We have just booked this tour for next September. We will finish in Nice on September 30, and don't fly home to Toronto until October 10.
We'd be interested in suggestions about how to spend the extra week.
Thoughts so far include getting to Sicily and spending the week there, investigating the Basque region, maybe going to the Vimy sights....
All suggestions will be appreciated.
Chris
Where are you flying home from? Can this be changed?
What are your interests? City? countryside? mountains? Strenuous or chill out?
We rented a car in Nice and drove to the lovely town of Lourmarin where we rented a flat. Spent a week exploring the surrounding small towns and villages, wine tasting, visiting markets, long afternoons in cafes. We flew back from Marsielle.
To answer your question, Chris, we are flying home from Paris and that cannot be changed.
We love beautiful scenery, good food, museums, art galleries and music.
Chris
beautiful scenery, - Switzerland - Fly or train there, train to Paris
Or as you say, Sicily - fly there and back.
good food - most places
museums, art galleries and music - Barcelona, Rome, Venice, Florence - Probably fly there and back to Paris
Amsterdam, London - fly there from Nice, train back to Paris
I am assuming as you have "done" France, I am not listing French locations as you may well have been there, but you want something where you loop back and end up in Paris. You could pick an area of France not part of your tour. get a hire car in Nice and slowly travel back via that area, returning car at Paris airport.
The French Basque country is beautiful, nice small cities and villages.Interesting local culture.
Since you’ll be in Nice, the Piedmonte region of Italy is nearby, beautiful countryside, nice wine villages, not crowded. Rent a car at Nice airport and return it there as well, fly to Paris.
Your a short train ride away to Monaco from Nice. The short train ride will take you by so many beautiful beaches and great scenery. I would spend one day in Monaco.
You could easily get from Nice to Genoa and take a train to the Cinque Terre to visit the five villages there. Each village is totally unique. The weather is still relatively warm in early October but the whole area shuts down as the winds come down from the mountains in late October. Good food, lovely hiking between the villages and great scenery. I would stay in Monterosso as there is lots of hotels, restaurants and B&B's
My first question if you will rent a car or rely on public transportation. I don't know how easy it is to visit the Basque region without a car. I don't think you can do justice to even part of Sicily in a week without a car. If you want to stay in France, you could spend time in Alsace and Burgundy. This wiki page has a chart of all the flights out of Nice. You can go just about anywhere.
Thanks, everyone. We are busily checking out the great and varied suggestions. We appreciate your time and the detailed responses.
And yes we are open to renting a car. We have done that several times in Europe, most recently in Portugal.
Chris
My suggestion is to rent a car and spend several days in Provence. You'll have had a taste of Nice and Avignon and Arles. If you didn't go to Eze, (upper town) do that first. Try backtracking into the spaces in between. Stop in Cannes. Go to the perfume towns. Aix en Provence is a good base for exploration, maybe ending up in Avignon for last night or two. Enjoy Aix by itself. Spend a day in Marseilles and Cassis (suggestion - great one-day small group van tour can be booked from Visitors Center in Aix). Spend a day in some of the hill towns of the Luberon. You'll likely want to go back to see others. Especially visit Les Baux, Gordes and Roussillon. Take a wine tour out of Avignon. When you're done -- or, more likely, the calendar runs out -- get the high-speed train out of Avignon that will take you directly to CDG.
P.S. If you can't tell, I love this part of the world and can visit again and again.
