France Fast! What do I need to know?
January 24, 2012 10:49 AM Subscribe
Whirlwind trip to France: Your tips needed (Fleurance, Aix, Paris). My wife & I going to Fleurance on business in the beginning of March and while the business portion should take a couple of days, we'll have at least a week in France. We'd like to see Aix (I was an exchange student there 20 years ago), and at least see Paris because we may never get another chance.
It'll also be our delayed honeymoon, but I have little to no idea where to stay, or what to see on such a short time schedule. We'd both love to see roman ruins (Arles?) and Versailles if possible.
It'll be her first time abroad, and I haven't been abroad since I was 15 (in 1991) so any good travel tips in this day and age of debit cards, cell phones, driving in france, as well as specific recommendations as to where to stay, where to eat, and what to see, would be really helpful.
It'll also be our delayed honeymoon, but I have little to no idea where to stay, or what to see on such a short time schedule. We'd both love to see roman ruins (Arles?) and Versailles if possible.
It'll be her first time abroad, and I haven't been abroad since I was 15 (in 1991) so any good travel tips in this day and age of debit cards, cell phones, driving in france, as well as specific recommendations as to where to stay, where to eat, and what to see, would be really helpful.
Are you flying into Paris, or into a another city (Toulouse, for example)?
posted by gimonca at 11:03 AM on January 24, 2012
posted by gimonca at 11:03 AM on January 24, 2012
Response by poster: I presume we'll have a car, and I think we are flying into Paris and then onto Toulouse (we're flying out of SFO). The decision to send us to France was just made yesterday, so we're scrambling to make plans.
posted by gofargogo at 11:05 AM on January 24, 2012
posted by gofargogo at 11:05 AM on January 24, 2012
If you search the tag "paris" you will find jillions of previous questions with tons of suggestions.
posted by BlahLaLa at 11:06 AM on January 24, 2012
posted by BlahLaLa at 11:06 AM on January 24, 2012
The Saturday market in Aix is great and it fills the center of town, I think it runs from around 9am to 1230. If you're feeling outdoorsy, you can go hiking on Mount St Victoire, about 30 minutes away. Other than that, Aix is still a small, pretty, upscale village in southern France that is not a bad place to spend an afternoon wandering around.
posted by tip120 at 11:16 AM on January 24, 2012
posted by tip120 at 11:16 AM on January 24, 2012
If possible, take the train - much faster than driving. Generally, the further north you go, the less people will drive crazy, but France is not as bad as other european countries.
On your way from Aix to Paris, stop by Lyon - great roman ruins (and a nice Gallo-Roman museum in St Romain en Gall), terrific food - the museums are not too bad too.
If you ski, there should still be snow in the alps until mid march - from Lyon or Grenoble it can be a day trip. the Pyrenees might still have snow too, so you might want to try it from Toulouse too.
If you have a CDMA phone (verizon), it will likely not work. Borrow a GSM one before leaving - note that it became harder to buy a SIM without filling and mailing paperwork in France, so it might not be worth doing it for a week - maybe an international SIM card would be enough.
It's unlikely that your debit card will work. Visa and Mastercard work most places though.
posted by motdiem2 at 11:20 AM on January 24, 2012
On your way from Aix to Paris, stop by Lyon - great roman ruins (and a nice Gallo-Roman museum in St Romain en Gall), terrific food - the museums are not too bad too.
If you ski, there should still be snow in the alps until mid march - from Lyon or Grenoble it can be a day trip. the Pyrenees might still have snow too, so you might want to try it from Toulouse too.
If you have a CDMA phone (verizon), it will likely not work. Borrow a GSM one before leaving - note that it became harder to buy a SIM without filling and mailing paperwork in France, so it might not be worth doing it for a week - maybe an international SIM card would be enough.
It's unlikely that your debit card will work. Visa and Mastercard work most places though.
posted by motdiem2 at 11:20 AM on January 24, 2012
Navigon app for ipad was an AWESOME gps to have while driving around, especially getting in and out of Paris. While in Paris you should not need a car at all.
posted by coevals at 1:00 PM on January 24, 2012
posted by coevals at 1:00 PM on January 24, 2012
Best answer: Getting deep into the southwest (your main business destination) is not as train-friendly as other parts of the country. For sightseeing in the southwest, you'll want a car. Be sure to reserve an automatic in advance if you need one, just in case. (If your company is willing to pay for the car, by all means take them up on it.)
Roads are very well-maintained and signage is often excellent. Be sure to keep some change on hand for tolls if you're on the main autoroutes--U.S. credit cards won't work in the automated machines. Likewise, you won't be able to use U.S. credit cards in automated gas pumps. It's no problem to go inside to the cashier and pay with a U.S. credit card, but that assumes that the cashier is open, which might not be the case on late nights or Sundays. Again, plan ahead.
Keep in mind that the center of cities and towns were built centuries ago, so traffic and parking can be interesting--it's often better to pay a little more to park in an underground ramp, then get out on foot and enjoy yourself. (That said, both Auch and Pau in the southwest have large surface lots with free parking in the middle of town.)
Food is fantastic, well, everywhere. Expensive places are great, cheap places are great...you name it. Restaurants are more likely to be closed on Sundays and Mondays, so you may want to plan around that. If you're in a smaller town, Sunday night could mean pizza or a kebab stand--the bright side being that this can mean rubbing shoulders with locals and having an 'authentic experience'.
It's also possible to buy your own food and eat picnic-style. Market halls like the Victor Hugo market in Toulouse are great for wandering through and assembling your choices of breads, cheeses, fruits, and so on for snacking. Look for the "traiteur" for more ready-made dishes to go, the "primeur" is where you'd go for fresh fruits.
For nicer dining, the Gault Millau guide has searchable ratings online.
In the southwest, you'll want to have foie gras at least once. A bottle of local armagnac to bring back home is a great souvenir, too.
A quick day-trip to your immediate southwest could be to visit the castle of Henry IV in Pau. Pau itself is a nice spot to spend the day and have lunch.
Not much Roman stuff in the southwest--I think there's a site in St-Bertrand-de-Comminges, but I haven't been there personally. Lots of medieval sites, and east of Toulouse you meet the "Cathar country" with lots of castles. Carcassonne is easy to get to by road or train, lots of tourists, worth a visit. Other sites are further out in the country (Peyrepertuse, Queribus, etc.), very impressive, but might take more time than you have.
For Roman stuff, the best sites are going to be a bit further to the east in Provence. If you were to set out from Gers or Toulouse itself in the morning, you could be in Nimes or Arles by midday. Both have great Roman sites to see, Nimes is a little larger with a little more shopping, etc., while Arles has the Van Gogh house. In both cities, if you want to see the arena, check to make sure there isn't an actual event on the day you'll be there, otherwise it won't be open for tours. St.-Remy also has some nice Roman ruins around the old site of Glanum nearby.
From Nimes, it's a straight line up to the Pont du Gard and then to Orange, where the excellent Roman theatre and other Roman items are. At this point, Aix isn't too far away, Avignon is right there, and you'll have a chance to get on the high-speed train north if you wanted to leave the car behind at this point.
Finally, my U.S.-based GSM phones have worked fine in France, technically. I'm careful to turn off data roaming to avoid overbilling. I do send text messages, but I get billed 50 cents each for them, so I try not to go crazy. You'll want to check specifics on your current phone and provider.
posted by gimonca at 1:01 PM on January 24, 2012 [2 favorites]
Roads are very well-maintained and signage is often excellent. Be sure to keep some change on hand for tolls if you're on the main autoroutes--U.S. credit cards won't work in the automated machines. Likewise, you won't be able to use U.S. credit cards in automated gas pumps. It's no problem to go inside to the cashier and pay with a U.S. credit card, but that assumes that the cashier is open, which might not be the case on late nights or Sundays. Again, plan ahead.
Keep in mind that the center of cities and towns were built centuries ago, so traffic and parking can be interesting--it's often better to pay a little more to park in an underground ramp, then get out on foot and enjoy yourself. (That said, both Auch and Pau in the southwest have large surface lots with free parking in the middle of town.)
Food is fantastic, well, everywhere. Expensive places are great, cheap places are great...you name it. Restaurants are more likely to be closed on Sundays and Mondays, so you may want to plan around that. If you're in a smaller town, Sunday night could mean pizza or a kebab stand--the bright side being that this can mean rubbing shoulders with locals and having an 'authentic experience'.
It's also possible to buy your own food and eat picnic-style. Market halls like the Victor Hugo market in Toulouse are great for wandering through and assembling your choices of breads, cheeses, fruits, and so on for snacking. Look for the "traiteur" for more ready-made dishes to go, the "primeur" is where you'd go for fresh fruits.
For nicer dining, the Gault Millau guide has searchable ratings online.
In the southwest, you'll want to have foie gras at least once. A bottle of local armagnac to bring back home is a great souvenir, too.
A quick day-trip to your immediate southwest could be to visit the castle of Henry IV in Pau. Pau itself is a nice spot to spend the day and have lunch.
Not much Roman stuff in the southwest--I think there's a site in St-Bertrand-de-Comminges, but I haven't been there personally. Lots of medieval sites, and east of Toulouse you meet the "Cathar country" with lots of castles. Carcassonne is easy to get to by road or train, lots of tourists, worth a visit. Other sites are further out in the country (Peyrepertuse, Queribus, etc.), very impressive, but might take more time than you have.
For Roman stuff, the best sites are going to be a bit further to the east in Provence. If you were to set out from Gers or Toulouse itself in the morning, you could be in Nimes or Arles by midday. Both have great Roman sites to see, Nimes is a little larger with a little more shopping, etc., while Arles has the Van Gogh house. In both cities, if you want to see the arena, check to make sure there isn't an actual event on the day you'll be there, otherwise it won't be open for tours. St.-Remy also has some nice Roman ruins around the old site of Glanum nearby.
From Nimes, it's a straight line up to the Pont du Gard and then to Orange, where the excellent Roman theatre and other Roman items are. At this point, Aix isn't too far away, Avignon is right there, and you'll have a chance to get on the high-speed train north if you wanted to leave the car behind at this point.
Finally, my U.S.-based GSM phones have worked fine in France, technically. I'm careful to turn off data roaming to avoid overbilling. I do send text messages, but I get billed 50 cents each for them, so I try not to go crazy. You'll want to check specifics on your current phone and provider.
posted by gimonca at 1:01 PM on January 24, 2012 [2 favorites]
If you'd like tips on where to eat in Paris, and what to see (especially things off the typical tourist circuit), MeMail me with your preferences and budget. I'm less good with lodging recommendations since I've only spent one night in a Parisian hotel, in a total of over two years of living in the city, but I've gotten a couple tips from friends. My previous AskMeFi answers on Paris are here.
posted by brianogilvie at 2:01 PM on January 24, 2012
posted by brianogilvie at 2:01 PM on January 24, 2012
Best answer: Step one of international travel: call your bank; call your credit card company. Notify them of the dates that you will be traveling and ALL COUNTRIES that you MIGHT be in. Think broadly. Then find out if they have a relationship with a bank in that company. Bank of America, for example, has an agreement with BNP Paribas, which is available all over in France, so you can go to the ATM at any of those locations and the charges are minimal. (There are entire dissertations written on how to avoid these charges. I don't have the time or energy to worry about that sort of thing.)
Driving in France is pretty non-stressful and the highways are good and fast. I love travel by train, but I also like the freedom to get a bit lost and see tiny little back country villages.
You'll be near Lourdes if you're religious or just fascinated by that sort of pilgrimage site. But even if you aren't, the Pyrenees are beautiful and worth seeing.
If you have to end up back in Toulouse to leave, then I think that Paris AND Aix might be a bit much. But if you can hit Aix and then wind your way up to Paris, then you might be able to do that in a week. If you're going to land in Paris toward the end of the trip, then see Chartres on your way there (a little out of the way from the direction you'll be coming from Aix, but worth it), and see the Cathedral there. It's truly impressive. And I've seen a lot of damn cathedrals. You may also want to go up to see Giverny (Monet; water lilies). A car will help you accomplish this, and you may want to plan to do that before you get into Paris since at that point you may just want to ditch the car rather than deal with driving in Paris. (It's such an easy city to navigate without a car.)
If you're planning to stay in Paris, check out airbnb.com. You can find excellently priced accommodations in really unique places. You'll have a whole apartment to yourself rather than staying in a tiny hotel room. Les Fines Gueules was a delicious meal over just north of the Louvre. Highly recommended. Expensive by my standards, but that also factors in what was a rather unfavorable exchange rate in my opinion. It was still worth it.
If you're coming from San Francisco, you should be well prepared for the weather, which will probably be cool to cold, but probably not soaking wet.
posted by jph at 2:54 PM on January 24, 2012
Driving in France is pretty non-stressful and the highways are good and fast. I love travel by train, but I also like the freedom to get a bit lost and see tiny little back country villages.
You'll be near Lourdes if you're religious or just fascinated by that sort of pilgrimage site. But even if you aren't, the Pyrenees are beautiful and worth seeing.
If you have to end up back in Toulouse to leave, then I think that Paris AND Aix might be a bit much. But if you can hit Aix and then wind your way up to Paris, then you might be able to do that in a week. If you're going to land in Paris toward the end of the trip, then see Chartres on your way there (a little out of the way from the direction you'll be coming from Aix, but worth it), and see the Cathedral there. It's truly impressive. And I've seen a lot of damn cathedrals. You may also want to go up to see Giverny (Monet; water lilies). A car will help you accomplish this, and you may want to plan to do that before you get into Paris since at that point you may just want to ditch the car rather than deal with driving in Paris. (It's such an easy city to navigate without a car.)
If you're planning to stay in Paris, check out airbnb.com. You can find excellently priced accommodations in really unique places. You'll have a whole apartment to yourself rather than staying in a tiny hotel room. Les Fines Gueules was a delicious meal over just north of the Louvre. Highly recommended. Expensive by my standards, but that also factors in what was a rather unfavorable exchange rate in my opinion. It was still worth it.
If you're coming from San Francisco, you should be well prepared for the weather, which will probably be cool to cold, but probably not soaking wet.
posted by jph at 2:54 PM on January 24, 2012
When in Paris, go to Shakespeare and Company if either of you even remotely love books. Also, wander around one of the Jewish neighborhoods, find a bakery, and buy a bagel. You can thank me later.
posted by naturalog at 11:34 PM on January 24, 2012
posted by naturalog at 11:34 PM on January 24, 2012
Response by poster: Oh naturalog, I wish I could! I've got a gluten issue, so no fantastic breads or pastries for me, but Ms. gofargogo will have to tell me all about it.
posted by gofargogo at 3:53 PM on January 26, 2012
posted by gofargogo at 3:53 PM on January 26, 2012
This thread is closed to new comments.
Will you have a car?
I spent a Saturday in Aix this summer--it was market day, which was tons of fun.
posted by gimonca at 11:02 AM on January 24, 2012