thinkingbouteurope
Full Travel Member
There's comes a time in every man's life, and I've had many of them.
Posts: 39
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Post by thinkingbouteurope on Dec 5, 2008 13:05:59 GMT -5
Having just returned from 14 days in Cinque Terre (which I have been remiss in detailing here on GFE), I am already planning my next hop over the Big Lake. First, since I only saw about 60% of the CT that I had hoped, my first instinct is to return ASAP, not just to enjoy the great food in restaurants and from markets. (Any comments on returning to an already favorite place so quickly? travel philosophy?) Anyhow, in case I don't decide to return to CT immediately, here is my alternative:
(early/mid May) fly into CDG; train to Nice
7 days to enjoy French Riviera, Antibes with Nice OR Monaco (rather expensive, a splurge on a trip, but ... read on) as homebase;
train to Arles
7 days to emjoy Provence, Avignon with Arles as homebase;
train to Paris
14 days French Open / Roland Garros enjoy Paris whatever day I don't have a ticket; my current hostel choice would be about 30-35 minutes from Roland Garros by Metro. (I have experience in securing tickets for the US Open but would appreciate any inside info.)
FINALLY, fly out of CDG OR ...
I've also considered touring the Yorkshire and Edinburg so that I could attend Wimbledon even on ground passes. Perhaps I should reconsider?
I prefer the familiarity of a homebase and using train, bus, Metro, whatever to explore an area.
Do I need to ask for comments?
thinkingbout europe - even more
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jessus
Senior Travel Member
Posts: 63
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Post by jessus on Dec 12, 2008 0:50:50 GMT -5
Ah.. loved the Cinque Terre. Well, I say if you love it so much and you just desire to go back immediately, do it!
However, I was also a big fan of Paris & Provence!
(Just so you know, I did 4 nights on my recent big trip in CT, Provence - Avignon was my homebase, and Paris)..
Anyway... not sure if you've been to Provence before (?) but here's a few observations of mine!
- I would also choose Arles as a homebase if I went again: plenty to see and lots of lovely little places to eat, and sit, and walk to
- In Arles, check out the TI's 1EURO walking tour booklet which has maps of where the marked blocks are around the city pointing out Renaissance, Classical, Medieval, or Van Gogh sites (I adored the Van Gogh "easels", which show the painting he did in the location it was painted! Many still look the same today)
- A location I found especially delightful in Arles was the Les Alyscamps, which was once a cemetery (and earlier still a Roman "necropolis"), but is now a lovely tree lined walk... which also happens to be lined with large stone sarcophogi (empty though. I still don't know where all those bodies went!)
- Avignon is a lovely day trip - the best part was walking up to the garden on the hill past the Papal Palace (or take the little tourist train just up there, and not on the whole trip - for just 1 euro) with it's lovely views of the Rhone River and the "pont d'Avignon" (like in the song!)
- Arles' market (Wednesday/Saturday mornings) is also entirely delightful!
- If you want to hit up more of the smaller towns, I'd recommend renting a car for a couple days. I had a hell of a time figuring out public transportation... and since I was only there for a few days, I just ended up at the bigger cities: Avignon, Arles, & Aix-en-Provence (and had wanted to go to the Isle-sur-la-Sorgue Sunday market, which my Rick Steves guide says is the best of the bunch!)
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Post by francefiend on Dec 15, 2008 22:44:40 GMT -5
Hello, thinkingbouteurope - Europe bug bit you? ;-) Can't speak for the French Riviera - alas, I've never been. But Provence is lovely. With proper planning, you will enjoy the region to the fullest extent. I'd actually recommend using Avignon as a base. Arles is a great town, but Avignon has better train links. You'd have access to a nearby TGV station and a strong tourist office. Check out the Avignon Tourism website. While in Avignon, ask for the tourist pass: it gives you discounted entry into multiple attractions in the city. If you want to see the little towns without renting a car, look into day tours. They have private and group ones. Some have set itineraries; others are tailored to the visitor's interests. The Tourism Office of Aix-en-Provence has tons of them (I've used CAP Transport numerous times - 10% off for people under 25). That's how I saw L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue  Fourteen days in Paris!? *heart goes a-flutter* |
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thinkingbouteurope
Full Travel Member
There's comes a time in every man's life, and I've had many of them.
Posts: 39
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Post by thinkingbouteurope on Dec 19, 2008 21:24:05 GMT -5
Thank you jessus and francefiend for your thoughtful replies ...
However I've decided to return to the Cinque Terre on my next trip to Europe. I'm going to add more to my thread on CT under Trip Reports.
An additional change to my long-term itinerary is to visit the Barcelona-Valencia-Madrid/Toledo "triangle" on the following trip preferably making a homebase in a smaller city/town on the Mediterrean. This will allow me to take advantage of the 3 1/2 years of high school Spanish and 1 year of university Spanish which I have rarely used (except when I was intending to speak Italian) ... I'm starting a new thread for this Spain trip
The 14 days in Paris, with absolutely no knowledge of French, 14 days of day trips including a number of exhausting day/night trips to the French Open, left me with with visions of spending way too much time in my room recuperating. So, Paris-Provence-French Riviera wil have to wait ... possibly until that 7 week visit that I'm cooking up, though I'm now completely confused as to whether to stay in Avignon or Arles when that time comes.
Again, thanks for the responses.
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