If you won a trip to France but the stipulation was that you had to spend the entire month in one place and it had to be anyplace except Paris, where would you go? . . . and why?
I would go to the Jura region! The weather is very cool and dry there during the summer. At night in July, you can even make a fire in the fireplace to stay warm. The chalet I can use is right by a beautiful lake. I can go swimming and boating and fishing all day! In town you have a 4 star Michelin restaurant where you can get a 5 course fish dinner for 28 euros. The service is (literally) white glove, with crystal chandeliers and gold leaf mirrors adorning the wall. They have other gourmand meals available for a set price, too. Dessert is as much as you want, you choose anything that is available. Also connected to this wonderful resto is a brasserie where you can get a wonderful 3 course meal for 10 euros. The bakery down the street makes wonderful bread, not the paris baguette, but traditional French breads that make Parisien baguettes seem American in taste.
You can go walking all day in the forests and have a picnic with the wonderful smoked meats, conte cheese and jura wines which are a specialty.
Pontarlier is in the Jura region, in case you get a hankering for a city sound. They have lovely shopping in downtown Pontarlier. It’s a pretty town where you can take nighttime strolls.
At night you open your mountain windows and fall asleep listening to the sound of traditional cowbells ringing as the cows feast on the grass at night. If you want, there is an artisinal cowbell maker in the next town over who will sell you cowbells at a reasonable price.
At night, walk to the lake and see how pitch black it is. EVERY STAR in the sky is completely visible because there is NO city/town lights at all. All you know about are the cows in the next field, quietly mooing as you go up to their field and scratch their ears as they approach the fence.
Comment On A month in France
SalB: Good question!
I would go to the Jura region! The weather is very cool and dry there during the summer. At night in July, you can even make a fire in the fireplace to stay warm. The chalet I can use is right by a beautiful lake. I can go swimming and boating and fishing all day! In town you have a 4 star Michelin restaurant where you can get a 5 course fish dinner for 28 euros. The service is (literally) white glove, with crystal chandeliers and gold leaf mirrors adorning the wall. They have other gourmand meals available for a set price, too. Dessert is as much as you want, you choose anything that is available. Also connected to this wonderful resto is a brasserie where you can get a wonderful 3 course meal for 10 euros. The bakery down the street makes wonderful bread, not the paris baguette, but traditional French breads that make Parisien baguettes seem American in taste.
You can go walking all day in the forests and have a picnic with the wonderful smoked meats, conte cheese and jura wines which are a specialty.
Pontarlier is in the Jura region, in case you get a hankering for a city sound. They have lovely shopping in downtown Pontarlier. It’s a pretty town where you can take nighttime strolls.
At night you open your mountain windows and fall asleep listening to the sound of traditional cowbells ringing as the cows feast on the grass at night. If you want, there is an artisinal cowbell maker in the next town over who will sell you cowbells at a reasonable price.
At night, walk to the lake and see how pitch black it is. EVERY STAR in the sky is completely visible because there is NO city/town lights at all. All you know about are the cows in the next field, quietly mooing as you go up to their field and scratch their ears as they approach the fence.