Travel through France

Now that is a challenging question and I am sure there will be lots of options for you. I have been to France only one time and for my experience, I decided on the Loire Valley as my 'other' part of France to explore. I was drawn to the chateau's and wines. The great quantity of chateau's bring with them a lot of history.

If I were to go back tomorrow, there are so many places I would like to get to including the Bordeaux or Burgundy regions, the French Alps, and everyone on this site speaks very highly of Normandy.

So there you have it. Good luck.

Apryl:

Many great places to go. I love Burgundy and the Loire - but if it was me I'd go to the Dordogne. Sarlat, Beynac, Domme, Rocamadour, etc. So many charming villages. The ancient cave paintings can be found there too.

But for me the best part of the Dordogne is the cuisine. Foie Gras, Confit de Canard, Pommes Sarladaise - I could go on and on. Be sure to try Tourain - the local soup - simple and so delicious. The wines are under-appreciated (and a great value!) and the cheeses are to die for.

Rent a gite for a week. Try vrbo or some of the other rental websites.

Read the recently published novel "Bruno, Chief of Police" (I think the author is Martin Walker) for a real sense of the region.

Have fun.

I would recommend the Dordogne river valley as well, for similar reasons. An if you should decide to rent a gite for a week (which is what we did), I can highly recommend this one;

http://www.lepetit-manoir.fr/welcome.htm

Apryl,

A good trip you have in mind...the third week I would suggest spending in the Loire River valley to see those marvelous chateaux and towns OR go to Alsace to see Strasbourg and the surrounding area.

If you have a full week, you can do both areas but set aside 3 full days for Strasbourg.

The Loire has its chateaux but apart from that it's one of the big flat agricultural valleys of the world - like the Po. Or the San Joaquin. Only with nuclear plants looming on the horizon.

Burgundy is beautiful with small wine towns to visit. Not far is Annecy; a flowery small city on a beautiful lake below the mountains.

Wow, a whole week in May in France not yet spoken for!

I personally would spend it in the Southwest, with an emphasis on the Dordogne, Lot, and Vezere valleys in Perigord. Maybe even fly into Tolouse and go from there to Provence, ending in Paris. But you could make a case for Burgundy and Alsace too.

Really, you and your husband should do a little research and soul-searching about what you like. Or if you'd like better suggestions, tell us what a good trip would be for you. Is it food or castles or cave art or culture, or what?

You can't really go wrong that time of year.

Suggest you don't miss Carcassone and Albi.
we used Karen Brown.com and found very nice B&B's outside of those cities and in Utz

By definition, the only areas between Paris and Provence are Bourgogne and the Rhone Alpes. That leaves Dijon/Beaune, Lyon, and Grenoble/Chamonix as the only well-known spots along a fairly straight line.

The ideas of the other folks beat the above spots hands-down, no questions asked.

Deviate!

Spend a couple of nights in the Loire on the way to the Dordogne, and have 3 nights there. The historic Carcassonne could be seen in a long afternoon on the way to your base in Provence( Arles? Avignon?)
The Dordogne is quite beautiful and not crowded, even on market days.

Indeed, I'd opt either for Burgundy or for the Alps depending on the type of landscape you prefer. Annecy would certainly be a great choice, it is a lovely city and the lake is beautiful. Further south on the way to Provence there is the Ecrins National Park, a gem if you're into mountains and want a "guarantee" of nice weather. Lake Serre Ponçon near Gap is beautiful spot, too. In Burgundy, I wouldn't miss Dijon old city center and not far you can see the source of River Seine, a lovely spot, too.

I have been to many regions of France, and my suggestion is also the Dordogne region. My husband and I spent 8 nights in the Dordogne region in October 2009, and we LOVED it! We stayed in a tiny village just outside of Sarlat called Montfort. If you have a car, I would highly recommend a B&B called L'Ombriere, www.lombriere.com. L'Ombriere is an 18 centure home atop a hill. It is immaculate with charming rustic elegance. We hever ran out of things to do in 8 days. Within about an hours drive in any direction are prehistoric caves, castles, gardens, and one beautiful village after another. You won't be dissappointed.

We have travelled to France for over 20 years, and I would reccommend the Burgundy region. It is very low key and the small villages are a joy to wander through. Best done by car. Very easy driving... we pick up our car at orly airport , hop on the A6 and drive only about 2 -3 hours. The Burgundy canal area is lovely, also.Burgundy stretches over to the west side of France also. and there are some lovely places to stay all over the region.