Where to go? (Dreaming of...Burgundy, Loire, Cognac, Champagne...)

[samanth55]

Hi there,



My fiance and I are planning our honeymoon for 8 nights/9 days in France in May. We are THRILLED to be going but are overwhelmed at all the choices! We love food and wine, and have been told to steer clear of Nice and the southern coast and Normandy and the northern coast for this first trip. We're open to recommendations that say otherwise, but have great things about Beaune/Bordeaux, Burgundy, and the Loire Valley.



We're particularly interested in the Beaujolais region (a fav wine of mine), and Cognac & Champagne also pique our interests. But we're not sure of how much of this we can get to in just a few short days, and don't want to overextend ourselves. However we certainly don't mind hopping in the car and staying at a different place each night. So far the itinerary is to spend the first three nights in Paris, and the last night in Paris (accomodations in Paris have been taken care of)before flying out, which leaves us 4 nights in the French countryside. As said above, food and wine are the priorities. I did go into sticker shock when looking at the restaurants in Paris, but we're hoping to splurge on one very nice meal in Paris and hopefully find some cheaper Michelin stars or Bib Gourmands outside of Paris.



Sorry for the long post, and LL is the best source of travel information and I would love some insider advice! What's a reasonable itinerary for some of the places mentioned above, taking into consideration using the TGV to get out of Paris then a rental car from destination to destination? I do have the Relais & Chateaux directory but could still use some pointers in how much we should attempt to fit in.



Thanks in advance for any and all recommendations! Restaurant/chateau/hotel recommendations welcome!

[shesullivan]

We just got back from a France on an LL package to the Relais Royale property in Mirepoix, France. What an amazing vacation! The hotel/staff were magnificent (thank you Gerwin And Rogier). And the area was an absolute favorite of mine to explore. The Langedoc wines have come a VERY long way and yet are still priced so amazingly reasonable. We flew into Toulouse (be wary of the Thrifty car rental there...they lost our reservation and had no solution for us...thanks to Sixt for coming to our rescue!) and the drive to Mirepoix was easy as were all the other excursion drives from mirepoix. Carcassonne is a must see! Thanks to LL for such a wonderful holiday!