Flying into Paris on March 16 am and flying out March 27. Looking for thoughts about just staying in France or including italy as well. Organized tour or self-guided? Thanks!

Shannon Kovacs
The train system in Europe is fantastic. You won't need to rent a car unless that is what you want to do
France is great on its own-I agree to save Italy for another trip. Save time to just wander with no itinerary. Enjoy your trip!!

Thanks Shannon! I will look into the train system

Christiane Cartier and
Francois Mcgraw

I agree. France has to much to see. Paris has so many sights, museums and galleries itself that it could take many days. (We stayed 8 nights in Paris and didn't see everything.) Then there are places close to Paris, like Versailles. To the north is Normandy, Mont St. Michel and beautiful little villages to enjoy. Then you can take the train to places like Bordeaux and do some great wine tours. Inland from there was one of our favourite places, Sarlat-au-Caneda. Pretty countryside, hilltop forts, Cro-Magnon caves and paintings -- and fois gras! Further south is the edge of the Pyrenees and medieval towns like Carcasonne. And then Provence and its towns like Cannes and Nice along the Mediterranean can take days on their own. It is easy to rent a car and explore the rural areas and reasonably cheap to fly or take high speed train between major cities. And I must say, we were treated really well wherever we went - and that includes Paris.

Thanks for a great response! So it sounds like I can do this on my own rather than going with an organized tour. Did you rent a car and if so did you find it intimidating driving there? I'm not sure if anyone in my group is wanting to drive. Or will the trains be sufficient?

We came into France from San Sebastian Spain - took the local train to Bordeaux. Did a tremendous wine tour there - to Chateau Rothschild, Chateau Margaux, etc. Expensive but very worthwhile - our private driver for the day. I think it was 33Tours. Bordeaux is really coming into its own - rejuvenating. We rented a car there, drove to St. Emilion (great medieval wine town), then continued to Sarlat where we spent a couple of days. Needed longer. Really great countryside - forested, hills and rivers, small farms - to drive around. Good cave tours to see Cro-Magnon paintings. Nice medieval village to walk around - stone buildings, sort of yellowish stone. Then we drove to Carcasonne and on to Arles where we spent a couple of days. The trip was through picturesque country roads and then freeways. Drove up the Rhone Valley (Chateau Neuf du Pape tours), visited St. Remy and Van Gogh's mental hospital. Then to Nice for another couple of days. So cool and laid back. I have one standout memory: tarte au citron. Turned the car in there. Driving was absolutely fine. Lots of traffic circles. GPS was really useful. Driving in cities was not fun. I liked the freedom of exploring the countryside off the beaten track. We took the high speed train from NIce to Paris for the experience. Flying would have been cheaper. I put the trip together myself, deciding where we wanted to go and then researching hotels and things to do on tripadvisor. I just have high school French from decades ago, but found that it worked wherever we went. In all the major centres, the tourist individuals usually know some English.

I should say, if you do rent a car, really check the fine print. The first one I rented (but luckily did not have to pay for up front) was a good deal until i found a clause way, way back on like page 7 that the drop off fee for a different town would be about $500 alone. It was the sneakiest contract I ever saw. I cancelled that one. In the end, I booked an automatic online for $500 total for the week, including the drop off fee.

Thanks Ron! I appreciate the time you took

I would say take the train. The rail system is amazing in France. Less hassle.

Ron which company did you end up booking with?

Monica Believe it or not, in France it ended up being Budget. When we rented in Italy, it was with Sixt we had a good deal as well. In Spain we rented from Centauro and they treated us well too.

Stay in France. Use the trains and airbnb. Have fun!

Stay in france. Italy is amazing, but would be its own 11 day trip.

So much to see..i did France Barcelona 1 trip and France Italy Greece another trip. It is so easy from Nice to get anywhere by train esp in Italy. You can check out Venice Pisa Florence Milan or Cinq-terre area..so beautiful..if you stay in France check out the beaches and Beach towns. Easy by bus or rent a car! It is all good .South of France is awesome but best seen by river cruise. I also loved cruising the Greek Islands. Good luck

I recommend Rick Steves books, videos, app with walking tours and his tour groups. Don't spread yourself thin, you could stay in Paris the whole time and do some day trips to Giverny and Versailles. Check is Monet's garden is open then. I am returning to Paris for the ?7th time and spending 3 weeks there!

I stayed at Melon District when visiting Paris. It's actually outside of Paris and located in Paris' CBD - La Defense but it's close to the metro and its a quick ride to every attraction in Paris. I could even see Eiffel Tower from my room!

Agree. One of either of these countries for an 11 day trip. Having said that, you can easily spend 11 days in Paris alone. I've been several times. This year I went there in October and again in November. Going in March 2018 as well for 2 weeks. Can't wait.

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