Author Topic: Shameless request for vacation advice - France edition  (Read 2065 times)

Offline mark

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Shameless request for vacation advice - France edition
« on: October 22, 2019, 10:25:16 AM »
Hi all, we are planning a trip to France next June and, having received great advice for other places from forum members in the past, was curious to see if anyone had any thoughts on visiting France. We'll be spending most of our time in Paris, but also want to spend 4 days or so in an interesting smaller city that we can TGV to.

Offline TardisMom

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Re: Shameless request for vacation advice - France edition
« Reply #1 on: October 22, 2019, 10:34:29 AM »
We visited Paris in 2008 so I'm not any help there.  Last year I spent about a week visiting Nice/Monaco/Eze/Antibes/Cannes.  It was SO much better than I expected!  It is a beautiful area with lots to see and beautiful beaches to sit on.  If you decide to head south I'd be happy to pass along info.

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Re: Shameless request for vacation advice - France edition
« Reply #2 on: Today at 04:10:34 AM »

Offline MickeyJack

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Shameless request for vacation advice - France edition
« Reply #2 on: October 22, 2019, 06:41:21 PM »
I’d have to agree with Becky. Southern France by Marseille is accessible by train. The most beautiful place I’ve ever been is a picturesque fishing village called Cassis just outside of Marseille. The French version of fiords (callanques) are between Marseille and Cassis. Boat tours take you into coves that you can imagine ancient sailors sailing onto their sandy beaches. When in Paris, if you have a sunny day, since Notre Dame will be closed, check out the stained glass at Sainte-Chapelle.


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« Last Edit: October 22, 2019, 06:43:51 PM by mickeyjack3 »

Offline Transmute Jun

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Re: Shameless request for vacation advice - France edition
« Reply #3 on: October 22, 2019, 08:14:02 PM »
In Paris, I would highly recommend visiting the Catacombs. It's just insanely cool.

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Of course, there are also the 'obvious' sites: Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre-Dame (not sure if they are allowing visitors back inside after the fire yet), cruise/walk along the Seine, Arc de Triomphe.

Make sure you also budget a day to go to Versailles. It is worth the trip. If you are interested, Disneyland Paris is a fun 1-2 days as well. I know, we have Disneyland and DisneyWorld in the US but this is different. It's worth it if you are a Disney Parks fan (not as much if you aren't).

For a side trip on the northern part of France, I highly recommend a trip to the Normandy Beaches (the Nazi bunkers are still there and you can wander around them along the coastline) and Mont St. Michel.

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Southern France is fun but further away. We visited Lascaux and the riviera (including Monte Carlo) last summer and had a blast!

Offline Chris

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Re: Shameless request for vacation advice - France edition
« Reply #4 on: October 22, 2019, 08:54:58 PM »
Am I allowed/not allowed to make French Fry/French Toast jokes? 

Tony Soprano did when his wife went to France, but I'm not sure if that is transferable.

Offline Chris

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Re: Shameless request for vacation advice - France edition
« Reply #5 on: October 22, 2019, 08:56:37 PM »
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Am I allowed/not allowed to make French Fry/French Toast jokes? 

Tony Soprano did when his wife went to France, but I'm not sure if that is transferable.

Or Royale with Cheese jokes.

Offline accelerate

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Re: Shameless request for vacation advice - France edition
« Reply #6 on: October 22, 2019, 09:12:41 PM »
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In Paris, I would highly recommend visiting the Catacombs. It's just insanely cool.

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Of course, there are also the 'obvious' sites: Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre-Dame (not sure if they are allowing visitors back inside after the fire yet), cruise/walk along the Seine, Arc de Triomphe.

Just a warning: if you’re highly claustrophobic, Catacombs are definitely not for you. I’m mildly claustrophobic, and I handled it okay. But I definitely did not linger in any one place.

Also, Notre Dame needs to be rebuilt. They’re HOPING to have it restored by the 2024 Paris Olympics, but I don’t think everyone is confident about that timeline.

Lastly, if you’re into art and history, make sure you dedicate enough time for the Louvre. You could spend hours in a single wing and not see 10% of the museum. I would definitely plan ahead of time what areas you want to visit.


Offline debster

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Re: Shameless request for vacation advice - France edition
« Reply #7 on: October 23, 2019, 04:27:32 AM »
If you are planning on going to see Monet’s Gardens and can ride a bike, I would recommend taking a bike tour, I did this last year:

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You meet in Paris and take a bus out there, then you bike to the gardens and walk around there. You also have a picnic lunch by the water. I am not a strong biker and made it through okay - it is a tiny bit scary because you are sometimes biking next to cars, but I wasn’t used to it. It’s basically the whole day, but we had a good time.

We also did a cheese/wine tasting in Paris which was great. There are tons of them around.



Offline mark

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Re: Shameless request for vacation advice - France edition
« Reply #8 on: November 17, 2019, 11:37:06 AM »
Thanks everyone for the advice! Just booked the last of the airbnbs. Decided to do a week in Paris, then 4 days in Provence, and back to Paris for a few more days. Now it's just a question of whittling down the hundreds of things that we want to do :)

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Am I allowed/not allowed to make French Fry/French Toast jokes? 

Tony Soprano did when his wife went to France, but I'm not sure if that is transferable.

Absolutely :)  On the French bread side, they have an annual baguette competition and we're planning to visit some of the winners.

Offline MickeyJack

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Shameless request for vacation advice - France edition
« Reply #9 on: November 18, 2019, 11:35:32 AM »
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Thanks everyone for the advice! Just booked the last of the airbnbs. Decided to do a week in Paris, then 4 days in Provence, and back to Paris for a few more days. Now it's just a question of whittling down the hundreds of things that we want to do :)

Absolutely :)  On the French bread side, they have an annual baguette competition and we're planning to visit some of the winners.
Provence is one of my favorite places in all of Europe.


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Offline mark

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Re: Shameless request for vacation advice - France edition
« Reply #10 on: November 19, 2019, 08:09:01 AM »
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Provence is one of my favorite places in all of Europe.


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I have a feeling we're going to wish we had spent more time there, and it's amazing how much the rental prices drop once you get out of Paris. The ladies really want to tour the lavender fields, the son and I will probably seek out things old and Roman.

Offline MickeyJack

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Re: Shameless request for vacation advice - France edition
« Reply #11 on: November 19, 2019, 11:11:57 AM »
Interestingly enough, I was going to mention the lavender fields. I was pleasantly surprised. It has a very soothing effect, and there were some cool old ruins at the fields I visited.