My husband and I are planning a trip to Europe for next fall, and we%26#39;d like to go somewhere in France while we are there. We have been thinking about Paris...if we went to Paris, how many days would you suggest we stay? We also thought of going to a smaller city in the south of France - any suggestions?
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What do you enjoy--general sightseeing, museums, open-air markets, small villages, historic sites?
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Probably a little bit of everything...we%26#39;d like to see some of the %26quot;must-see%26#39;s%26quot;, go to some museums, and spend a little time learning about the culture.
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For your first trip to France, Paris is a %26quot;must%26quot;. It is a city that can absorb as many days as you can devote to it, but I would say that 4 or 5 would give you a good taste of France, its history and culture.
Before you go, get Rick Steves%26#39; Europe 101. It will give you a good overview of European history and art. HIs web site is www.ricksteves.com. I would also get his Europe through the Backdoor, and his book on France and/or Paris. The books are also available from local bookstores and www.amazon.com, but Steves will include his travel newsletter which is always full of good hints and tidbits.
Arles, Orange, Avignon, and Aix en Provence are all interesting cities with great Roman ruins - some of the amphitheatres are still in use today for rock concerts and operas, etc. (Just shows what you can do if you invent cement.) As in the rest of France, the food and wine are good, and if you%26#39;re going in September or October, the weather will be very conducive to wandering day or evening. All four of these cities are most accessible by train - think downtown to downtown, and you%26#39;ll have an opportunity to see some countryside while you travel.
Bon voyage.
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For the region of the south of France in which you%26#39;re interested, pick up a copy of the Michelin Green Guide to Provence. It includes a good deal of sightseeing information, as well as information on the and architecture. You%26#39;ll also find some hotel and restaurant suggestions, although for those the red guide remains invaluable.
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Sitting down with as good guidebook — or even two or three — makes a lot of sense. Just a personal opinion, but I find Rick Steves%26#39; books superficial and unimaginative. If I were you I would head to a good local bookstore and browse the travel shelves. For a good overview of what France has to offer I think the DK Eyewitness Guide to France is a good starting place. It is well illustrated, thoughtful, and will give you more historical and cultural background than RS.
One you have settled on a region the Michelin regional Green Guides are excellent. The DK guides are really a bit on the heavy side for carrying with you. For Paris my own preference is for the Access Guide but there are others I like too. What will work best for you depends on your own personal tastes and interests.
I would recommend a MINIMUM of five days in Paris, and many more would not hurt. Fewer tends to lead to a rushed trip that is more about %26quot;collecting%26quot; sights than it is about getting into the culture and rhythm of the city. There are, incidentally, more than a hundred museums in Paris of which a dozen or more are %26quot;world class%26quot; and most are worth at least a quick visit, though obviously not all on a first trip.
Where to go depends a lot on how you want to get about. If you want to spend three or four days exploring an area outside Paris with a car there are many regions worth considering — the Loire valley, Burgundy, Normandy, Brittany, the Dordogne and Lot valleys, Provence (which has two or three quite different faces), Alsace, and a few more less obvious ones. If you do not want to rent a car then perhaps the Riviera whose lovely coastal towns and villages can easily be reached by train and/or bus, as can a few of the places inland a little way.
Incidentally, there are no Roman remains of any consequence in Avignon or Aix-en-Provence, but there are VERY important Roman structures and/or excavations in Vaison-la-Romaine (a town I enjoy a lot and a bit less touristy than some of the others), Nîmes, and Glanum (near St. Rémy) among other places, besides Arles and Orange (otherwise an uninteresting town IMO), if that is what you are interested in. And of course there is the Pont du Gard, perhaps the most amazing single remnant of ancient Rome anywhere besides the Pantheon in Rome itself — built entirely without benefit of mortar! There are even vestiges of the Roman city in Paris itself.
Have fun planning!
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Another good guide , with extensive historical and cultural coverage, is the Cadogan Guide to the South of France. That%26#39;s my favorite for in-depth coverage.
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