Short holiday in France

houseplant

Hi folks. As the title, myself and herself have always wanted to visit France. We'd love to travel around for maybe 3-4 days. Don't really want to do Paris but would prefer to hit a few other towns/cities along the way. We want to experience the real France, wanna drive around or get trains. Love our food & drink. Hotels or B&B's, it doesn't matter. We'd be looking to go midweek in January 2012. Any and all ideas/experiences welcome! Thanks in advance.

Shoe Lover

Have you looked at Lyon? Was there in November, was only passing through mind, but it looked like a lovely city. The old town is very nice. Plenty of restaurants and the like. It's the gastronomical capital of France so if you like your food, could be worth a look. And have to say all the French were lovely!

Other than that, Orléans is nice as a base. It's very central to the Loire valley so if you want to travel around to see the Chateaux like Chenonceau, Blois etc, it's ideal. Nice town too, but be prepared for an onslaught of Joan of Ark as it was her home town and they are milking every aspect of it. But I lived there for 6 months and really enjoyed it. And plus is only an hour on the train from Paris so is handy to get too.

P. Breathnach

I think you need to curb your ambition a bit. It's a bit much to try to manage a few places in 3-4 days in January. Given the short daylight hours and the weather possibilities, I'd urge caution about planning to drive. I suggest that you pick one city, base yourselves there, and perhaps try for one good excursion by rail.

I agree with Shoe Lover about Lyon. It's quite a big city, but somehow it feels like a small one. Lots to see, and a fantastic place for food.

Bordeaux is also good for a few days, and we had a very pleasant train excursion to Sarlat, which is picturesque.

MaudL

I would suggest you fly to Lyon, spend a day or two there. Then take the train to Dijon, the capital of Burgundy. It's at most a couple of hours by train.
Dijon is a lovely city to visit, and from there you can also visit the ''route des grands crus''. Basically, it's a very scenic stretch of road that goes by all the villages and vineyards, and you can stop in many vineyards to do a wine tasting. Food-wise, stop in any of the villages along the way and you'll find great little restaurants, bistros, etc...
See here for Dijon and here for Route des Grands Crus.
Enjoy!

bamboozle

fly to Bordeaux, rent car, spend time around St. Emillion, nicest spot i've been to in France.

Area north of Toulouse around St. Cirque lapopie is stunning also but more summer weather required.