France In The Winter?

Hello,

Im visiting my fiance for one week to be precise. What would be the absolute must sees? Dec 15-Dec20th. The only place i%26#39;ve visted in France is Paris and loved it, but i am keen to visit South Of France. WHere all should i go?

And is it terribly cold?

Thanx,

DJ.

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Nice is a very popular place for Winter.

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There are plenty of interesting trips from Marseille. As you%26#39;ll be there only one week, you%26#39;ll have to choose.

First of all, make sure you visit the Marseille%26#39;s calanques : Sormiou, morgiou, Sugiton. Nice walks in beautiful wild landscapes. You may have a sunny weather in December, as we had when we%26#39;ve been there, also in winter. It is never terribly cold in the south. But of course, only if you like walking and/or climbing (very popular places for climbing).

http://www.calanquesmarseille.com/

Cassis is a nice day trip, not far from Marseille. So is Aix en Provence. So is Avignon.

You should discover the Provence. You could make a round trip to Saint Rémy de Provence, Les Alpilles and Les Baux de Provence (beautiful castle), Arles (nice old city and beautiful roman theater and arena), and back to Marseille. To really enjoy the trip, I recommend you spend one night in Saint Rémy; otherwise you will be in a hurry.

Saint Rémy is a nice typical little city in provence and there are nice hotels and restaurants :

saintremy-de-provence.com/st-remy/anglais/cc…

Or you could go to the Côte d%26#39;Azur, for example to Nice as previous poster suggested. But it is a longer trip.

It really depend on what you like most!

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%26quot;It is never terribly cold in the south%26quot;

If you look on the Avignon Forum you will see opinions to the contrary.They have already had snow this year in Provence.

When the mistral blows it can be bitterly cold.

The trip suggestions are good but be prepared for cold weather.

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You%26#39;re darned right. Last week we woke to temps between -3 and -8 every morning. It is much warmer this week, with rain, but it DOES get cold here. Coastal villages less so, but still cold.

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Marseille is on the sea, that has a special effect on climate. I have been several times in marseille in december and may be have always been lucky but had a far better weather as in November or even as in March/April : not warm of course, but light and sunny.

Well not only the experience or feelings, but the facts. Here are the infos on Marseille%26#39;s climate, not what I would call terribly cold in December...but the region I come from (Doubs) is one of the coldest in France...and again not as windy in December as in March/April :

…wikipedia.org/wiki/Marseille#Un_climat_m.C3…

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My advice would be to base yourself in Nice, which is always fairly lively, even in the depths of winter. The mistral hardly affects Nice at all as it is sheltered by the Alps and it is much warmer than western Provence in winter. Another advantage is that there is plenty to see within a short distance. If you get good weather you will love it1

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In my opinion, the south of france is not fun in winter. Most of its draw is outdoor activities-- eating outside, hiking, walks, outdoor markets, etc etc. Marseille is cold and windy, and rainy in the summer. Visiting the calanques is NOT a good idea in December- first of all, if it%26#39;s too windy the boats don%26#39;t go out there, the Med. can get pretty choppy. Secondly, the walks are much more pleasant in the spring/summer. Even in early March. If you already have a trip planned to Marseille in December, I wouldn%26#39;t discourage you from going, but why not visit a cold, gray northern city instead? how about strasbourg, rheims, orléans, etc?

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