France in late September/Early Oct 2006

[abadoozy]

My husband-to-be and I are going to be in France for our honeymoon Sept 15-Oct 7, 2006. I've been reading through all the threads here with great interest, and have a long list of notes so far. Still, there are a few questions I haven't seen answered.

We plan on spending 5 nights in Paris at the beginning of the trip, hopefully at the Hotel Caron de Beaumarchais based on so many recommendations here and elsewhere. After that, we're thinking of ~1 week in the Bordeaux region and ~1 week in Champagne including maybe a few days in Alsace and/or Burgundy, depending on how much we like Champagne itself.

He's never been to France before, and I was there for a few days as a teenager, 20 years ago. We're going for the wine and the food, and will detour to look at the sights and history as well

We're thinking of getting apartments/villas in the Bordeaux and Champagne regions, and renting a car for day excursions. Is this a reasonable plan, or would it be better to move around from one town to another and stay in each? We know from experience that 3 weeks of hotels and restaurants get old after a while, and the option to "stay home" a day or two in a place with a kitchen/seating area sounds very good. Our concern, though, is that it might be limiting. Are these areas "doable" as day trips? If so, any particular towns/cities/villages in each that are recommended? We're looking for charm and French culture over touristy and fancy. The idea of a several hundred year old chateau where maybe the electricity or plumbing isn't perfect is preferable to a modern slick place where everything works.

I've also heard that September is harvest time in Bordeaux, and the wineries are closed for tastings. Is that true? Is it also true of Champagne? When we booked the flights I'd read that September was a great time to visit due to the harvest- so which is it?!?

Champagne: We chose this area simple because we're Champagne drinkers, and have long talked about a honeymoon in Champagne. I get the idea, however, that this area may not be as quaint/picturesque or have as many sights to see as other areas. True? If so, is ~1 week too long to expect to stay in Champagne?

Burgundy and Alsace are on our "we'd like to visit" list, just not as high as Bordeax/Champagne/Paris. I know Burgundy/Alsace/Champagne are clustered around north/east France. If we decide not to spend the whole week in Champagne, is it possible to stay in one central town and visit each area in day trips? Or maybe a couple different towns? Or is the area too large? It's hard to tell this kind of detail looking at maps.

Any and all recommendations are invited. Other than our plane tickets and the first few days in Paris, we're very open and have not made any reservations. We both speak a little bit of French and are taking refresher courses.

Thanks in advance!

Edited July 6, 2006 by abadoozy (log)

[John Talbott]

We're thinking of getting apartments/villas in the Bordeaux and Champagne regions, and renting a car for day excursions. Is this a reasonable plan, or would it be better to move around from one town to another and stay in each?

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Ah, this is like asking if you should turn the toilet paper fold facing out or in; to answer either question, one needs to take a family and personal history.

As for me, I'd tell you to keep moving from town to town in a region; ask Colette and she'll say stay in one place for a week and use it as a base. So as a veteran of 45 years of marriage I can only counsel compromise.

As for your other queries I'm sure folks will plunge in. All I can say is you are coming at a great time of year and no matter where you go or what you do you'll have a great honeymoon. Best Wishes!

[Swisskaese]

I just got back from two weeks in the Provence/Cote d'Azur. We stayed in a villa for 10 days and a hotel in another area for 2 nights. I really enjoyed having a home to come to after our day trips where we could either cook or go out to dinner. We mostly cooked dinners at the villa. It was alot of fun finding things a the local markets and we made it romantic with candles, outdoor eating, wine drinking on the rooftop terrace, etc.

[BigboyDan]

The best way to do it is to use the spoke system. Stay in Paris at one hotel, and rent a car. From there you can visit Versaille, the Loire and the Cathedrals - all on day trips and back.

Find a charming hotel that fits your needs in Champagne, and use that as your base. Again, rent a car. This area has a lot to offer in both the modern sense, and historical. Day trips can be made to Alsace, recommended highly; and you can drive straight south into the northern part of ancient Burgandy, Dijon highly recommended.

Making day trips and back to the same hotel is preffered to that of packing up and moving every several days.

Bordeaux is a separate trip unto itself. Take the train from Paris to Bordeaux, during the daylight hours. And, again, stay at one hotel (make sure each hotel you frequent has a restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner). You'll need to rent a car to visit the whole area, and the wineries. Don't forget to make reservations with the wineries well in advance for tours, many will be open; same for the Loire, Champagne and Burgandy. Make sure that you make resevations with multi-starred restaurants well in advance. Also, from Bordeaux you can cross the border into Northern Spain and visit San Sebastian - highly recommended.

You'll be visiting fairly safe places concerning petty crime, and you'll have exellent hospitals if needed; but as always, secure your personal items and papers, stay aware of your surroundings and those of whom you find yourself around.

A trip of a lifetime... and congrats to you and you husband to be.

Edited July 6, 2006 by BigboyDan (log)

[Daddy-A]

My husband-to-be and I are going to be in France for our honeymoon Sept 15-Oct 7, 2006.

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Okay, this is getting beyond eerie

My wife & I are going to France as well ... leaving on Sept 16th and returning October 8. You have to be the 5th or 6th couple we've "met" going at the exact same time!

Our itninerary is as follows:

1st week - Paris. We've rented a place on Isle de la Cite for a week. That's all we've planned, but suffice to say we'll be doing to usual touristy stuff. I also have my dining wish list that we'll fit in where possible.

2nd week - Dordogne walking tour. We start in Montignac (near Brive) and wind our way through the valley, ending up in Sarlat for the Saturday market (which I've been told is quite excellent). This is the only "structured" part of our trip ... but the tour is set up so that we do it at our own pace.

3rd week - Beaune & Cote D'Or. We've booked a hotel for 4 nights, and will rent a car for 2 of those days to go visit the area. I'm also under the belief that we'll be hitting harvest, so I just may have to go volunteer Nothing else planned, although there are a couple rec's for dining in Beaune we plan to check out.

Last 3 days - Paris. Do some last minute shopping/eating. Perhaps join up with the Paris Roller on Friday night.

Like John said, your method of touring is going to be very personal. Both my wife & I are very much laissez faire types. Paris is going to be day trips using the RER and the Metro (and of course our feet). But Dan's idea of choosing a central area and shooting out from there is sort of our plan as well. The trains in France go everywhere. Get yourself a pass and go exploring!

A.

[abadoozy]

Wow, thanks for all the info.

We very much like the "spur-of-the-moment" travel plan. If we had our druthers, we'd probably book a night or two in Paris just so we didn't have to worry about it when we're jet-lagged and tired, and wing it from there. But we worry - will we run into situations where everything is booked up? My nightmare would be to end up in the French equivalent of a Howard Johnson's in a generic part of town when we want to be in the cute chateau in the city center.

Maybe we're worrying too much about that - I know that the time we're going isn't going to be crazy like July and August. Anyone care to comment on the possibility of finding decent places without booking totally in advance?

[abadoozy]

My husband-to-be and I are going to be in France for our honeymoon Sept 15-Oct 7, 2006.

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Okay, this is getting beyond eerie

My wife & I are going to France as well ... leaving on Sept 16th and returning October 8. You have to be the 5th or 6th couple we've "met" going at the exact same time!

That is weird! Or maybe we all just have the same great taste in travel locations and times.

We didn't get in at Caron de Beaumarchais - they are full - so we're back to square one as far as where we're staying. We're now thinking more along the lines of an apartment. We just spent 5 nights in a very small-yet-quaint B&B in Wisconsin, and by the 4th or 5th night we were very much wishing we had a little more room.

[John Talbott]

Anyone care to comment on the possibility of finding decent places without booking totally in advance?

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We usually begin to think about where to spend the night about 3-4 PM and have never slept in the car. Granted we have occasionally wound up in a Kyriad or Ibis but that's usually by choice d/t location etc. Also we carry the Chambres d'hotes book published by the Gites de France folks along with the Red Michelin, Gault-Millau etc.

Also, I didn't mention it in my first post but I hate driving back to Paris esp in rush hour, so we've taken to taking the TGV to a central point where we'll be, then renting a car.

[abadoozy]

Also, I didn't mention it in my first post but I hate driving back to Paris esp in rush hour, so we've taken to taking the TGV to a central point where we'll be, then renting a car.

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That was also our plan. Even in the US, city driving is the pits. And for us, the TGV itself is an attraction!

[Busboy]

I like picking up and moving, my wife likes staying in one place. We both agree that too many day trips (even "close" destinations can make you spend 3-4 hours a day on the road) and/or too many pack-up-and-moves put too much pressure on a vacation and don't provide enough opportunity to get the rhythm of a place. They also interfere with one of France's great contributions to western Culture, the three-hour wine-fueled lunch.

But the real reason I wrote is to suggest that, for all the wonderful restaurants in France, it would be a tragedy not to spend at least one week in a gite or apartment with cooking facilities so that you can go to the markets and cook what you find there at your own "home." Market days are generally easy to find on line.

We spent some time googling before our own vacation (10 days and counting down) and I'm pretty sure that wherever you go there will be everything from budget flats to converted chateaus. We ended up not selecting an official Gite de France (we're staying in town), but they look great and many of them offer weekend packages in the off-season, so you can chill in the countryside for a few days before heading back into the city.

Gites de France link here.

[Dave Hatfield]

That time of year hotel bookings outside of Paris should not be a problem. Just take the gudes John suggested.

A gite is a great idea & in Sept/Oct you can get great rates as well as grat produce. Try: www.homlidays.com for a huge selection all over France. You can even look at ours by going to my blog & clicking on the link.

You will be in THe best time of year in my humble opinion.

[Daddy-A]

How about le vendanges in Cote d'Or ... does it fall on an exact date, or just when the grapes say "pick us"? And does this have a significant effect on visitng the chateaux (i.e. they close since everyone is picking). Should I just grab a basket and help out?

A.

[abadoozy]

OK, I've done more research, and now have MORE questions.

I've read through a lot of the threads here, and guidebooks, and other websites. What I can't seem to figure out are which towns/villages are good to stay in. For example, one website tells me that Reims is flat and ugly; another touts it as the center of the champagne region and a must-see. Which is true?

I've found a fair bit of information about country houses to stay in, and we may ultimately go that route for a bit, but in general we'd like to stay in cities. We live on several acres on the outskirts of a cute small town - what we look for on vacation is a semi-urban feel. Culture, restaurants, bars, etc within walking distance of our hotel.

Ideally, I'd love to find picturesque towns and villages where we could get a nice hotel near the city center and do a lot of walking right from our hotel. We'll spend some days driving to nearby villages and wineries, but we also look forward to getting up early and walking a block to a good bakery, or spending the evening strolling through neighborhoods and stumbling on a cute little place for dinner.

Given that, can someone give me opinions on the following cities:

Reims

Eperney

Beaune

Strasbourg

Dijon

And if there's other places - say, Dijon is big and modern, but this other village ten miles away is picturesque and makes a good base for exploring the region - please let me know.

Same thing in Bourdeaux. I haven't even started doing research for that region, so I'm totally open to ideas.