I want to plan a 9-day trip to France for August 2009. My husband and I will be traveling with our 5 year old and 2 year old sons. Ideally, I%26#39;d like to hit Paris (at the end of the trip), Mont St. Michel and the Loire Valley. But I%26#39;d also love to do a day or two by the ocean... and don%26#39;t want to miss any other amazing sites. I%26#39;ve already been to the D-Day beaches at Normandy so I%26#39;m not interested in doing that.
I%26#39;d LOVE recommendations on the best way to do this trip. Should we fly into Brest and out of Paris? We will probably rent a car to get from place-to-place. I have no idea how much time to allot at each location. I%26#39;d also appreciate any %26#39;kid-friendly%26#39; suggestions/attractions.
Thanks in advance for your help!
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don%26#39;t miss Villandry with the children, beautiful gardens with patterns, Ussé is supposed to have been the inspiration for the sleeping beauty castle, they have dummies there but i found it a bit tacky, children should like it.
I would say you need 3 days for Loire valley, and at least four days for Paris so not much time for the ocean. Mont St Michel you need one day, at least one afternoon on the spot
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Flying into Brest might be a good way to begin but I assume you will already be in Europe at the beginning of the French portion of your vacation. This is an important detail because if you are counting 9 days of which the first is an arrival from the US and the last is a departure, you only have 7 full days. Once you inquire about car rentals, you%26#39;ll see that 3 days is really the minimum feasible rental period, leaving a relatively short 4 day stay for Paris. (If I have miscounted, you may have time for a day or two in Normandy, continuing then to the Loire Valley.)
With 3 days you have sufficient time to visit either Brittany/Normandy or the Loire Valley, not really both.
My recommendations for sight seeing in the Loire Valley include the following châteaux: Chambord, Chenonceau, and perhaps Cheverny (as it is one of the few fully furnished examples) to the east of Tours and Azay le Rideau and perhaps Villandry to the west of Tours.
Amboise has several tourist destinations such as the miniature châteaux exhibit and an aquarium but I believe these are best avoided.
Within this overall framework you can augment or eliminate destinations according to your needs.
Finally, arrange for a car before you leave home and with 4 people and luggage choose a mid sized vehicle (this is not the same as US mid sized).
http://www.autoeurope.com/
http://www.autofrance.net/
easycar.com/car-hire/destination/France.aspx
http://www.easyterra.com/
http://www.europebycar.com/
http://www.france-car-hire-rental.com/
http://www.interrent.com/
I can recommend Autoeurope but all of the above are reputable companies.
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We will arrive on a Saturday morning (from an overnight flight) and leave on a Tuesday, 10 days later. So I%26#39;m considering it 9 full days of touring, without traveling. We will arrive from NJ and depart back to NJ.
So if we did Paris in 3-4 days and the Loire Valley for 3 days... what else could we (or should we!) fit in to 2 days???
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This is more than I really should recommend for 9 days but if you want to visit the beach, on your arrival day continue from CDG to Amiens or Rouen for your first night (by train preferably directly from CDG). The following day rent your car and either visit Honfleur, Bayeux, or continue to Mont St. Michel. Spend several days and swing south, south east to Tours, finishing by returning your car in Paris (or at the least Orly which is on your way into Paris).
More practically, choose either Brittany or the Loire Valle, spend 3-4 days there and the remainder in Paris.
The only caution I have is not to plan too much. 9 days is a good period for several day outside of Paris and the remainder of the time in Paris. Additionally, August will be difficult to find accommodations near beach locations and the French are all on national holiday. Interestingly, I believe August is the best month in which to visit Paris as this is when many hotels offer special pricing.
You%26#39;ll have no problem entertaining your whole family during your stay in Paris.
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Clos Luce (Amboise)is IDEAL for children your age. Once they get out into the gardens, they will have great fun.
Lots of Leonardo da Vinci creations that you can play on. There are a couple of pedalos in a very small pond..(don%26#39;t go under the very small bridge like we did lol!! it invites decapitation and then you have to go back...).
There were ducklings there when we visited in July.
As Sarastro has suggested, avoid the Parc des Mini Chateaux like the plague. We visited in July and it was a waste of money and time. It was tawdry, in need of a paint job and our children were not invited to participate in the Jousting tournament that was supposedly on that day. We felt it was a rip off. For the same price you could see two chateaux and have far more fun.
The spectacle of the feeding of the hounds in Cheverny is interesting... It happens between about 4.30pm and 5.00pm each day. The Master of Hounds (or some such similar) lines the dogs up like soldiers and barks orders like soldiers, while the dogs bay as they get more and more impatient.
Chenonceau has ducks by the river in the car park (there%26#39;s a picnic area there). Either bring some bread to feed the very tame ducks or else watch your sandwiches, lol!! There is also a nice maze in the wooded area where children can enjoy themselves.
Regarding the Mont St. Michel area. We didn%26#39;t find a lot of child-friendly attractions there. We were lucky to an extent that our 8 year old is lighthouse obsessed so we visited all the lighthouses between St. Malo and on the Cotentin Peninsula.
However, Cap Frehel and the Pointe de St. Cast are lovely. Brilliant wild flowers and scenery, but you%26#39;d need to keep a hold of the kids.
Have a great time.
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Your main problem (and this is one that is rarely mentioned here) will be meals.
French restaurants rarely open before 7.00pm for dinner, and meals are taken at a leisurely pace. Even if you managed to rush the kitchen, you will find it difficult to be out of the restaurant before 9.00. I had friends with a 5 y/o staying last summer, and his regular bedtime became 11.00. Mornings were difficult...
As for sites: Mont St Michel I always find disappointing (actually that should be past tense, now I don%26#39;t take any of our visitors there). It%26#39;s a church on an island surrounded by tourist trap restaurants. A similar thing can be said of Amboise - I just don%26#39;t get it.
I suggest you see if you can find a velorail: http://www.velorail24.com/ for the kids (including your husband) at least once. Mad fun!
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Thanks for the tips so far. Here%26#39;s what I%26#39;m thinking:
Saturday: arrive from New Jersey into Paris
--%26gt; Pick up rental car and drive to Loire Valley
--%26gt; Relax %26amp; enjoy countryside
Sunday: Chambord
Monday: Chenonceau/Amboise
Tuesday: Drive to Mont St. Michel (leisurely!)
--%26gt; Any recommended stops along the way???
Wed: See Mont St. Michel
Thursday: Explore Atlantic Coast
--%26gt; Need recommendations--I don%26#39;t know what would be the prettiest harbor towns and/or beaches along the coast close to Mont St. Michel
Friday: Drive to Paris
--%26gt; Any recommended stops along the way???
Saturday: Paris
Sunday: Paris
Monday: Paris
Tuesday: Fly home
The velorail looks like TONS of fun, but probably not safe for our 2 year old. We%26#39;ll have to keep that in mind for another trip.
Thoughts? Suggestions? Thanks!!!
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I%26#39;m not concerned about meals--my boys were fine in Italy this past summer and it was the same thing. We just get to the restaurant at 7pm and eat quickly (unfortunately!). I%26#39;m sure the other diners appreciate our quick departure. Or, we feed them some light %26#39;snack%26#39; for dinner earlier, and then put them to sleep in the strollers, and then wheel them to dinner while we can enjoy a peaceful meal (for a change).
Would you really suggest skipping Mont St. Michel??? I thought it%26#39;s supposed to be so amazing. Keep in mind we are NOT religious, so it%26#39;s not a pilgrimage for us. Any other places you would recommend instead--perhaps closer to the Loire Valley--instead of MSM?
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Mont St. Michel is fine if you take a sharp right, as you enter the village proper and walk up via the batiments.
Then come down again via the steps at the back, avoiding the main street.
I certainly wouldn%26#39;t avoid it. Our kids were fascinated by it. They loved lighting candles in the small church, mid way up.
Regarding beaches and sea views, drive to St. Malo and then drive west along the coast, the scenery is spectacular.
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%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;Saturday: arrive from New Jersey into Paris
--%26gt; Pick up rental car and drive to Loire Valley%26gt;%26gt;%26gt;
You are making a classic mistake by attempting to drive after an all night, trans Atlantic flight.
Do not attempt this. It will be almost 3 hours from CDG through Paris to the Loire Valley in a lot of traffic on unfamiliar, busy roads. Fatigue is a principal cause of traffic accidents and you take great risk to both property and person.
If you decide to go directly to the Loire Valley, take the TGV from CDG to Tours and pick up a rental the following day. Saving a day%26#39;s car rental will help defray the cost of the train tickets.
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