Driving from Paris to Cologne Germany- where to stop?

We will be driving from Paris to Cologne in late may. I really want to enjoy some of the beautiful countryside and stop at a place for a tasting/tour. We are just beginning to plan our route-

Any suggestions of a route and place to stop?- I would prefer a Smaller-English speaking place.

Thanks!

|||

For a route, try www.viamichelin.com, or www.mappy.com.

What is it you want to taste/tour? I%26#39;m assuming wines, but there are also some major cheese regions between the two cities.

And keep in mind that Smaller and English-speaking aren%26#39;t always compatible.

|||

What are the cheese regions??? That sounds wonderful!

|||

Brie is produced around Meaux, about an hour east of Paris, as is Coulommiers. I do not, however, know off-hand of a tasting location. (I%26#39;m sure there are some, I don%26#39;t know of them)

There%26#39;s teh Champagne region around Reims, about 2 hours%26#39; east of Paris.

The Alsace is known for its white wines, just on the French side of the border.

A good guidebook will send you in the right direction -- try the DK Eyewitness series, in particular.

|||

Champagne is a great place to stopover and usually warm and sunny in May. You%26#39;ll find lots of places to stay in and around Reims or slightly further afield in the Champagne countryside. Try looking for a %26quot;gite%26quot;. These are self-contained apartments or cottages some very comfortable some not quite as nice but if you do your homework you should find somewhere very comfortable. A few are English speaking.

|||

Also forgot to mention an excellent book: Destination Champagne: The Individual Traveller%26#39;s Guide to Champagne - The Region and Its Wines by Philippe Boucheron. Even if you%26#39;re not staying in the region for long, you%26#39;ll find it very interesting and informative.

|||

There%26#39;s also a DK companion guide called %26quot;French Cheeses%26quot; (ISBN 0756614023) -- and another called %26quot;French Wine%26quot; (ISBN 0756615208)

I don%26#39;t own either of them, but a number of the food blogs I read recommend them highly.

|||

-:- Message from TripAdvisor staff -:-

This topic was inactive for 6 months and has been closed to new posts. We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one.

To review the TripAdvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.html

We remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason.

Removed on: 2:17 pm, October 14, 2009