Gsco

You can ask me, i will be happy to give you an answer about France.

Best Regards,

pinniped

OK, I need three or four good daytrips from Aix en Provence. We'll have a rental car...staying in a house in Aix for a week...figure that means some daytrips...

We will have a fluent (native) French speaker.
We will have a sober driver if there's wine involved.

Thanks, and welcome to FT!

toby16custom

Mods will handle accordingly I suppose but at any rate:

I am heading with a buddy to Nice France for a couple days. Any advice on things to look for/do there?

Additionally are tips normal in France for meals/drinks or is that not a culture piece like the U.S.

Thanks!

Gsco

Meals and Drinks : You can find everything you find in cities like New York. Hamburgers, fries, and things like that. And you can taste french food, it s a little bit more expensive. You can drink alcohol without carrying an ID card. And you can find evry kind of drinks.
In france you don t have to let a tip like in US restaurants.

Beaches in Nice are superb, you can also go to Monte Carlo (Monaco) or on the croisette at Cannes.

JY1024

Moving this over to the France forum for further discussion. Thanks. JY1024, TravelBuzz co-moderator

Gsco

In France service is included in the price. Of course you can let a tip, but there is no obligations.

Gsco

Try to visit "Calanques de Marseille" it's an amazing place.

https://www.google.fr/maps/place/Cal...0bd651a5f6ebda

There is a great church in Marseille at the top of a mountain with a superb view on this city.

https://www.google.fr/webhp?sourceid...q=bonne%20mere

YVR Cockroach

The Calanque road (D141) to SE of Cassis is indeed spectacular. Just watch for wind conditions as it may be closed when windy, and may also be in the summer when fire risk is high.

North of Aix-en-Provence, you can cross into the Luberon and visit many interesting towns and villages there.

North of here is the high altitude area where fine lavender (vs. coarse) is allowed to be grown.

East of Aix is of course Mont St Victoire which inspired Cezanne.

NW of Aubange and ENE of Marseille is Pagnol country.

Can also go see the Roman antiquities in Arles (theatre, arena), Nimes (arena), Orange (spectacular theatre), Pont du Gard aqueduct.

Avignon and the papal palace and Pont St Benizet(sp?)

keisari

Will be 2 nights in Versailles and 4 nights in Paris end of Nov and beginning December. I am on a Christmas Market trip which will include Germany and Austria.

Any recommendations for something very Christmasy in those two cities?
Have been there many times but never around Christmas time.

thank you in advance.

stimpy

Are you driving or taking the train from Paris to Germany? You should really stop in Colmar and perhaps Strasbourg. Colmar has one of the best Christmas markets in all of Europe. And Strasbourg isn't too shabby.

There's nothing special about the Christmas markets in Paris nor Versailles.

keisari

Thank you about Paris information. How about the "market" around Trocadero. Is that anything special? Apart from the larger department stores in Paris, any other street with special lighting or decorations? How about Disney Paris? worth a trip just for X-mas decorations?
Any specific hotels known for their decorations I should visit?

I am doing Wurzburg, Nuremberg, Munich, Salzburg and Vienna - all by train. Dislike driving in winter. Unpredictable for my taste.
Do you think Colmar stop is a must?
I have been to Strasbourg and it will be a little out of the way by train (and costlier).

stimpy

To me the Christmas markets in Paris are just retreads of others, done in a cheap fashion. But you will find them at Place Saint-Germain-des-Prés , Place de la Nation on the Avenue des Champs-Elysées and in Place du Trocadéro.

Disney is Disney. It will be the same as Anaheim or Orlando, but colder.

Le Grand Hotel (IHG Intercontinental) is my favorite. Each year the famous macaroon house Ladurée constructs a huge Christmas tree of delicious macaroons. 2014 had the worlds largest I believe. I usually get invited to a cocktail to kick it off.




And the Ladurée shop itself is a must visit for Christmas.




Absolutely Colmar is a must visit. There's nothing else quite like it in the world. Easily one of the top 5 Christmas towns in Europe. Just google around and you will find articles like this...

http://www.tourismontheedge.com/plac...ar-france.html

You can take the TGV from Paris to Colmar, which is near the borders of Germany and Switzerland. And then easily continue by train to Nuremberg or wherever.

Tamino

La Défense as well as Montparnasse have the Christmas markets as well. They are fun to visit if you are just walking by but nothing that would warrant a special trip. Most vendors sell junk at inflated prices.

Schutzee

I am taking my girlfriend to the Hyatt Vedome for five nights checking out September 18th. I want to see Mont Saint Michel and Provence. I love to drive and will rent a BMW or Mercedes but would like to limit daily driving to 3 to 4 hours. We will have five days to explore.We will depart Paris for London on the Eurostar on September 22. If need be I can add a day in France as I have not purchased our train tickets yet.

I am looking for suggestions on an itinerary

Tamino

At 3 to 4 hours of driving per day, it will take you about 3 days to drive from Mont St Michel to Avignon. With 5 days to explore, I would make a decision about which location is of more interest and stick to that location. You could easily spend 5 days in Normandy/Brittany or 5 days in Provence, assuming you took the TGV from Gare de Lyon to Avignon or Aix-en-Provence and back.

You could purchase tickets from Avignon to London on the TGV which might be easier. I would check tickets here:

www.capitainetrain.com

For car rentals:
www.autoeurope.com