airports in Provence region

Hello,

We plan to spend the month of August 2008 visiting first the Loire region and then Provence and possibly Monaco. We will fly from San Francisco to Paris, then take the train to the Loire region where we will rent a car. I would like some advice about the pros and cons of driving the rental car to Provence, whether we should return the car in the Loire region, take the train to Provence and rent another car, and which city might be the best for our flight home. From my research it does not seem necessary to return to Paris as Nice has some flights. Are there any other airports that I should consider? We would like not to backtrack if at all possible. We have done similar trips in Italy, flying into Rome and out of Venice, and it has worked well. Our main interests are chateaux, gardens, food and photography.

Thanks in advance for all your advice.

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Once you rent a car, it really makes no sense either logistically or financially to take a train to a subsequent location for another car rental. This fact become apparent once you have researched rental costs.

The next overriding consideration is from what airport will you depart France. For non stop trans Atlantic travel, Paris is really the easiest. Geneva is possible (at least to NY) while I believe service has been restored from Nice to NY (I do not believe there was any Nice trans Atlantic service last year). Otherwise you%26#39;ll be connecting through either Paris or London. There is no other non stop trans Atlantic service available from a French city.

If it were I taking a month to travel through France (and I have done this a number of times) I should lease a car for the duration. Here are some places to check prices:

www.peugeot.com/services/openeurope/en/

http://www.renault-eurodrive.com/

One final point. Traveling in August is very easy if your destination is Paris, many hotels even offer discount rooms during this time. Traveling to recreational areas during August (sea coasts, mountain lakes, or any where a French person may have a second home) will be difficult at best. The best hotels and restaurants will be booked well in advance as the French undertake their yearly 5 week vacation migration.

Plan well in advance for an August vacation in the French countryside.

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With châteaux as one of your principal itnerests you might want to forego Provence. You%26#39;ll find most châteaux in the Loire Valley, Burgundy (don%26#39;t miss the Château de Tanlay, a Renaissance marvel), and the Dordogne. There are also some good examples of true castles in Brittany and Normandy. Provence is best for Roman ruins and perched villages, such as St-Paul-de-Vence.

Gardens? Brittany has some beauties, but August would not be the best month to see them. A number of the Loire Valley châteaux have fine gardens, and there are a number of good ones in the Ile de France itself.

Food? Burgundy!

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According to Expedia American airlines flies from Marseille to San Francisco, or am I missing something?

If you are interested in castles, the Cathar castles in the southwest around Carcassonne might be of interest? Probably a separate trip though.

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It would be wonderful if AA does fly from San Francisco to Marseille--much better than connecting through de Gaulle airport. I%26#39;m off to check the airline web site.

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If you are doing a month in France then the lease options mentioned previously are a good option for your money. I%26#39;ve done it with Renault in the past and was happy.

If you dont want to do the lease or are less worried about cost and more about ease then I would consider returning to Paris and taking the bullet train to the south. Its only a 3 to 3.5 hour train ride compared to several hours in the car in the month of August when traffic can be an issue due to all the vacationers.

AA does not fly from SFO to MRS ( Marseille).

The only direct flight I am aware of to the US from France other than Paris is from Nice and only during the summer.

You can look at Montpellier, Marseille and Nice to fly out of the south but odds are you will connect in Paris. You can also take the bullet train from Marseille, Aix en Provence, Avignon, Nimes or Montpellier directly to CDG airport to catch a flight.

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Many apologies. I was overlooking the small print that says you have to change 15 times. Well, twice. How odd that not a single carrier flies direct from France%26#39;s second city to the States. I%26#39;m assuming you%26#39;ve tried looking at Milan to see if that%26#39;s any good to you?

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Yes: Marseille (or Lyon, for that matter) by way of Chicago and then Brussels or Heathrow. American seems to be eliminating flights from the U. S. west coast to Dallas and then Europe, a big problem when one needs to connect in Chicago during the winter.

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