Let’s plan a road trip of France, starting in Paris, heading down South via the East, then looping back up via the West.
PARIS (4 days – 1 Week): Don’t be a Tourist in Paris (the book)
Ebooks: Weekend Guide / Shopping like a Collector
Easy day trips / weekends around Paris
Also feel free to get in touch again closer to the time and we can share our seasonal tips for what’s going on in Paris.
GOING SOUTH (1 week to 10 days)
- You can take the train down to Provence (take the TGV to Avignon or Nimes), but if you decide to drive down, you could stop overnight in the Burgundy wine region, and stay in the lovely town of Beaune, and do a day lingering around the wine route.
- For a weekend around Uzès (stunning mid-sized medieval town with a legendary market, a great base) and Saint Remy de Provence (chic, great boutique shopping), Les Baux de Provence (incredible views) and L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue (antiques heaven) check out my Provence guide! Also useful, my Airbnb list for Provence.
- Provence covers a wide area, so you could also hop over to the Luberon region of Provence (less than two hours east of Uzes) and linger a while in magical villages like Lourmarin, Bonnieux or Me
nerbes . - Towards the coast (Cote d’Azur) I would maybe base myself in one of the hilltop villages where Provence meets the Cote d’Azur, overlooking the sea, but here’s a more general guide to the Cote d’Azur.
LOOPING BACK UP VIA THE WEST
(In order of south to north):
- Biarritz(2 days) – Spanish influenced surfing paradise
- The Bordeaux Wine Region (2 days)
- Ile de Ré for the amazing beaches and island life (1-3 days)
- Brittany (2 days) and Normandy (2 -3 days)
- And / or The Loire Valley for the chateaux (2 days)
Wild Card: Middle France! (2 days)
Did you know France has its own Scottish Highlands?! Auvergne is an incredibly stunning and rustic region of France that’s often overlooked.
- Check out the scenery from this remote restored shepherd’s hut you can rent surrounded by ancient volcanoes of the Parc Naturel Regional des Volcans d’Auvergne.
- If isolating in the French highlands isn’t quite what you had in mind, there’s a charming B&B in what looks just like an Italian villa at the Domaine de Chalaniat where we stayed in the beautiful Suite Solene and could have stayed for a week!
- There’s lots of natural beauty to see in the area, as well as the medieval hilltop village of Montferrand, natural wineries, and there’s even a little-known ski station in the area if you go in winter.
Don’t forget our map of France with hundreds of recommendations for restaurant, hotel and offbeat places as well as a separate map for antiques hunting around the country.