Take the slow road to France

I just re-read a reply I did to a reader asking for advice on what to see and visit driving south from Paris. Perhaps I have been living in France for too long and am getting over-familiar with the sights and scenery I see every day. I am not a great fan of developed tourist areas or organised sites and scenes.

France has so many great places to see that it is not possible to do it quickly - all are different and deserve time. My advice is to wander slowly, when you find something which “feels” good - stop, look for a cafe and sit a while.

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Hi Tony

Having visited France back in 2002 and falling in love with the country but in particular, Provence, I am so excited to be coming back again in Aug/Sept this year.

I am travelling with some friends (we are from NZ & Australia) and we will be driving from Paris down to Provence to spend a couple of weeks exploring and relaxing.

My dilemma is the best route to take to get there, stopping along the way to see some other parts of the countryside.
Ideally I would like to either go down the centre and/or take in a bit of the Western regions (I travelled the Eastern regions last time).

Can you recommend any “must-sees” for someone who is really looking forward to Provence but wants to give the rest of the country a viewing too (just in case they’re just as nice or better!)
I look forward to (hopefully) hearing from you soon.

Best wishes

Tiffany
BTW - I really enjoy reading your Newsletters, so keep sending please!

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Hi Tiffany

It depends on your budget - 2 weeks is not a long time and France, although much smaller than Australia, has many times more variations of culture, scenery, lifestyle, food and climate. It is not an exaggeration to say that each of the 95 departments is a different “country”.

So whizzing from Paris around France in a couple of weeks would be exhausting and disorienting if you try to go too far or do too much.

Going down the center from Paris there is nothing to see until you get to the Mediterranean - the scenery is great over the Massif Central, but after ten kilometers, ummmm, there is the next ten of similar stuff. The bridge at Millau is worth seeing.

Pezenas, Sete and Montpellier are worth a quick look (I would say that wouldn’t I, we chose to live in this region for the last fifteen years).

Everyone plans to visit Avignon, yes it is worth a ten minute coffee break - same for Aix - my preference in that area is the old part of Marseilles. Arles has some good parts and Nimes some super Roman stuff.

The Riviera/Cote d’Azur is ghastly in August - too much traffic and candy floss - but old Nice is always worth the time.

Inland Provence is - well - inland. Blooming lavender and pseudo museums (except you will be too late) - the postcards are more interesting.

If you take the West coast then La Rochelle and other holiday towns offer a softer France than the South - you will still get Peruvian nose flute players of course and the usual beggars with cans of beer, packets of fags and dogs - but they seem less smelly (must be the Atlantic air).

I like Beirritz (many people don’t) and Lourdes must be the tackiest place on the planet - Bordeaux is good as it has many roads leaving it and you can escape quickly. Carcassonne is worth a visit, it needs to be ticked off your list, but once is enough

My favorite towns (apart from Paris) - Lyons, Marseilles, Nice,

Hope this helps

Tony

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