Eastern France itinerary question

[jfoote]

My wife and I will be flying into Nice next July for a 5 week driving trip through Provence and up the Eastern part of France to Alsace, and then flying out of Paris. It is our second trip to France. Last year we stayed in the Dordogne and Languedoc for 5 weeks and enjoyed exploring rural villages and walking/biking trails. We like slow travel, getting to know the local culture, tasting and regional food and wine, and we stay in self-contained apartments as much as possible. My question is about where to stay and how long in each place. My itinerary so far is as follows:
-fly into Nice (7 nights)
-drive to St. Tropez (4 nights)
-drive to Lacoste (7 nights)

We have 17 more days left. I was thinking of driving to Alsace and staying in a village around Kayserberg for 7 nights, and then returning the rental car to Colmar and taking the train to Paris and flying out the next day. I like having a contrast of regions and being near interesting walking/biking areas. I am not sure if we should spend more time in Provence and where to divide our time as we drive North towards Alsace? I would appreciate any suggestions you might have.
John

 

[Pauline]

Sounds like a great trip!

For a stop on your drive north, what about Annecy? It is in the mountains and on a lake. The area is beautiful. It is a bit out of the way.

Right on the route is Beaune in Burgundy. This is a beautiful area filled with vineyards.

More time in Provence wouldn’t be a mistake. There is so much to see and do there.

 

[jfoote]

Sounds like a great trip!

For a stop on your drive north, what about Annecy? It is in the mountains and on a lake. The area is beautiful. It is a bit out of the way.

Right on the route is Beaune in Burgundy. This is a beautiful area filled with vineyards.

More time in Provence wouldn’t be a mistake. There is so much to see and do there.

Thank you for your suggestions, Pauline. Lake Annecy looks beautiful.

 

[jfoote]

My itinerary now is the following:
Nice (7 nights)
St. Tropez (4 nights)
Lacoste (7 nights)
Lake Annecy (4 nights)
Beaune (6 nights)
Ribeauville (7 nights)
Paris (1 night and fly back to Vancouver in the morning)

Am I staying too long in any of the places? Also, where would it make the most sense to return my rental car and take the train to Paris?

 

[Fletch]

We have had several weeks holidays in Provence, two in Isle Sur La Sorgue and another with our family in Goult, not too far from Lacoste.
Bonnieux, across from Lacoste is a lovely village too and Cathy Wood a Slow Europe / Slow Trav member and tour leader has a house there. She would know all the local walks around there and may respond here.
We used the little book Provence Byways, now only available as a PDF, well worth the $10.

Provence Byways

www.provencebyways.com

We had a special family birthday lunch at Bastide de Marie near Menerbe and it was lovely. Recommend by the manager of the Villa we were staying in.
https://en.labastidedemarie.com/

We stayed a week in the centre of Beaune and loved it. We rented through Grape Rentals and they have other cottages in the countryside just outside Beaune that look lovely. The owner is a Canadian married to a Frenchman. She writes novels about her life in France from when she was an exchange student to meeting and marrying a Frenchman and having a family.

Grape Rentals - vacation rentals in the vineyards of France

Your trip will be wonderfu.

 

[Pauline]

Kathy has her Luberon (Provence) hiking information here:

Hiking - The Luberon

Where to hike in the Luberon - walks for everyone from easy to challenging, taking in the beautiful countryside of the Luberon in Provence.

www.theluberon.com

We did a week of hiking in Provence a few years ago and I have some details in my trip report.

Provence - A Week in the Luberon, Provence, September 2019

Saturday September 14 2019 Sunny and hot. After spending three weeks in Switzerland we drove down to the Luberon (Provence, France) for a week. The drive down went well but was long. A six-hour drive took us eight hours even though I had packed our lunch so we would not have to waste time...

www.sloweurope.com

We spent a week near Beaune a few years ago and did a few hikes. Here is that trip report:

Bourgogne-Franche-Comté - A Week in Burgundy, 2012

This trip report was originally posted on my blog, which is now closed. Our trips to France are becoming a yearly event. This year we decided to spend our week in Burgundy, south-east of Paris, with Chris and Shannon. This area was new to us all. We had to choose between the western part near...

www.sloweurope.com

(Reviewing this it looks like we did just one hike, along the canal.)

 

[jfoote]

Kathy has her Luberon (Provence) hiking information here:

Hiking - The Luberon

Where to hike in the Luberon - walks for everyone from easy to challenging, taking in the beautiful countryside of the Luberon in Provence.

www.theluberon.com

We did a week of hiking in Provence a few years ago and I have some details in my trip report.

Provence - A Week in the Luberon, Provence, September 2019

Saturday September 14 2019 Sunny and hot. After spending three weeks in Switzerland we drove down to the Luberon (Provence, France) for a week. The drive down went well but was long. A six-hour drive took us eight hours even though I had packed our lunch so we would not have to waste time...

www.sloweurope.com

We spent a week near Beaune a few years ago and did a few hikes. Here is that trip report:

Bourgogne-Franche-Comté - A Week in Burgundy, 2012

This trip report was originally posted on my blog, which is now closed. Our trips to France are becoming a yearly event. This year we decided to spend our week in Burgundy, south-east of Paris, with Chris and Shannon. This area was new to us all. We had to choose between the western part near...

www.sloweurope.com

(Reviewing this it looks like we did just one hike, along the canal.)

Hi Pauline! Thanks for the hiking trip reports and sharing your wonderful experiences. I am getting a sense of what Provence is like and am looking forward to exploring the Luberon, Burgundy and Alsace next summer.

 

[jfoote]

We have had several weeks holidays in Provence, two in Isle Sur La Sorgue and another with our family in Goult, not too far from Lacoste.
Bonnieux, across from Lacoste is a lovely village too and Cathy Wood a Slow Europe / Slow Trav member and tour leader has a house there. She would know all the local walks around there and may respond here.
We used the little book Provence Byways, now only available as a PDF, well worth the $10.

Provence Byways

www.provencebyways.com

We had a special family birthday lunch at Bastide de Marie near Menerbe and it was lovely. Recommend by the manager of the Villa we were staying in.
https://en.labastidedemarie.com/

We stayed a week in the centre of Beaune and loved it. We rented through Grape Rentals and they have other cottages in the countryside just outside Beaune that look lovely. The owner is a Canadian married to a Frenchman. She writes novels about her life in France from when she was an exchange student to meeting and marrying a Frenchman and having a family.

Grape Rentals - vacation rentals in the vineyards of France

Your trip will be wonderfu.

Thanks for the ideas Fletch! I will order the book you suggested.

 

[BEERMAN]

We did a similar trip, met our daughter in Paris, flew to Nice and spent 3 amazing nights with her. Said goodbye to her then headed north via rental car. We stayed in Annecy and Beaune. Highlight in Annecy, besides the amazing fairy tale town, was a boat rental on the lake and day biking through the towns and vinyards around Beaune. Fyi, we rented our bike around 10am, no Ebikes were left so we opted for standard pedal power which was a little more effort, but beautiful bike trails with no vehicles except for an occasional farm tractor. Favorite bottle(s) of wine were from Pommard just minutes away! We want to return! your itinerary sounds perfect!