Please sign in to post.

Need Help for a Paris Side Trip

Hello All. I have read through some prior posts regarding side trips from France, and some of the information has been very helpful.

I am hoping to get more specific suggestions based on my itinerary. We are doing 5 nights in Paris, then traveling for 4 nights elsewhere before returning to Paris for a few days. We are wine collectors and lovers of good food and new life experiences. We are the type that like to travel off the beaten path, so to speak.

Although tourist attractions are important to us, we want to use this side trip to try and experience old France. We also want to hit the wine regions we love so much. That being said, we would like to place ourselves somewhere accessible to either Burgundy or Chateauneuf Du Pape.

Provence sounds amazing and know plenty of people who have traveled there. St Remy was suggested to me as a good place to have as home base. Avignon was not recommended as a home base. This was by a local contact I met in the region.

Anyway, your advice and input would be appreciated. Our focus will not be wine, but would like to do some tastings and purchasing while there.

Posted by
9110 posts

Bordeaux for pete's sake. Americans never seem to go there and it's great. Wine places out to the west at St Emilion, royal rope factory and cordage museum to the north at La Rochelle. What else could you want?

Posted by
4132 posts

Ed has lots of good ideas, but I frankly don't see Bordeaux on a four-day trip from Paris. It's feasible, but you are really only left with two days on the ground after travel. (And if the focus isn't wine, what else is there to do there, really?)

I agree with your local contact about St. Remy vs. Avignon, but (a) you'll need a car and (b) there are many wonderful small towns that would make a good base. Nearby Arles in another good choice. Both are some distance from Chateauneuf (though it's manageable), so if that's where you'll be spending most of your time you might want to get closer.

Beaune is similarly a good pick for Burgundy. A car is really helpful to get off that beaten thing either region. Semur-en-Aixios is also nice, and I could suggest a place or two in northern Burgundy. What kinds of sightseeing would please you?

Posted by
29 posts

I plan to have a car, so no worries there. If we get close enough to make it coastal, that would be a great side trip. I hear Marseille has made a lot of progress from what it used to be, but was also told it was a cruise ship port, and I would be happy to pass on that.

Ed, Totally agree with you about Bordeaux. Amazing wines, and I know the region is stellar. I am much more of a southern rhone or burgundy kind of guy.

Saw some canoeing on the river flowing under the Pont Du Gard. That looked great. Local townships, museums, countryside driving is just fine with me. We will probably take advantage of some down time as well.

Posted by
1329 posts

David - If you have a car and love wine and want to be off the beaten path a bit, you might consider Mourchon outside Seguret. The wine is stellar, the views spectacular, and you can easily get to Pont du Gard and the Luberon hill towns. The winery even has a holiday cottage you can rent. The owners are very welcoming and they even have a holiday cottage you can rent. Check out domainedemourchon.com.

Mas de la Dame, outside Les Baux, is worth a stop too.

Posted by
9110 posts

Sheesh, nobody catches the humor.

The only thing west of Bordeaux is Labrador or something.

The rope museum was a ploy to sucker somebody else into one of my stupd detours.

The old part of Bordeaux is great, however, a five hour hike is a bit far.

The rest of the crowd has workable ideas.

Posted by
1329 posts

Ed - LOL! Actually Arcachon and Cap Ferret are west of Bordeaux...