Where's the best place to go in France in the winter?

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Jane H

You should go in Brittany (which is closest to Paris) Lovely coastlines, lots of wildlife, nice villages, homeland of crepes and cider !...
To learn more about Brittany go on this website
http://www.brittanytourism.com/

You could also go in the East, around Strasbourg, which is supposed to have a lovely xmas market . (and you might get some snow as well!)
http://www.otstrasbourg.fr/phototheque.php?id_theme=20&lang=en

lu2trav

Pau is a great place (you can fly there and rent a car)
Nice is OK (not my cup of tea but visitors seem to like it)
if you like nature rather than big town, be prepared to rent a car and drive around. you can reach most places by train but then you're stranded in town!
the Normandy coast is beautiful so take a train to honfleur and drive around the area.
brittany is also beautiful.

if you look for warmth, I'd try Biarritz (South West)

WISE OWL

It seems that people autmatically assume that because it is winter , people will enjoy mountain locations and winter sports. The Grand Bornand is indeed lovely but like Courchevel and Meribel is in the Alps. Pau and Nice are right at the south and will also eat into time because of the travelling involved even by fast train, and, though warmer, are big towns. On eight days and the first two spent in Paris one has to look at logistics. How are you going to travel and how far?
December is not an ideal time, but if you are hiring a car, or even by train, Normandy, the favourite haunt of Impressionist painters, is closest to Paris, the perfect rural idyll and every village is a pleasure to behold. You also have beaches, the high cliffs at Etretat, the harbour and old town at Honfleur. Rouen is big but has gorgeous medieval sites and a Christmas market at this time of the year. Bayeux is much smaller and has the famous embroidered tapistry that stretches for yards and yards and is a real curiosity.

Alternatively you can do Brittany which is further, following the coast if you have a car. Not only is the coastal scenery spectacular but the local architecture is picturesque and there are those amazing carved calvaries, and further along huge megalithic sites at Carnac, and menhirs and dolmens that are absolutely unique. We have just come back and ate fresh oysters on the queyside at Cancale, walked round the ramparts of the old town at Saint- Malo, round the lovely small town of Dinan and re-visited Mont-Saint Michel on the way back.
The Loire Valley is extremely picturesque too but it is not the ideal time of the year because of the winter light. The chateaux such as Chenonceau, Azay-le- Rideau, Chambord, Cheverny and Villandry, which you might like, are not in large towns and there are caves and wine cellars at the road side.
If you were coming in the summer I would recommend Perrigord which is further down south on the map, very rural, with small towns and that has eveything including the best food in France.
Whatever your choice, I wish you a very happy and satisfactory visit. Whilst you are in Paris exploring the main sites and in the underground keep your valuables safe and watch your handbag . There are gangs of beggars from eastern Europe who are extremely light fingered.
Best wishes.

dydy

In French Alps ! Meribel, courchevel .....

John R

I hope you can find it information from http://www.stayresfrance.com.

jump4joy

Nice not a small town but pretty warm

Claire Williams

Grand- Bornand is the prettiest place to go in France, it's a small village in the heart of the French Alps and most years, covered in snow.

Theres oppurtunities of skiing, boarding, ice skating, cross-country skiing, walking, sledging.

What I love about it though is the atmosphere, everybody knows everybody and everyone is so nice! At Christmas and New Years they all gather in the village for a party with mulled wine, sweets, plays (performed by the children!) It's adorable!

Proper french culture!

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