Help!! I need ideas for places to go!

There was a movie about 35 years ago called something like "If it’s Tuesday, it must be Belgium." It was about the grand tour done in a whirlwind. Sounds like that’s what you have in mind.

If you want to do it, it is probably possible but be sure you keep a journal and take lots of pictures so you can remember where you went and what you saw.

We did something similar in 1996 but we took 31 days. Of course, we’re old so we tire more easily.

We started with three days in Paris to get over jet lag and become comfortable with the language. It always takes a day or so. Then we leased a car and drove to Chartres. We drove on to a campground near Poitiers and spent a few days there visiting the Loire. We saw (if memory serves) Villandry, Chinon, Cinq Mars de Piles and the Abbey at Fontevraud. Don’t miss Villandry!

Then we drove south and stayed at a tiny town called St. Michel de Lane and visited Carcassonne, Mirapoix and Foix and ate our first cassoulet. We’ve happily had many cassoulets since! We visited a crazy theme park called Parc Pyrénéen de l?Art Préhistorique in the Pyrenees and acted like kids and had lots of fun.

We then moved on to the Narbonne area and a campground near the Mediterranean. We drove along the coast into Spain and had lunch at Cerbere on the way back. There is a lovely free sand beach at Canet Plage-St. Cyprien across from a nature reserve. Collioure on the way is spectacular . . . colorful fishing boats, beaches, towers, castle, etc.

Next we stopped at Arles on the way to Grasse where we stayed at a really nice Pension. Then we drove north through Digne to Jausiers in the Alps where we spent a week at a timeshare and visited the Mercantour National Park, Grenoble, Barcelonnette on Bastille Day, Sisteron and the Citadelle and took a day trip to Cuneo in Italy.

Next we drove up to Lac Annecy and spent a few days there visiting the old town, driving around the lake, visiting Geneva one day and Evian another. We drove on to Beaune to Camping Municipal ?Les Cent Vignes? where we spent a few days visiting Beaune and the surrounding wine country, including Dijon (great little city) and the ruined abbey at Cluny. We also discovered the wonderful little town of Vezelay that we have visited many times since. Coming upon it from the south, you see it in the distance perched on a hill and think "ooooooooooh!"

To end our wonderful trip, we drove back to Paris and spent three more days before we had to return home. We’ve never done anything that crazy since but we were both happy we had done it. Get a good map and do your homework before you go. We took a book by Ina Caro something about Traveling Through the History of France and came close to doing the book backwards. It was fun to have the background information as we got to the different places. I recommend the Michelin Tourist & Motoring Atlas as a map. It has all the tiniest roads and villages on it.

Obviously we visited things that interested us and you will want to visit things that interest you. Get a good map and check a couple guide books out of the library. Figure out some things you want to see and mark them on the map. Join the marks and you have your trip.

Believe me, in France any place you go will be beautiful and you will love it.

Thanks SalB!! That really helped. We greatly appriciate that information. If you have any more ideas on small out of the way places, we would love to know.
Also if you know of any places that will rent a car to an 18 year old, that would be really helpful.
Thanks again,
summermouse

I don’t know about renting to an 18 year old. That’s a tough one. If you are going to be there for more than 17 days, you can lease a Peugeot through their Open Europe Plan. I think an 18 year old would qualify for that. You would have to check though. http://www.peugeot-openeurope.com/html/fr/intro/default.htm

As far as out of the way places, let me know your interests and I’ll make some suggestions. We’ve traveled all over France except the very northeast corner. We spend a few days in Paris and then take off into the hinterlands to see what we can see. Often we find things because someone we’ve met has suggested them. As you drive around, ask people . . . waiters, waitresses, people you meet in laundromats, staff at various businesses . . . They all have great ideas and many are from other places. We discovered Bourges from a waitress in Switzerland of all places! She was born in Bourges and had very fond memories. We made a beeline and had a great time there.