Best of Eastern France Rick Steves tour

We loved this tour. Like you, it gave us a sample of places we’d never been before. The itinerary covers quite a range, from wine and champagne to some WWI history and Roman ruins. It’s one tour my husband would like to repeat.

We went mid-August. It was warm but not uncomfortable.

We really enjoyed this tour. We went on this tour the end of May - early June. It was pretty hot by the time we got to AIX. We stayed one extra day at either end of the tour. I use www.accuweather.com to look up the town, and then click on "Monthly" which is in the bar across the top (at least on a desktop). You can see actuals for 2025, either the actuals or projections for 2026 depending on the month you are looking at, and the projections for 2027.

I loved this tour! One of my favorites. I went a couple of years ago in late May into early June and the weather got pretty warm by the end. Honestly if I were going again I'd aim for late April into early May or late Sept into early October. The weather seems to be getting hotter earlier.

This was my first RS tour of nine at the end of Sept. and first two weeks of October 2014. I loved everything about it! The weather was pretty much perfect! The regions are so diverse with their own beauty and charm. We ended up in Marseille, so I took a train to Lyon (the gastronomic capital of France) and stayed for three nights. I love French wine and savored every varietal along the way. A 2 1/2 hour high speed train to CDG in the morning and flew back to Seattle. I've thought of doing it again myself but there are so many other places to see!

We were on this tour September 29-October 12, 2024. I thought it was a great time to be there. It was mostly good weather, warm but not hot. There had been a lot of rain before we got there so many of the rivers were running high. We had a some rain a day or two but no day was a washout. It was foggy when we visited Château du Haut-Koenigsbourg so the views weren’t great but the castle was interesting. In Chamonix we weren’t sure the gondolas would be running. They started late but we eventually made it up the mountain and it was bright and sunny by the time we arrived. Cold with snow on our ground but still sunny. I highly recommend going this time of year.

I adored this tour!! I went the last week of June/first week of July and it was HOT!!!! So many amazing cultural experiences. I loved learning about wine and vineyards.

I went on the 9/08-9/21/2024 tour. Our guide said this was the perfect time to go because it was harvest season. And she was right! We visited several wineries during their harvest season.

This is a wonderful tour!

We went in May 2022, after spending 4 days in Paris on our own, and absolutely loved the tour. It was quite hot the last few stops (80s,) and that made the walking tours a little challenging. The little towns and wineries were so fun, and more relaxing than a tour with big cities. I'd say if you aren't into wine this may not be the ideal tour for you, but there is great food and interesting sights as well. I think based on weather alone, October would be better than May.

Also, I highly suggest adding an extra day or two on the front and back. We didn't do that at the end of the tour, and had to miss the farewell dinner in Aix when British Air moved our flights up a day. Even without flight issues, the tour has little time in Aix so adding a day or more gives you time to explore.

We did this tour several years ago in late August. Wonderful tour. What we did do in mid October, also several years ago, was the Loire to Southern France. Some people like this time of year but we found several of our scheduled tour activities cancelled because the season was ending and some of the flower gardens at the chateaus were already being pulled but it was uncrowded and for some that’s a big plus.

I went in mid April and it was great. The weather was perfect, plus it was strawberry and asparagus season, which were amazing. I think fall would be another great time to go, too.

Thank you to all who have taken the time to reply. I am still looking at this one for the fall of 2027. It's been great to see everyone's input about loving the tour and perspectives on different times of the year.

We did this tour in 2015 and my husband and I are still talking about it. It was wonderful. We went in late June to early July. We extended our trip for two weeks to tour Provence and the Mediterranean coast on our own. Our main reason for that time period was that we wanted to see the sunflower and lavender fields in bloom on our own extension. When we were in Chamonix we hiked from Aiguille du Midi to Montenvers and the Mer de Glace (glacier). We were lucky with the weather in Chamonix. There was no rain until we left. The hike on Chamonix was spectacular in terms of the views and a ton of wildflowers. One of our tour friends encountered a chamois on the hike. If you are interested in doing that hike, you want to make sure there is no snow. This is a great tour. You will love it.

It’s been a while—I think 2014 and we went late September into early October. I don’t remember anything bad about the weather except that our full day in Chamonix was cooler and overcast and it was drizzly in Annecy.
What I do remember was the smell of the crush as we walked around Reims—no winery was seen but the smell would stop you and sure enough. Walking through several vineyards was delightful. Watching the crush at one was great. Still on of my favorite tours.
We ended the tour in Marseille then and went to Arles for a few days. The Marseille airport was very easy to navigate, as was the train from Arles to it.

Mrs W and I took this tour last October (5-18), which was a perfect time to visit Eastern France-we had some rain early and late in the trip during the pre- and post-trip dates we had (to accommodate a cheaper airfare), but we did not have any during the tour itself. Wine is a major theme of this tour-we visited wineries in Champagne, Alsace, Burgundy and the Cotes du Rhone region, so if you have no interest in wines, that might be a factor to consider. We had an overcast day on our visit to Verdun, which added to the rather solemn atmosphere of the famous WWI battlefield. Chamonix was perfect in early October-sunny skies but very pleasant temperatures, and the summer crowds were (mostly) gone by the time we got there. We added a few nights in Aix-en-Provence at the end so we could explore more of Provence (which was not a part of this tour). I say go for it-you will not be disappointed, even if you do end up with some rainy days.

You mention “rainy season” but that part of France really isn’t like that. The amount of rainfall is pretty evenly distributed on a monthly basis throughout the year. It’s not like Portland where I see you’re from, where summers are dry and other seasons wet, generally speaking. However, as noted, the temperatures differ quite a bit between seasons, as does the amount of daylight which also is an important factor affecting the ambience.