FlyingDiver

We'll be in Paris this spring, picking up a car, then driving to Italy. Our current plan is to spend a few days in the Aix-en-Provence area on the way. I'm figuring one night on the way, maybe near Dijon, then three or four nights somewhere in Aix-en-Provence.

I'm looking for suggestions on hotels and specific sights on the way. Winery tours would be good, or maybe some interesting castles or cathedrals or similar. This is our first trip to France outside of Paris.

Thanks!

joe

Skeeter.gogo

On a trip my GF and I took years ago, we stopped in Burgundy to see V�zelay and Autun to view the remarkable Romanesque works by Gislebertus.
Down in Provence, look into Avignon for the sights and the nearby Villeneuve les Avignon for an alternative place to stay. Visit Les Baux de Provence and enjoy your trip!

stimpy

Lots of cool castles and wineries in Burgundy.

keisari

If your end point is Italy, then Burgundy is a little off the road.
There are so many great things to see around here in Provence.
I am finishing a one week trip from Lyon to Marseilles by car.
I stayed in a great little hotel/apt in St. Remy de Provence which is quiet, very chic with great food and shopping/markets and is an easy base to drive around.
the place is called Les Sources and the link is http://www.les-sources-saint-remy.com/
The owner is really nice and attentive to your needs.

These are the places I would consider from Paris to Italy and not necessarily in my favorite order:

Lyon: great little place with awesome food. manageable on foot; you could take a train from Paris to Lyon and then rent a car.

Avignon: busy, crowded, full of history - half day plenty

St. Remy de Provence: great base; try the restaurant by Alan Assaud; great food. it is in town. Wed AM there is a nice market with awesome fish and cheeses and the obligatory olive oil and lavender stuff; also fruits and vegetables.

Arles; nice quiet town with roman ruins; a few hours is plenty

Isle sur la sorgue: the "Venice" of Provence; not quiet but really quaint and calm with nice little places to bring your own picnic stuff.

Aix en Provence is big with a great center; reminds me of some areas in the 5th and 6th arr of Paris; maybe even some of the Marais streets; Not sure how different from Paris itself; I spent a few hours on Saturday afternoon and enjoyed it; a few large garages for Parking

I love the coast between Cannes and Menton - could spend an entire week just there.

Not sure about wine tours but saw plenty of places advertising selling wine and tasting of wine.
I prefer tasting cheeses......

you can send me a private message if I can help in any way.
enjoy

slawecki

have you checked on the price of picking up a car in france and dumping it in italy?

FlyingDiver

We're leasing one. Due to some French tax laws, it's about the same as a rental and you get a brand new car. If we had it longer, it would be a lot cheaper. Minimum is 21 days for the lease deal. We'll have this one for 30 days.

Joe

stimpy

The OP said he was stopping off first in Dijon. Dijon is in Burgundy and the A6 that heads down through the Saone et Loire is the Route de Soleil which takes you to the sea.

You pass through the famous C�te d'Or and C�te Chalonnaise wine districts which is littered with castles, great wines and fine dining.

FlyingDiver

Thanks for the great suggestions from keisari and Skeeter.gogo.

Our route would be as stated, then Cannes and Monaco on the way to Genoa. After that we'll pick up on the Italy forum.

joe

allset2travel

It has been almost 4 years when we did something similar (the portion Paris-Dijon-Aix). From Paris, you may consider stoping at the following towns/villages: Auzerre, Vazelay, Avallon and Beaune (and plenty of little villages that you can drive in and check them out, for coffee or a snack) on way to Dijon. All worthwhile. Did not stay in Dijon. Many B&Bs along the wine road (N74) between Dijon and Beaune are good options. Beaune is a very touristy wine town. I would not stay there, but would do dinner and wine tasting there. Highlights in each of these places are well published in tour books and online.
On the way to Aix ( a somewhat long drive), we made brief stops at Macon, Lyon and St Etienne.
Aix is interesting but extremely touristy as well. B&B& hotels in Saint-Remy-de-Provence are much better options (someone up-post had mentioned) as base and do day trips from there (to Arles, Avignon, Aix�or even as far west as Pont-du-Gard).
If time allows, day trip to the Luberon hill towns would be interesting: L�Isle-sur-la-Sorgue (look for market day), Fontaine-de-Vaucluse, Gordes, Bonnieux etc, name a few�.. Very colorful.
Tons of info avail online re French Riviera and cross border into Italy, no need to repeat.

OP, care to elaborate about car lease? Link? Thanks.

FlyingDiver

Thanks for the suggestions!

http://ideamerge.com/leasing/overview.html

Basically, the taxes on a new car in France are very, very high. The manufacturers find it profitable to lease new cars to non-French residents (no tax on leases to foreigners) then sell the cars as used (less tax). There's a minimum period for the lease (18-21 days), and a max of 180 days unless you get a special permit.

The lease I got was within a couple hundred dollars of the rental price for the same period, for a much nicer brand new car with full insurance (no deductible). I've got it for 30 days, if it had been longer, it would have been an even better deal. The daily incremental rate (after the minimum period) is $30 for a "Megane turbo diesel (dCi) 1.5 150 hp a/c 5-door, automatic with CD player & GPS". Pickup/Drop at selected cities in France is free. The dropoff at Rome is an additional $300.



joe

Skeeter.gogo

While enroute to Provence we made a stop in Lyon not to eat but to visit the Silk Museum which the GF suggested and I enjoyed. I recall they gave us each a silkworm cocoon as a free memento, though that was a while back. I agree that Arles and St. Remy are good places to stop if Roman architectural sites interest you (monuments, amphitheater, etc.). While in Provence you should consider some other sites like Orange and the fine wines in the vicinity like Vacqueyras, Ch�teauneuf du Pape, Gigondas, and Bandol.
4 km. inland from Menton (as the crow flies, 12 km. uphill by car) is a rather isolated village we had an enjoyable overnight, which has remarkable views: St. Agnes.
In Liguria we decided to find accommendations late one day and pulled into Noli which also was a great little village which appeared to be popular in summer (beautiful beach) but an active fishing town year round. Once you're in Northern Italy I'd recommend Lucca as something often overlooked by tourists.

NickB

Between Beaune and Lyon, if you are not in a hurry, rather than taking the A6 which is rather boring, why not take the wine route on the back roads along the cote de Beaune to start with, then head back a few kilometres towards Chagny, then head straight south on the D981 through cote Chalonnaise country down to Cluny, where you can head back on the N79 towards Macon and the main road. It is easy, pleasant driving, that gives you a good feel of the country and its rolling hills in this area. Cluny is worth visiting in its own right, although it can get quite touristy at busy times. The Beaujolais area just south of Macon is also beautiful but the roads are a little trickier and progress towards the south is quite slow outside of the main road (N6) and mortorway (A6) around there as you tend to twist and turn.

stimpy

Excellent idea. Try to visit Satenay, Mersault, Givry, Pommard, Mercurey, etc. Well worth the time. Cluny is one of the worlds top Christian religious centers. I never knew that til I went there myself.

NickB

Just the names make me thirsty.
Given the centrality of religion in the middle ages, Cluny was a major intellectual centre (and a centre of religious power with the Benedictine renewal in the 10th century) in the middle ages and there is a wealth of history associated with the town.

FlyingDiver

Anyone have a recommendation for lodgings in the C�te Chalonnaise area?

I just put in a reservation request at Les Sources in St. Remy de Provence. That looks like a nice base for a couple days.

joe