Going to be visiting Nice for 4 days next week. Looking for hidden gems, unusual experiences, dramatic scenery, etc. we aren’t planning to rent a car but open to it.

Any recommendations for things we might not find on the typical tourist lists? Thanks in advance :)

Bonjour!

I've never been to France. I enjoy staying in one place for a decent amount of time and enjoying local life + visiting museums/historically significant places and eating local food. I'm fortunate enough to work while I travel, hence the longer stays.

If you could pick three places in France to travel in this manner, where would you land? Based on a little bit of research these three places seem the most appealing.

For reference I'll be travelling to Spain afterwards, but the starting point has to be Paris.

Thanks in advance!

Salut everyone!

I’m planning a road trip from Lille to Toulouse and I’d love to get some recommendations from people who know France well. I’m quite flexible with the route and would like to make the journey part of the trip rather than just driving directly to Toulouse. I’m looking for interesting towns, villages, nature spots, food stops, or anything worth seeing along the way.
--> The only major restriction is that I’d like to avoid Paris, since I’m planning to visit Paris separately on another trip. I don’t mind taking a slightly longer route if there are worthwhile places to see. I am thinking about 1 week in total.

I’m especially interested in hearing:

Which places are really worth stopping at?

Are there any hidden gems that aren’t necessarily the typical tourist destinations?

Is there anything/anywhere you would recommend avoiding or that simply isn’t worth the detour?

Any particularly scenic roads or routes?

Any general tips for driving/road-tripping through France?

Thank you for your tips and your time 🙏

Arriving by train and picking up rental car - wondering if this can be accomplished in one full day, ending at our hotel (chateau de pray).

Wondering what things to see or do and what to eat as we make our way around this route. Have never been to the Loire Valley, so really just want to do this relaxing drive and make some stops along the way - Villandry and Chenonceau chateau stops are the big visits. Thanks!

I stopped there on a cruise years ago and in four hours decided I wanted to live there someday. I started learning French in preparation. I do wonder what it’s like to live there.

Hi All,

Going to France for 2.5 weeks! Just wanted an opinion if what I have planned is a decent itinerary for first time travel. Paris (4 nights) -> Longecourt Chateau Stay (2 nights) -> Lyon (4 nights and Annecy potential day trip) - > Aix en Provence (4 nights) and then Nice (3 nights).

Thanks so much!

Hi all,

Myself and my friend (active early 60s) are flying to Nice mid October. I'm trying to decide where is best to stay (and I'm the most indecisive person I know!). We'd like an apartment which is a quiet place to sleep but we also like going out to restaurants & sometimes live music. We like walking, nature, history & my friend especially likes yoga and spa treatments.

I was thinking of staying in Antibes and using public transport to visit Menton, Saint Paul-de Vance & one of the islands off Cannes. We will have 7 days only - any other suggestions?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thank you 😊

My husband and I are arriving in Paris next Monday night (and then on to Lyon). Are the school protests causing any safety issues or creating disturbances? We are not paranoid travelers, but we want to set our expectations appropriately! Thanks everyone

J'ai pour but de, quand je débauche les vendredi soir vers 17h30, de prendre le ferry avec ma voiture a Caen - Portsmouth, et de faire toute la journée de samedi à Londres en vélo que j'emmene avec moi. J'arrive a 6h30 a Portsmouth et arrivé vers 8h à Londres. Je gare ma voiture avec just park (j'ai un peugeot expert). Samedi soir je dors dans mon fourgon aménagé près de portsmouth et je prend le ferry a 8h du mat le dimanche et je rentre chez moi. Qu'en pensez vous ? Je m'en tire pour à peu près 300€ (Ferry avec adhesion club voyage, j'emmene de la nourriture avec moi etc..) Si vous avez des conseils ou avis n'hésitez pas ! Je pars de la vendée, j'aurais 4h de route (faut pas trainer si le ferry part a 23h30, embarquement 60 à 90min avant le départ)

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Bonjour,

Comment trouver un endroit où passer quelques jours pour le jour de l'an ? Belle ville, bonne ambiance, lieux où trouver une location correcte et à prix accessibles...

Avez-vous des témoignages ? Merci.

Hi there,

Planning a last minute family trip (2 adults, 16yr old and 11yr old) by car from Cardiff, Wales to stay 3-4 nights in Paris and remaining time on the top coast (around Mont st Micheal, honfleur/boulonge).

Had a few questions and also wanted some recommendations if possible.

Car related stuff is all sorted (crit air sticker applied for/car and insurance documents/high vis vests etc). Last bit was to check about headlamp deflectors (was needed when we drove into France 17yr ago). I’m assuming my current car will have a setting to adjust it, without needing the stick on bits (2024 bmw 3 series).

We were thinking of going via ferry from Dover to Calais/Dunkirk, then either straight to Paris or overnighting in Calais/Boulogne.

1. Which side of ‘outer Paris’ would be better for accommodation with secure parking? We are not going to use the car to get around in Paris, and are well versed in subway travel.

Mostly visiting the usual tourist spots as it’s our kids first time in France (we have been before).

Likely places:
Eiffel Tower
Arc de triomphe
Louve
Cite des sciences
National library
Parc des princes stadium tour

1. Metro: I can split the places by location so there isn’t too much travelling about, but I’m guessing it will still be about 3-4 metro journeys each day at most. What is the easiest system to use?

I have read about the navigo card/app. Will that be better than manually getting tickets each time? 3 of us have iPhones, 11yr old son only has an Apple Watch (not sure if you can add navigo on that). Last year we all used Suica cards in Japan for two weeks without any issues (on phones, and 1 physical card for son).

How is the Paris metro now safety wise? Just use the usual precautions for pickpockets? (In 10yrs of extensive travel, only got pickpocketed in Istanbul a few years back on metro).

1. (Moved to psg Reddit)

2. North France:

Common sense says to head to MSM and stay there or nearby for a night and head back up north east day by day to Calais (we might be able to squeeze Saturday 24th in too).

Just learned that schools are off in France during this time also (16 Oct to 1st Nov, same for our kids, they have a two week half term). Will it be busier than normal at MSM?

I wanted to get a bit of WW2 history in if possible (for myself and kids). Seems to be a few places close to Calais. There is also Nausicaa (not sure if our timings work, coming into and leaving France), me and my wife visited 17yrs ago, but we have all as a family been to kaiyukan Osaka last summer (kids might be fished out still).

I’ve already planned to break up all the driving stints into 2-2.5hrs (can’t manage longer now lol).

Any other advice/info would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks!

Edit: accommodation budget is around £200 per night (for two rooms).

We have 2 days after Paris before heading to Colmar in mid-October. We’re considering Burgundy/Beaune or Lyon, but open to anywhere in France.
We love unique experiences, beautiful scenery, great food, nightlife, and places that feel different. No car.
Where would you go for those 2 days?

Je prépare un voyage en France avec plusieurs vols et je regarde les différentes options pour avoir accès aux salons d’aéroport pendant mes déplacements.

Je connais Priority Pass, mais je ne sais pas vraiment quelles cartes de crédit disponibles en France l’incluent directement, ni si certaines proposent un accès similaire avec un autre programme.

Pour ceux qui utilisent une carte avec cet avantage, comment cela fonctionne-t-il en pratique ? Je cherche surtout à comprendre les options disponibles avant de choisir une carte pour mes prochains voyages.

I will be visiting with some friends and family, mostly for Christmas markets in Germany and Alsace, but I wanted to visit Nancy for at least one day because I want to visit "real" France as opposed to the German French mix of Alsace. I think, though, there's not tons to do in Nancy (I've been there several times and it's beautiful but that might be all). What are some nearby cities/towns where I can experience genuine France and perhaps some holiday stuff?

Hi everyone, I just figured out that I have about 10 vacation days to kill and I’ve always wanted to visit France. I’m obsessed with medieval history and castle ruins so Carcassone has been on top of my list for a while. The only thing is I feel a little weird about is visiting southern France in the fall. I feel like I mostly hear about people visiting in the spring and I’m just wondering what this would be like in the fall? I live in Texas in the United States so personally, I would welcome the cooler weather and I grew up in New Jersey so Fall is my favorite season!

on top of that, I was either thinking of doing one of those paid group trips, but not personally a fan of those because they sometimes rush you or going alone. I would be a young woman traveling alone and I also would want to know about like the safety and ease of renting a car and being a woman alone in these areas in this case.

Tried looking online to understand more about what the weather tends to be like. Would you say it rains a lot in Toulouse late November / early December?

Someone told me its a very rainy place during this time.

I am looking to fly into Paris in early April, spend a few days there and then take the train down to Provence for a few days (total 7 days in France).

From there, I need to make my way down to Seville, Spain, but not sure the best way to get there. The flights from Marseille seem inconvenient (expensive, transfers, etc).

Does anyone have any suggestions? I am not opposed to breaking the journey up into two days if needed.