France
France, in a few days
A three-week loop from Paris through the best-known regions: the Normandy cliffs, the Mont-Saint-Michel, the Gulf of Morbihan, the Loire châteaux, the Périgord, the Cité of Carcassonne, Provence, the Verdon gorge, Lake Annecy and the vineyards of Burgundy. The map, what is worth booking, everything that costs nothing, and where to sleep at three budgets.
- Day by day
- 1 Paris Day 1
- 2 Bayeux Days 2-3
- 3 Saint-Malo Days 4-5
- 4 Vannes Days 6-7
- 5 Amboise Days 8-9
- 6 Sarlat-la-Canéda Days 10-11
- 7 Carcassonne Day 12
- 8 Avignon Days 13-14
- 9 Moustiers-Sainte-Marie Days 15-16
- 10 Annecy Days 17-18
- 11 Beaune Days 19-21
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
Day by day
Paris
The Louvre under its glass pyramid, the hill of Montmartre with the whole city below, and Versailles on the way out.
- Palace of Versailles, ticket with the gardens · from Louis XIV's palace and its gardens, south-west of Paris.
- The Louvre
- Montmartre
- The Palace of Versailles
Bayeux
The cathedral town that serves as a base for the D-Day beaches, with the cliffs of Étretat and the harbour at Honfleur on the road in.
- Guided tour of the D-Day beaches · from Omaha Beach, the American cemetery at Colleville, the artificial harbour at Arromanches and the Pointe du Hoc, with a guide to say what happened where.
- The cliffs of Étretat
- Honfleur
- The D-Day beaches
- Bayeux Cathedral
Saint-Malo
A walled town on the sea, with the Mont-Saint-Michel across the bay and the oyster beds of Cancale.
- Guided walk across the bay at low tide · from The crossing to the Mont-Saint-Michel over the sands, on foot, with a guide who reads the tide.
- The Mont-Saint-Michel
- The ramparts of Saint-Malo
- Cancale and the Pointe du Grouin
- Dinan
Vannes
Ramparts and half-timbered houses round the cathedral, on the edge of an inland sea scattered with islands.
- Gulf of Morbihan cruise · from The inland sea and its scattering of islands, seen from the water.
- The old town of Vannes
- The Carnac alignments
- The wild coast of Quiberon
- The Gulf of Morbihan
Amboise
A royal château on the Loire and the last home of Leonardo da Vinci, with Chenonceau and Chambord close by.
- Ticket for the Château de Chenonceau · from The château built on arches across the Cher, 15 km south of Amboise.
- The Château d'Angers
- The Château de Chenonceau
- The Château de Chambord
- The Château d'Amboise and the Clos Lucé
Sarlat-la-Canéda
The Périgord: the Lascaux replica, villages built into the cliffs above the Dordogne, and Rocamadour an hour away.
- Ticket for Lascaux IV, the cave replica · from A full-scale replica of the painted cave, at Montignac on the road to Sarlat.
- The royal city of Loches
- Lascaux IV
- La Roque-Gageac
- Rocamadour
Carcassonne
A double ring of walls, 3 km long with 52 towers, above a lower town crossed by the Canal du Midi.
- The castle and ramparts of the Cité · from Inside the double wall, 3 km long with 52 towers, restored by Viollet-le-Duc.
- Saint-Cirq-Lapopie
- The Cité of Carcassonne
- The Canal du Midi
Avignon
The city of the popes on the Rhône, with the Pont du Gard and the Baux-de-Provence within a short drive.
- The Palais des Papes and the Pont d'Avignon · from The 14th-century Gothic palace where the popes lived for nearly 70 years, and the four arches of the bridge from the song still standing in the Rhône.
- The Pont du Gard
- The Palais des Papes
- The Pont Saint-Bénezet
- Les Baux-de-Provence
Moustiers-Sainte-Marie
The village above the Lac de Sainte-Croix, at the mouth of the Verdon gorge, with the lavender of Valensole on the way.
- Kayak or electric boat in the Verdon gorge · from From the Lac de Sainte-Croix below Moustiers, up into the mouth of the gorge on the water.
- Sénanque Abbey and Gordes
- Roussillon
- The Valensole plateau
- The Verdon gorge
Annecy
Canals, the Palais de l'Isle and a walk along the lake, with Chamonix and the Aiguille du Midi about an hour and a half away.
- Aiguille du Midi cable car · from Up to 3,842 metres from Chamonix, about an hour and a half from Annecy.
- The citadel of Sisteron
- Mont Aiguille
- The old town of Annecy
- The Aiguille du Midi
Beaune
The Hospices with their coloured tile roofs, and the wine villages of the Côte de Nuits running north.
- Tasting in a Beaune wine cellar · from Burgundy in the cellar it comes from, in the town at the foot of the vineyards.
- The royal monastery of Brou
- The Hospices de Beaune
- The Côte de Nuits
- Vézelay
Worth sorting before you go
Drive your own car · The loop alternates toll motorways, the free Breton expressways and small village roads, stage by stage.
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Compare the agencies before you land.
Compare · Booking
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
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Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Oysters at Cancale, straight from the beds below the harbour.
- Crêpes and buckwheat galettes in Brittany.
- Burgundy wine, tasted in a cellar in Beaune.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Cross the bay of the Mont-Saint-Michel on foot only with a guide, and check the tide times around Saint-Malo.
- Do not swim on the wild coast of Quiberon: it is dangerous.
- Free parking at the Mont-Saint-Michel only starts after 6.30 pm, and not in July and August.
- Budget for motorway tolls on the long legs outside Brittany.
Words that help
English ↔ French
| English | French |
|---|---|
| Hello | Bonjour |
| Thank you | Merci |
| Please | S'il vous plaît |
| Yes | Oui |
| No | Non |
| Excuse me | Excusez-moi |
| Goodbye | Au revoir |
| Do you speak English? | Parlez-vous anglais ? |
| I don't understand | Je ne comprends pas |
| How much is it? | Combien ça coûte ? |
| Where are the toilets? | Où sont les toilettes ? |
| The bill, please | L'addition, s'il vous plaît |
| Help! | Au secours ! |
| Cheers! | Santé ! |
The practical page
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/france
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos: Pexels and Wikimedia Commons (Chabe01, CC BY-SA 4.0 ; JensKunstfreund, CC BY-SA 4.0 ; Lynx1211, CC BY-SA 4.0 ; Zairon, CC BY-SA 4.0 ; Antoine Montulé, CC BY-SA 4.0 ; Benjamin Smith, CC BY-SA 4.0 ; Benh LIEU SONG (Flickr), CC BY-SA 3.0 ; This Photo was taken by Wolfgang Moroder. Feel free to use m, CC BY-SA 3.0 ; Zairon, CC BY 4.0 ; Tournasol7, CC BY-SA 4.0) · Details are indicative, check before you leave.