Where to go in France

I was in Alsace/Burgundy in Aug 2008 and have visited the other areas you mention. My order of preference based on highlights are Paris, Loire Valley, Burgundy , Alsace. Alsace has the least to see overall and has little german influence that is apparent to me. Burgundy is a very quiet, low key wine region with a few small castles to visit. Loire has grand castles and wineries also. Paris of course incredible.

I would highly recommend going to the Normandy beaches area - particularly Bayeux - it's a really nice town and the Normany D-Day beaches are interesting

A few years ago I went to the Loire Valley and I thought it was terrific. The chateaus are fabulous and are all worth seeing. There are small towns to see and experience - I can say that the Loire Valley is worth seeing. It is quite easy to get around - but I had a car.

Will you rent a car? That gives you more options to explore a couple of regions. By train, you likely have to backtrack through Paris. Not a huge deal, but you have enough time to see more than one region.

It's hard to narrow down your choices without knowing more about what you're looking for. If you must see chateaux, then try the Loire. It's close to Paris. Normandy is a great option, especially in September when the weather is good. The D-Day beaches, Honfleur, Mont St. Michele and Bayeaux are all spectacular sites.

Burgundy will also be great for the wines, small villages and late summer scenery. It's best done by car.

Kim,

My husband and I love to hang out in the cafes and people watch as well. I must say five days would be more than enough in Paris. We spent three full days and had plenty of cafe time. Make sure to bring a bottle of wine and grab a bench in front of the Eiffel tower (it beats a cafe any day!). Anyway, your original question, we really liked the Loire Valley and all the little towns and chateau. We also enjoyed Normandy.

Normandy is great - but I am history buff. For the most part when I was there I put everything else in the background other than the battle sights. But Normandy is a nice place too particularly if you like WWII history.

I spent a week in the Loire Valley last spring and absolutely LOVED the area...I rented a car which was great since we could drive wherever we wanted and there are some delightful small towns that you would miss otherwise ! My favorite chateaux was " chenonceaux" but there are so many lovely sights and wineries and the trogoldytes which are so cool and only in the Loire (as far as I know)
I don't know the Alsace region but I also was in Brittany and the Bordeaux areas and I have to say that the Loire is stunning by far over these other areas...Mont St. Michel excluded !

Hi Kim. I guess everyone who has visited France has personal preferences as how to divide one's time once you are there. We were there a few years back, flew into Charles DeGaulle airport and took the train into Paris and stayed at Grand Hotel Leveque in Rue Cler (recommeded by Rick Steves) which we found very nice and affordable. We loved Paris and went up the Eiffel Tower, rode a boat on the Seine (a watertaxi)to get to Notre Dame, Musee d'Orsay, had lunch at a sidewalk cafe on St. Germain, went St. Chappelle, and strolled around the city doing a lot of people watching and just enjoying sitting with coffee and pastry and enjoying the day. We rented a car in Versailles and drove to Chartres to see the cathedral and stayed at a great B&B north of there. Then we drove down south through the small villages along the rivers and spent a few days in the Macon/Lyon area where we visited Cluny and Taize (both places with spiritual significance) and over to the Alsace area staying in Colmar several days. It was a very enjoyable and wonderful experience and I would love to go back and visit more places such as Mont-St-Michel, the Normandy region, and down southwest to the Bordeaux area. Enjoy and dont try to rush, enjoy the time you have and know that someday you will return.

Hi Kim:

The Alsace region will be great, I was in Stratsbourg only for the day, this past september it is beautiful. If you stay longer you can visit the small towns, I have never been there, but of what I read it looks breath taking. I am thinking to go back in 2010, if you cycle you can rent a bike in the train station & once you are tired you can carry on the train. Also I would recommend the region of Champagne, it is 1 hour train from Paris. I recommend you to stay in Epernay it is smaller than Reims where I stay. I also recommend you to visit Champagne Mercier in Epernay, &/or Pommery in Reims. If you have time, also check with the Tourist Office about the small towns, as there Champagne Houses might be closed for sampling, I visited Avenay Val de Or & visited the William Santot Champagne House it seems that is open year round. Again if you have time it is better to rent a bike, Europe is bike friendly.
Hope this helps. If you want more information please feel free to contact me for more details

Hi Kim

My 24 year old daughter is working this year in a charming little town in Alsace called Colmar. It's called the little Venice. I've seen her photos. It's has sort of a Hansel and Gretel look. It's in Steves' book on Italy. We haven't been there yet so I can't speak from personal experience. We are going there in April to see for ourselves. Buon Viagio! Pat

Bonjour Kim - I am in Paris right now. My first trip here was two years ago and I was here for five days. If you primarily only want to hang out and people watch then 5-7 days seems too long for Paris. We like to do that, but we also like to see museums, churches, etc. Five days was not enough time for us, so this trip we are here for 10 days. Paris is fantastic although I am freezing! I haven't been to the other areas you mentioned except I have done a day trip to Colmar in the Alsace region. I wasn't able to see very much of it (I was with too many people and didn't get any say in what we did), but it is very charming looking. I was hoping to see the Loire Valley on this trip, but it doesn't look like that will happen. I do hear it is beautiful, so that will have to wait for another trip...

Kim, these are three outstanding regions, each with its own character, food, and history.

Would you rather pick one for yourself, or rely on the preferences of well-meaning strangers?

Your plan of Paris + one province sounds great, btw.

We spent 4 days in the Loire Valley and it was terrific. We took a fast TGV from Paris to Tours, rented a car and drove the area visiting the beautiful chateaux and towns. There's a ton of history and architecture which suited us to a T. It was fun and very easy to do as well. Good luck.

You can't say that you have not received enough opinions. If you have around seven days, you could actually see the three areas discussed - Loire Valley, Normandy and Alsace. I do not recommend this whirlwind schedule, but it can be done if you have a car. My wife and I did and we were not sorry. If we did it again we would spent more time in Noramdy and Alsace and skip the Loire Valley.

My opinion..

Loire Valley if castles and massive buildings are important.

Normandy if you are ready to have an emotional experience learning about the Normandy invasion and the personal stories of the soldiers.

Alsace if you love German food and the postcard villages that domintate the area. There is a lot of charm in the Alsace area.

I recommend that you ask yourself and your boyfriend what you want from the experience and then make a decision.

My wife and I have made our final itinerary based primarily on the comments of other travelers, but have recognized that their opinions are unique to them and we may not feel the same. A good example is the City of Paris. Most of the writers to this forum love the city with a passion and do not understand those that do feel the same way. We enjoyed Paris would not enough to go back. We would go back to Colmar in Alsace.

Enjoy planning your trip.

I am now planning our trip to Eastern Europe and am reading all of the comments of those on the Rick Steves forum as well as the Trip adviser forum.

Dean