Best place to visit in Frace and why?

Question

I'm planning a YEAR LONG trip. Could use some expert advice ...any compulsive travellers out there?

Answer 1

Wow that is great. A year would be fabulous. I have a goal of riding the route of the Tour de France. I would spend a lot of time in Normandy and Bordeaux. Tour as many wineries as possible. Rouen was where Monet did a lot of his painting. I'd make sure I saw the French Riveria and Montpellier. I'd spend probably 2 months in Paris. I mean there are like 200 art museums alone in Paris. I'm not even a skiier and I'd go snowskiing in the Alps just to say I did it.

I'd check out the festivals and plan a lot of my holiday based on that.
http://gofrance.about.com/od/holidaysevents/tp/bestof2007.htm

Check out the Travel Channel website and see where Samantha Brown has gone in France.

Lonely Planet is definitely my favorite book but Frommer's is good too. There is the 100 Walks series (100 walks of Gloucestershire, 100 walks in essex, etc) and I'm sure they have a 100 Walks of somewhere in France. Oh and AA Bed and Breakfasts in France. B&Bs are so good b/c you get homecooked meals and sometimes stuff you've never eatten before. If you are a AAA member they also have some great maps and like a France general travel book. The maps are great though since you'll be traveling around. I'd rent as many of these as possible from the library first and make sure its worth buying and look in used bookstores.

I also think I'd plan an out of country trip to Ocktoberfest. I mean if you are going to be in Europe a whole year, why miss out on that?

But you have a WHOLE year. You can't get lost. You can't get behind schedule. If you turn on a wrong road or your car breaks down, who is to say that won't be the part you look back on as "the best part of your whole trip." Meet people, learn to cook French cuisine, offer to help them do as much as possible.

Oh I'm just dripping with jealousy!