I%26#39;m thinking about a possible trip in August to France:
Day 1-3 -Paris (fly in from LA)
Day 4 - Rent car from Paris and head south...
Day 5-8 Spend this time discovering the countryside and inquire at B%26amp;B%26#39;s along the way without reservation...is this okay to do? (i did it in England with much fun %26amp; success!) Just spend this driving time winding up where we wind up along the way to Provence and hopefully discovering beautiful villages...
Day 8 - Check in to one place in Provence to stay until we leave. Hotel Le Mas des Carassins is an idea! Use St. Remy as our base to discover the following: Chateauneuf Du Pape/Rhone area for wine tasting/ Avignon / and other pretty villages??
Day 12 or so? (flexible) Depart out of Marseille Airport back to LA...
What do you think?
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My observations:
1. spend 50-60% of this time in Paris. August is a good time to be in Paris. You%26#39;ll barely have 2 full days with this planned itinerary
2. In June through August you%26#39;ll need to book hotels/Chambres d%26#39;hotes in advance. Inquiring along the ways work well between September and May.
3. Take the TGV from Paris to Avignon and rent a car in Avignon. If you book early on line, fares are available as low as 25€. You can leave the car at the Marseille Airport:
4. Choose a base in Provence and stay there. I like Arles or Avignon for cities; Gordes for staying in the country. If you have decided upon a location already that%26#39;s good but reserve now.
Rail tickets: www.voyages-sncf.com
Auto rental: www.autoeurope.com
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As Paris is on holiday in August I am not sure I would just take a chance with no reservations. As a B%26amp;B owner here in France I can tell you that the credit crunch does not seem to have hit here yet and bookings this year are no different to last year.
The areas you want to see are the same as everyone else so I would book your B%26amp;Bs in advance
ESCARGOT
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You%26#39;ve gotten great advice from both of these posters. I would spend about even time in Paris and Provence, and forget the %26quot;wandering%26quot; on down. Maybe next trip, but you really don%26#39;t have that much time. We were there last summer for 19 days and took the TGV to Avignon where we picked up a car. Very easy to do and well worth it.
If you departure date is flexible, maybe adding a few days to drive down from Paris through Loire would be an option, staying in Chenonceau to see a several of the chateaux. The drive from Provence to Loire is a full day, but not a hard day.
If you stick with 12 days, just do Paris and Provence.
My 2 cents worth.
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Thanks all!! I appreciate all of your feedback.
It makes sense to take the train to save time...
One more scenerio, which would you do?
1. Fly to Paris, spend some time, take train to Avignon and depart out of Marseille? (Leaving out of Marseille results in a multi stop day coming home - about 22 hours of travel!)
2. Fly to Paris, spend some time, take train to Avignon and take train back to Paris for a %26quot;NON STOP%26quot; flight back to LA. Maybe spend one more night in Paris before departure.
3. Fly to Paris, immediately (without seeing Paris first) take train to Avignon and then see Paris on the way back up before taking non-stop back to LA?
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I%26#39;d do #2. Fly to Paris, spend time, take TGV to Avignon, spend time, go back via TGV and leave or if you have time spend one more day in Paris. If you take the TGV, make your reservations in French on the voyages.sncf web site. www.seat61.com gives you tips on how to do it in French. You will find more choices and better prices if you do it in French. You can print off your ticket at home and bring with you. We just did it and it is very easy. Our round trip was 94e each. Not bad at all.
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I would do no. 3.
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Like ChicChantal, I cast my vote for option #3.
AlpillesGal
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We found the same issue with the %26quot;complicated%26quot; long flight back to the States via Marseilles. If you have not booked your flight, it may be worthwhile checking flights back through Nice; for us in Boston that added a stop in London, but is still pretty convenient.
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