14 days in France, where to go??

Hi , i am currently planning my first trip to europe with my b/f
i have 12 weeks to spend in Europe and plan to spend 2 weeks travelling around france,
'the plan so far was to arrive in Paris and spend 4 days there , that leaves me with 10 or so days,
the only other places i know i want to go to are Mont St Michel and the Versailles Chateau. and 3 days on the french riviera
(monaco , nice) so that leaves me with a week or so, i cant decide what are the must sees for a first timer to france,
'i definetely want to visit a wine region , as this is my first and will be my only trip to france in probably years i want to make
sure i get the most out of my trip, can someone please suggest a 2 week itinerary? i know i cant see everything france has to offer
in 2 weeks but want to see as much as possible, what are the must sees and not so nicer places??
i was also thinking to visit the champagne region, is this worth it ?
i will be doing most of my travel around europe by rail but was thinking in 1 country to rent a car,
to get out and see some of the countryside and was thinking to do this in france (not in paris).
should i forget the rental car and just do it by train ?? are the trains good at getting you to all of these places???
is it hard to naviagate around? i dont speak french and am from australia and we drive on the other side of the road
does anyone know of a reasonably priced chateau ? i wouldnt mind spending a night somewhere
any infowould be greatly appreciated, thanks :)

HI Vikkie,

I have afew suggestions for you:

1) how are you gong to travel around ? By car ? By train ? For any information on how to travel around by train, check the SNCF (national rail company) website (sncf.fr). There might be special deals like Rail passes for 2 weeks, I don't know.
A car could become expensive but at least you'll be free to wander around on smaller and scenic roads and you won't be limited to cities. It could be worth spending a few Euros on that, especially in the South of France if you ask me. Train is very convenient, not cheap but reasonable and takes you pretty much anywhere. Maybe you could do both, train and car ? I guess it all depends on your budget. I am myself French /Australian, driving on the other side of the road is pretty easy, you'll get used to it quickly.
But between major cities (Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Marseille, Rennes, etc...) runs the TGV train so you won't spend too much time travelling around (aka Paris - Marseille: 3 hours !)

2) what to do and to see !!!!???

Well, I think you should allow at least a few days for Paris and Versailles. DON'T MISS:

Walking along the Seine and its many bridges

le Marais, the oldest part of the town, now a very fashionable place (and also the gay area) ; la Place des Vosges in particular is a place not to miss

le Quartier Latin around La Sorbonne university, legendary place in Paris

le Louvres, I guess, for a day. It's really amazing but it's sooo big !

Montmarte, full of tourists but so nice and great views on the city

Versailles for a day, magical place

And so many other places !!!

For the rest, you could go West to Bretagne (or Britany) by train to Vannes (beautiful medieval town on the coast) or Rennes (biggest town in Bretagne) or Mt Saint Michel and see this region of France (beautiful and very nice atmospheer).

I wouldnt' really recommand going up North or East (you mentionned Champagne region), it's not worth it and not as beautiful as the South.

Maybe what you could do is take a train either from Paris or anywhere in the West where you'll be and hed down to Bordeaux. Enjoy the wine and then take a train to Toulouse, beautiful old city, strong identity and fun people and from there take another train to Marseille.

In Marseille, enjoy the old port, the view from the Cathedral Notre Dame de la Garde and the beautiful road along the coast that take you to small fishermen villages (le Vallon des Ofs is a must) that are now part of the city (it's a really spread out city)

From there, hire a car to enjoy the last part of your trip in the South.

So hire a car in Marseille and then go and drive around the following places :

Aix-en-Provence (my favourite town in France, the old town is amazing, the markets, you'll love it)

Provence in general for the small villages, the food, the wine, and especially a region called the Luberon

Avignon, one of the most impressive cities in France, with a huge medieval city centre

And maybe Arles, also very famous and beautiful (where Van Gogh did all his work).

Then I would drive back to the coast of the Mediterranean Sea ans drive from say Sainte Maxime (or one of those villages after Marseille) to Nice, stopping on the way in St Tropez (it's nice when there's no one, you'll be fine if you don't go in Summer), driving the beautiful road along the coast, admirring the Massif the l'Esterel, dramatic red rock formation that goes into the sea. And you could drop your car in Nice.

Nice is worth spending a few days for the old town, the market, the cafes, the restaurants, the food and the art museums (Matisse, Chagall...).

From Nice, there's a lot of places to see. Go to Cannes (train is easy) and take a 30 minutes ferry to the Islands called Iles de Lerins, it's a little paradise (clear blue water), car free and you should be able to go for a swim. There's a monk community there totally secluded from the rest of the world.

Go to Antibes (by train) and wander around the old town.

Go to Eze, DO NOT MISS Eze, a village on a cliff between Nice and Monaco, very very beautiful.

Take a drink at sunset at Villefranche (15 minutes drive from Nice), famous for it's beautiful harbour.

Go to St Paul de Vence, in the Mountains behind Nice, very famous and beautiful village full of art galleries.

And I guess you could go to Monaco but I think you'll be disappointed as there's really not much to do or see there.

So as you can see, I really recommend you to go South ! It's more beautiful, people are I think more open and the food... Well, you can't even compare...!

Distances are short in France, I mean Aix-en-Provence is a 30 minutes drive from Marseille, Avignon a 1h drive from Marseille and Nice is only 2 hours from Marseille (2h30 by train)

Just a few suggestions, hope this helps !

Dom

If you're doing mt. st michel, I STRONGLY urge a trip to Concale, which is a bit farther near St. Malo. The oysters are marvelous, the tide changes similarly spectacular, and it's--at least a bit--less travelled.

thanks so so much for taking the time (alot it seems) to reply to my questions re france
it is much appreciated, happy travels!! :)

Hi vikkie. my daughter and i are planning a 10 day trip to france, 12th - 22nd. it will be my third trip there with her. this trip is my gift to my daughter, she just finished her 1st year as a high school french teacher in the states. she studied in caen - the normandy area, and spent a year in morestel as an english teaching assistant. SUGGESTIONS: the palaces at versailles. paris flea market. rodin museum, the louvre is amazing, but lengthy, take the time if you have it. the latin quarter, montmarte for the souveniers and the views. if you are in paris on the 14, bastille day, you have to see the firework display at the eiffel tower. AMAZING! the tour de france is also set to begin this weekend. grenoble is a fun city. i recommend the trains, they are so convenient and the views are spectacular. read the book, french or foe..very helpful.

my 2 daughters backpacked europe for 6 wks, 8 yrs ago. they were 5 days and 5 years out of high school...their dad and i are grateful they are still alive and didn't kill each other. seriously! it was the best time of their lives, but they were unprepared for the things we take for granted. ie, how to read a menu in a different language (beware of horse meat). england was so expensive and they finally figured out that the street signs are on the side of the buildings. the nights are cool, so take a very light weight jacket. . the traffic in italy is crazy, you risk your life crossing the street. the subways are crowded and people don't use deodorant like we do. do take in all the typical tourist attractions there. ireland truly is green and has the most helpful and friendly people, the pubs are worth the the trip. switzerland is beautiful. the beaches on the riviera are small pebbles/stone, not sand. very cool! and, don't let the cool breeze fool you, you will get sunburned! hostels require you to check out at 9 am and you have to carry your bags if you won't be returning. everyone walks in europe, so be prepared to haul your bags up and down flights of stairs! ice isn't common. toilets sometimes cost a coin to use and not readily available...tourist are an every day thing to europeans...we can be bothersome. restaurants stop serving in the middle of the day. more so in the smaller towns than in paris.

oh, i could go on and on. just remember, adventure is what makes you laugh when you're old. to quote a line from, The Matchmaker " 'Pudding', Cornelius?" " 'Pudding', Barnaby! happy adventure!!