2 weeks in France

I will be taking my wife to France from Australia for 2 weeks from mid-September. We would like to experience as much as possible of the history and environment, but don%26#39;t need beaches (we have the best in the world in Western Australia.....!). Train journeys, car hire, forests, chateaux, etc, all information appreciated.

|||

well , it is a diffcult question ..

my first advice would be : hurry to buy a good guidebook :) you can%26#39;t do without it !

The main characteristic of France is : not very big , but VERY various ..

You have in a small country many different lanscadpes, different styles of houses, different cultures ..

2 weeks is not much and you can%26#39;t hope to see everything , but .. a few ideas ..

First , but i guess you thought about it , Paris ! ..not less than 3 or 4 days ..

After that .. a list of typical and interesting areas in which you can choose :

Loire Valley , with many wonderful castles

Alsace , a wineyards area with typical and beautiful villages

Brittany , a seaside area with Dinard , Saint Malo

Normandie, with some places like Deauville, Le Mont saint Michel , Honfleur

Provence , mediterranean area where you can expect a nice weather

The french Riviera around Nice

The alpes mountains around Grenoble

and there is much more .....

enjoy your stay :)

|||

My wife, daughter, and I just returned from 3 weeks in France and Italy. We had a wonderful time. An entire review to follow.

There has been enough said about Paris - you could really spend two weeks there and still not do everything.

However, my most cherished experience was spending time in Provence. I love driving in the country passing olive and grapes vineyards. We got to see the wild red poppies blooming and all the towns are unique. Driving was very easy and enjoyable becuase I had bought a portable GPS - that was the best money I spent (Garmin Nuvi 370 - has maps of both North Am and Europe). I drove around without fear of getting lost and it was invaluable driving during the night.

Vein

|||

I second Vein%26#39;s suggestion of Provence. Remember that the Cote d%26#39;Azur (French Riviera) is politically part of Provence. IMO, the 2nd half of September is an outstanding time to be in the French Riviera because the weather is still quite good but the crowds have disappeared.

Have no fear. The Riviera %26quot;beach%26quot; scene has absolutely nothing to compare with Australian beaches. Don%26#39;t bother bringing beach attire. This Riviera coastal scene is cooler and more city like in late September.

Why not head down to the Italian Riviera while you%26#39;re at it...

Have a good trip.

|||

-:- Message from TripAdvisor staff -:-

This topic was inactive for 6 months and has been closed to new posts. We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one.

To review the TripAdvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.html

We remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason.

Removed on: 6:16 pm, September 01, 2009