Anonymous wrote:Do at least 3 or 4 days in Paris. Then take the train to Avignon, rent a car and spend the rest of the trip exploring the Luberon villages (Roussillon, Gordes, Lourmarin, etc.) and enjoying the beach in Cassis. Aix en Provence is a nice place to spend a night or two as well.

My family lives in one of those villages in the Luberon and we spend our summers there - it is lovely, but I don't think it's the best choice with a 5yo, especially if you haven't been to France before. It's hot (assuming you're going in the summer) and while it's pretty, there is not much for kids to do. My own kids spend their days in the pool at our house and we go into the village for bread/cheese/fruit/ice cream and to run around the old castle grounds, but you won't find playgrounds or anything much for kids in any of these villages. I think the Paris plus northern France suggestion is better, or go to the Cote d'Azur which is beautiful too and a bit more lively for kids.

Anonymous wrote:Do at least 3 or 4 days in Paris. Then take the train to Avignon, rent a car and spend the rest of the trip exploring the Luberon villages (Roussillon, Gordes, Lourmarin, etc.) and enjoying the beach in Cassis. Aix en Provence is a nice place to spend a night or two as well.

This would be one of my recommendations. I did basically exactly this with my mom a bunch of years ago. We stayed in Arles.

Another great itinerary that DH and I did was:
fly to Paris
Train to the beach (we were going to a wedding in La Baul but I think Les Sables D'Olonnes is neat too)
Spent a few days there, rented a car and drove to Loire Valley
Stayed in Amboise for a few days and made it a launching point to visit chateaux
Drove from Amboise to the Normandy coast - spent 2 days exploring WW2 sites
Back to Paris for a weekend
Home

Might be a lot for a 5 year old but both of those were amazing itineraries.

Anonymous wrote:Yah, go to the person's house with the ancestral castle and report back.

You called them!!!

Lyon is a wonderful town. Highly recommend.

Have you been to France before?

With a five year old child I'd suggest splitting the time between two places. Five days in Paris (including one or two day trips from Paris to places like Chartres) then another five days elsewhere. Brittany/Normandy is a great suggestion because of the beaches and seafood. St. Malo is a fun town to be based in and from there you can visit Mont St. Michael and Dinan.

Other possibilities includes Strasbourg and Colmar and the route de vin. Dijon is also a beautiful place to visit. Lyons and then into the Alps?

Southern France will be much hotter and much more crowded.

What do you want, OP? Cities? Villages? Beaches? Mountains? Castles?

There’s a place in France,
Where the naked ladies dance.
There’s a hole in the wall,
Where the men can watch it all.
But the men don't care,
'Cuz they chew their underwear,
And the underwear they chew
Costs a dollar ninety two.

Anonymous wrote:Yah, go to the person's house with the ancestral castle and report back.

That's me!

The one my uncle lives in is quite basic, because it was built during the Revolution and my ancestor didn't dare ask too much of his builders in case they joined the movement and decided to cut off his head. Plus it's in a non-touristy region of France.

But my great-grandfather's one is worth a visit (a relative still lives in one wing but I've never met him): there is a rock staircase cut inside the hill that connects the medieval look-out tower to the more recent castle below. Used in WWII by the Nazis -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Roche-Guyon#Ch%C3%A2teau_de_La_Roche-Guyon
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g644104-d1181244-Reviews-Chateau_de_La_Roche_Guyon-La_Roche_Guyon_Val_d_Oise_Ile_de_France.html

Personally, we visit family in Paris, and besides that, I love the Mont St Michel and the still preserved plateau du Beaufortain in the Alps. Don't all go there please, you're going to ruin it like Chamonix.

Do at least 3 or 4 days in Paris. Then take the train to Avignon, rent a car and spend the rest of the trip exploring the Luberon villages (Roussillon, Gordes, Lourmarin, etc.) and enjoying the beach in Cassis. Aix en Provence is a nice place to spend a night or two as well.

Look at Colmar and Annecy - so dreamy.

You could follow my family around. we are starting in Paris, doing some of the touristy sights for three days (trying for Versailles’s fireworks, Eiffel, Rodin, boat ride, etc). Going to giverny then to mont st michel (one night up there). Then hitting the beach in for a few nights in Brittany and eating more crepes than humanly possible. Swinging back through the Loire to sleep at a chateau (with a pool - kids are 6 and 8). And ending back in a small village outside Paris. We are going to surprise the kids with either a day at Disney or here https://en.parisinfo.com/paris-museum-monument/72745/Aquaboulevard-de-Paris

Haven’t nailed down all the details yet, but that’s a rough sketch. We will be there 16 days, so a bit longer. You could probably skip the Loire Valley. I’m hoping to find a horseback riding place. And cool short hikes.

Yah, go to the person's house with the ancestral castle and report back.

Have you searched this forum?

My DH, 5 year old and I are heading to France this summer. We have 11 days there. We have not planned an itinerary. Would love some suggestions.