TGV, but if your heart is set on the Dordogne (a great place) that is feasible too. You could drive from Paris, or take the train (and rent a car when you arrive), or take the TGV to Angouleme and rent and drive from there.

The Loire is chock full of small wineries, and the wines are among the most interesting in all of France. While the Dordogne proper comes up somewhat short in the wine department, it's close to good wine regions, such as Cahors and the fringes of Bordeaux. And as someone mentioned, the chateaus of the Loire and Dordogne are totally different. The Loire ones are mostly pleasure palaces, the Dordogne's are fortresses.

Hi,
I would suggest you explore going to Arles or Avignon, and perhaps Vaisson la Romaine. They are wonderful. There are just too many wonderful options!

Hi Teresa: I'd skip Mont St. Michel and spend more time elsewhere. We loved the Dordogne and have been to the prehistoric cave paintings nearby in Las Caux. Loved our stay at Chateau de la Treyne, on a hillside overlooking the Dordogne river valley.

the last time I checked, prices seem to drop in Oct. and I think weather is still pretty good.

Here's another vote for the Dordogne. We did not rent a car in when we were there in October 2009. It was pricey, but we hired Phillippe (http://allophilippetaxi.monsite-orange.fr/) to guide us for 6 hours. We saw the Lascaux replica cave (http://www.lascaux.culture.fr/#/fr/00.xml) and the Font-de-Gaume. Both were included in the cost, Phillippe got the tickets and it was money very well spent. He also took us around to see some other "sights" (it's fois gras country), the best of which had only recently opened to the public. It is a fort castle like others have mentioned, but a very special one, built right into the side of a cliff. If you go to the Dordogne be sure to see it -- Maison Forte de Reignac (http://www.maison-forte-reignac.com/#). We stayed at Les Cordeliers (http://www.hotelsarlat.com/), a B&B run by Brits right in the heart of town. They even picked us up at the train station and did our laundry for us. (They may not do that anymore after they did ours. It had been awhile). We didn't have time to see it all, but those two caves were on my bucket list and the Maison Forte was an extra added bonus. Although it is recommended that you have a car to drive around the area, as you can see, it is not mandatory.

We did a similar trip 2 years ago. We did Paris, Versaille and the Dordonne area. I like the four days in Paris. There is alot to do so don't cut it short at all. Versailles was spectacular. Don't miss it. Spend the whole day. It is not a long way from Paris. Easy to do on a day trip by train. Visit Marie's Anntonettes (forgive the spelling) farm that she built to get away from it all int he back of the estate. Dordonne was great! We stayed in the beautiful town of Sarlat and drove to many of the villages along the village. See the prehistoric caves in the area. There is one that is still open to the public but you need reservations. Visit the towns like Beynac along the river. This area was so relaxing after Paris. But this area is a good 5 to 6 hour drive so leave some time for travel. Also bring a GPS. I brought my garmin and it saved me hours in getting lost. The roads near the Dordonne can get hard to naviagagte. I got the France chip right from garmin online. I don't think I could have figured out the gps that came in the rental car. I was happy I had the one I was use to.

Good timing on your question as we got home May 30 and covered much of what you're asking about. May is a good time, as tourist season is not in full force and prices are often lower for the shoulder season. We did have some chilly, showery days at the beginning, but weather in the Dordogne was in the upper 70s at the end. Paris - definitely 4 days. We took the RER to Versailles where we saw the chateau and picked up a car at Hertz. Drove to the Loire Valley later that day, stayed 2 nights, visited Chenonceau and Amboise during our one full day and then Chambord on our way to Burgundy the next morning. I think 2 nights is plenty in the Loire Valley. Haven't been to Mont St. Michel. The Dordogne is wonderful and Rick Steves' book has great itineraries. Definitely 3 nights there. We stayed in Sarlat, a good base and really cute town. The drive back to Paris took 6 hours with lunch and breaks. Roads are great. We stayed at the Ibis Hotel at CDG, a good, cheap alternative before a morning departure to the US.

My 18-year-old son and I spent 3 nights in Sarlat, in the Dordogne, and enjoyed it. I'll second Phillippe - we spent the day with him, saw the Font-du-Gaume cave and a raft of chateaux, castles and charming medieval towns. Font-du-Gaume is the only neolithic cave where you can still see the original paintings; the others are all replicas now. It's not easy to get to and from the area. We spent a long day taking a taxi from Sarlat to the main rail line to catch a train to Toulouse where we took a flight to our next destination. We were beat at the end of that day. So make sure you work out your transportation options carefully. One of the coolest things we did in almost 3 weeks in Europe was go to the farmers' market in Sarlat. Market days in French cities are great, and very accessible. You really are there in the life of the people, not just a tourist. I got some great cheese from the farmer who made it, learned how to order a half-kilo of cherries (demi-kilo), and sampled home-made sausages with all kinds of interesting flavors. Had a similar experience with a farmers' market this spring in Orvieto, Italy - so if you can go to a market, wherever you are, enjoy it.