Now that both my husband and I are retired, we have a flexible schedule. We prefer to travel when the weather isn't hot (50-75 degrees is fine) and the villages aren't crowded. In other words, we'd rather be home in June-August where we tend our flower garden and relax by our pool! LOL

We love to go on day hikes, but have a home base apartment for a week at a time. We've traveled so much that museums and galleries aren't so important anymore, but an occasional "must see" is good.

So, what are your favorite villages/regions/activities for France in the off-season (November through February) or shoulder-season (spring and fall)?

Thanks!
Cameron

For xmas-new year, I quite like the French Riviera. Its loveliness comes out even more in off-season.
For "shoulder" season I like
- Normandy-Brittany
- Burgundy
- Annecy.

I must thank you because I checked out your blog and just spent the most relaxing 1/2 hour reading about your latest trip! The scenery was amazing but your pictures and stories definitely made the readers experience "almost" as good as being there!

Cameron,

I agree with Americana about the Riviera at Christmas, but since you were just there you might not want to go back to the same place. Not too far away, we also enjoyed a week in Aix last December. If you click on the link under my name, you'll see a link to an annotated photo album of that trip.

We also loved the Languedoc; you can see a link to our trip report and photo album from that visit (March-April) on the same page.

- Roz

There are so many possiblities, it really comes down to the best areas with weather that allows enough outdoor activities. France is just beautiful!

Length of daylight hours is also a limiting factor for outdoors. I'm assuming for our walking preferances, perhaps the fall or spring is best?

We've not found ANY weather site to be very accurate! Whenever we've planned a trip to France or Italy, the forecasts we found online never matched up...even 24 hours before departure.

Brittany -- has anyone walked the coast from St Malo to Mont-Saint-Michel; and stopped at different B&Bs each night? Best month for this?

Provence -- we were there in June 2002 with our sons, but we're open to going back by ourselves! We loved it, and Aix is beautiful. When we were there, we hit a big heat wave even though the forecast was for cooler temps.

Languedoc -- not been, but I was looking at some of the member photo albums of that area earlier this morning. Good possibility.

Riviera -- not ruling it out. We absolutely loved it there. It depends upon being able to avoid the Mistral for outdoors?

We were in Paris and outskirts in June 2001.

Thanks!

Yes, there are so many options. Rural France is a scenic feast. And just think of the restaurants you could indulge in off season. We too, having been retired about 5 years, are enthused about traveling off season. Cheaper and less crowded. Wow. We too are discovering the pleasures of home in the summer.

One idea that came to my mind is Alsace. There are the villages, the Route du Vin, the mountains for walking (the Vosges aren't much bigger than the mountains in Vermont, and are great to explore on foot) I think it would be lovely in the fall, even after the harvest. You may run into some rain off season of course, but the villages are charming enough to compensate for whatever comes your way.

I also like the suggestion of Burgundy.
I personally wouldn't care for the coast off season, but have never tried the Riviera then. Word is that it can be great.
And then there's winter in the Alps - not really off season of course, because of the skiing. The trick would be to find villages that aren't into skiing.
We spent a wonderful week in Paris in January, and would happily do it again, but I don't think Paris, or any big city,is what you are looking for.

Linda

Hi,

The Basque Region in the SW of France (and NW of Spain) is also very interesting for hikers in the early Fall or late Spring.

You can hike along the coast between festive St Jean-de-Luz and Hendaye. You can hike inland in the rolling hills. You can even head for day trips in the Pyrenees. Spain is a hop away.

Note that the lush rolling hills are very green... there's far more rain here than in Provence. And while in Provence it rains briefly but heavily, the SW of France has longer downpours. Typically, these don't come by until October and until May or so.

The region is festive (esp. in summer) with a marked personality. You'll see it in the architecture with traditional Basque homes and their roofs with unequal side lengths, in the dishes that marry French with Spanish tastes(I'm fond of the piperade spicy egg scrambles with Espelette hot pepper....

Yet another option to ponder!

quote:

Originally posted by DefiningYourHome:

Languedoc -- not been, but I was looking at some of the member photo albums of that area earlier this morning. Good possibility.

Couple three years ago we stayed two weeks in Peret, outside Montpellier, in September. The weather was nice, but already sweater or jacket temperatures with a few days of strong winds ("le vent sauvage" we were told). Did a day hike in a reforested area near us, brilliant sun and clear cool air. Recommend the area highly, although the beaches were not such much.

Excellent seafood, too.

Since we're both retired, we have flexibility in our schedule. What we'd like to do is have these collected ideas in hand and enough researched in the event there are some good airfare sales in the fall/winter/spring.

We usually fly direct on AA from Raleigh to London...and from there, we can easily get to France.

Yes, the French countryside is awesome. I find myself paying more attention to the scenic views than the actual Le Tour de France on TV! :-)

Southwest France -- my husband is ALWAYS browsing homes for sale in that area! It's purely entertainment (I think).

As soon as September - the "rentrée" for French workers - kicks in, the prices go down and the weather can be lovely. I went to St Raphael and the Esterel then, it was perfect! And Collioure in June was relatively free of touristic hordes, except on market day when they are bussed in. Not far from there, Céret was a wonderful trip, with a tree-shaded square full of restaurants and a good modern art museum. It's down on the border near Spain on the Catalan side.