OK! We have a nice decision to make ... our first thought was the Chateaux region ... however, we are thinking about flying into Brussels and visiting Antwerp, Brugge, Amsterdam maybe ... May 5 through May 21. We love interesting small shops, the countryside, sleeping late and eating meals outside in small wonderful cafes or picnics with wine and cheese. Any suggestions?

Talk about tough decisions! I'd be happy to join you in either location.

It's been over 20 years since we visited the Netherlands, but we were in Brussels about 3 years ago & plan to go back to both on our next trip. While we liked Amsterdam, it was the small communities in the Dutch countryside that we really enjoyed. Great Hot Chocolate, pretty scenery, interesting shops, crusty bread & creamy cheese, helpful friendly people. Did I mention the great Hot Chocolate?

On the other hand, the Chateaux region of France - great food, wine, cheese, scenery, lifestyle...sigh!

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We love interesting small shops, the countryside, sleeping late and eating meals outside in small wonderful cafes or picnics with wine and cheese.

That description fits both destinations - is there something that would distinguish between them for you? Perhaps the chance to visit the Van Gough Museum in Amsterdam? or a tour of a favourite winery or Chateaux in France?

Enjoy the planning!

Thanks so much for your thoughtful reply about our choice, Chris. What is your guestimate about lodging? We are researching travel from Paris by rental car down to Amboise (via Blois and Beaugency which we visited ten years ago)and there are many beautiful chateaux to stay in at very very reasonable rates. Flying into Brussels would be new for us ... but we would plan three days there, go on to Brugge perhaps, Antwerp, Amsterdam and divide the 15 days up accordingly. Don't know very much about the Dutch countryside ... can you suggest some places to visit? Museums are not that exciting to us at this stage in our lives.

Hi Nancy and happy holidays! Great to hear that you're planning another trip to Europe.

I've linked your post also to the France forum so you might get some input on your French alternative. Either of these sound like great trips. You know we love France, but we did enjoy two nights in Brugge a few years ago. If you end up going there, we would highly recommend this B&B where we stayed.

Kathy

Thanks for posting it also to the French forum Kaydee! Yes, I remember very well the great photos of you all hiking in Brugge and your great report about this B&B. In fact, your posts are what sparked our interest in exploring this area. Also, frankly, the traffic in Paris is unbelieveable and we'd like to avoid that this time. It's really all about the countryside that gets us excited!

Talking about Paris and traffic, (we were just there last spring and the memory is still very fresh ) to tour the Chateaux region, would it be doable to fly into say, Toulouse? Or some other airport rather than CDG?
OR
If there were a really nice place to stay closeby to CDG in the countryside, for a night or two and then drive down to the chateaux, this might have an edge? I've looked in Alastair Sawday's Special Places to Stay French Bed and Breakfast and French Hotels & Chateaux but haven't been able to identify any really lovely places about an hour or so from CDG?

If you're flying into CDG, you can also take a train directly from the airport to the Loire Valley and pick up your car there, avoiding all that Paris traffic. We've done this several times.

We always go to St. Pierre des Corps (Tours), although I think you can also go directly to Blois.

The only trains directly from CDG to the Loire Valley, without going into central Paris, are TGVs going to Tours/St-Pierre-des-Corps. To get to Blois, you have to go into the Austerlitz station in Paris and get a train there. Amboise is closer to Tours than to Blois, or about the same, anyway.

The weather in May is not a decisive factor. I can't imagine it being much different from Amsterdam to Amboise, in any predictable way. May in the Amboise area is completely unpredictable. Some years it is warm and sunny, and others it is rainy and chilly.

I love the Loire Valley so I'm not impartial, but I also have nice memories of past trips to Bruges, Brussels, and Amsterdam. Good luck making your decision. You can't really go wrong.

we are castle lovers especially in France so our nod goes to the Loire - we toured Brussels and Holland years ago as a GI and it was OK but not like France

if you drive out of CDG (not so hard but be on the watch for the right roads etc and busy times) and want a close B&B, we stayed at //Moulin-melleville.monsite.wanadoo.fr - 3-4 hrs from CDG I think and a lovely spot and hosts who speak v good english -

as for a gite in the Loire, we stayed at //lavauguyon.free.fr - well situated and a great host who was most helpful on sites etc - think I wrote it up in Slow Trav

enjoy

FRANCE wins! Thom and I plan visiting the Loire Valley Chateaux region May 5 through the 21. We're trying to find another way rather than flying into CDG ... maybe Toulouse? But anyway, we remember not having enough time to really explore Blois and we haven't gotten into Amboise at all so we're looking forward to it!

DSEVIG I read you are returning to Provence. There's a gorgeous moulin outside of Avignon in St. Laurent des Arbres www.domaine-du-moulin.com that's wonderful! Just thought I'd mention it. We flew into Marseille, took a rental car and drove North up to Avignon and explored there before driving south to Aix. Villa Gallici www.villagallici.com is an exquisite place we enjoyed in Aix.

And Susi, as you travel toward Dijon, you may want to stop in the photo gorgeous, beautiful village of Chateauneuf. This is the most beautiful french village I've ever seen. And very close by is the Chateau de Creancey, another wonderful location for night. We stayed in the Henri Room, but there is a darling Cottage that Kaydee no doubt has fond memories of too.

Ahhh Belle France!
Happy New Year everyone!

It sounds like a lovely trip. We visited one year in early June and enjoyed it a lot. We even did a little bit of biking from Blois and found a field of red poppies in bloom.

If I remember correctly, I looked to see if there any other directs to France besides CDG and Nice was the only other direct city besides CDG. Catching the TGV directly from the airport sounds the easiest.

Joywriter - those are great places in Provence. We would love to have reviews on our main website, Slow Travel. If you have a moment, here is link for submitting reviews. Thanks!

Joywriter, have you been to Loches? It's a very interesting town with its cité médiévale. Blois is a much bigger town than Amboise, but much of it is modern, with big apartment complexes. The old town is pretty small, and worth a visit on foot. Amboise is great and very manageable. Bléré, Montrichard, and Saint-Aignan are three nice small towns within 30 minutes of Amboise, along the Cher River.

Love the Provence house for future - doing Alsace, Champagne and Paris this year however

We have flown in and out of Toulouse twice last 2 yrs for our stay in the Dordogne and Lot areas but don't think you would want to for the Loire really - had to connect through CDG which was very easy

Driving as I said is not bad but consider the train if possible to avoid the tension if possible - we are doing so to Strasbourg out of CDG unless a short hop Air France to Strasbourg is cheaper - like $49 last I saw vs TVG

Thanks for the info about the Toulouse airport connection! Looks like we'll try to find a nice place not far from CDG then to spend a night and then down to Blois, Ambroise, etc.! It's proving difficult to find a nice place though!

In Alsace, we stayed at Le Marechal www.hotel-le-marechal a Romantik Hotel property. It was a bit fussy and we're looking for clean and lean and contemporary these days, but it was right on the canal and the service and food were good.

We made a big loop last spring ... from Paris to Dijon, to Colemar, to Assmunhausen Germany and back into Champagne and Lorraine ... before moving on to Normandy and returning to Paris. In Lorraine we visited Thionville (L'Horizon Hotel)and in Rheims, the lovely Chateaux des Crayeres www.chateaucrayeres.com.
We are so looking forward to May!

Thanks CKENB for the town/city recommendations. We haven't been to any of those and we are looking to create our itinerary. Are any of those Plus Belle Villages? Or near Plus Belle Villages? We've found that crafting an itinerary around them makes for some very pretty countryside travel....

The only Plus Beau(x) Village(s) I know around here is Montrésor, which is about 10 km south of Montrichard. Les Plus Beaux Villages are very small places, with a population of 2,000 or less and almost no businesses. Amboise, Bléré, Montrichard, and Saint-Aignan are towns, not villages. Blois is a small city (pop. 50,000 or more).

A lot of the villages around here are very pretty even if they have not joined the Plus Beaux Villages association.

Montrésor is lovely, though, and definitely worth a visit! There's a wonderful chateau to tour, owned by a Polish count if I remember correctly, and a really lovely walk at the base of the village through a park area.

Seconding Loches for history, charm, and an outstanding market two days a week. Everybody loves Montresor, but nearby Chedigny is also gorgeous when in full bloom. Chanceaux pres Loches is charming, though just a bend in the road. Not worth a long drive, but if you're in the area.

Besides the official Plus Belles Villages scheme, have you looked at the website for Villes/Villages Fleuris? Another source for charming villages is villagesdefrance.free.fr. As ckenb points out these are often very small places and may not even have a cafe.

We can recommend a place to stay in the country north of Loches. La bihourderie has modern rooms in an old longere. We've stayed there on our last three trips. www.labihourderie.com. There's always a diverse bunch at breakfast or sharing wine on the patio in the evening. Mme is English and speaks French well.

Forgive me if I have recommended this place too often on slowtravels! Of the many B&Bs we've stayed at in France, this is one of our top places.

If you are in this area, a drive along the very pretty Indre is worthwhile. It's scenic most of the way from Loches to Sache.

If you're going to see Azay le Rideau, we can recommend a B&B, La grange bleue, a few miles away.

Do you have the Michelin map with scenic routes marked in green?

What a great trip you have in the works!

We've been away for a few days - how quickly decisions can be made! Your trip sounds great - I look forward to reading the Trip Reports!

Ahhhhhhh Chabichou ... exploring your excellent suggestions and recommendations from my "armchair" and can hardly contain my enthusiasm for our trip!
I believe after our first night OUTSIDE Paris, we will drive to Amboise. It seems that Loches is only about 38 minutes from Amboise. In 15 days, how large of a circuit could you recommend? Is Chateauroux a good point, then Chatellerault or Poitiers? Maybe Bressuire? Or continue due South from say Loches to Limoges? Of course, exploring every little village in between is more the objective than the city itself!

Thanks for all these wonderful recommendations!

Thanks Chris! When we look back at our trips, it's the walks and markets that we remember most fondly. I remember one pathfinder walk we took from Broadway (Costwolds/England) up to the folly. It was rainy, cold and a terrific wind didn't help! Thom kept complaining and saying ... "This is it, we turn around now" ... and I kept gently pushing forward. After we finished our adventure, we enjoyed the best, best, best warm pot roast dinner at the pub there ... we'll never forget it. The walks are the thing!

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In 15 days, how large of a circuit could you recommend? Is Chateauroux a good point, then Chatellerault or Poitiers? Maybe Bressuire? Or continue due South from say Loches to Limoges? Of course, exploring every little village in between is more the objective than the city itself!

Are you staying in one place for the 15 days or on the move the entire time? Personally, I'd vote for planting yourself somewhere central, such as Amboise or somewhere in that area, and making daytrips. There's plenty within an hour or two of Amboise to keep you occupied for a couple of weeks.