Itineraries & Travel Tips

Packing for any big trip can be complicated, and you can already find lots of general advice on the internet about not forgetting your tickets and such. So, I am going to give you my best and personal advice for how to pack for France specifically . On y va! A Visa or Mastercard with a chip and a pin code . This is the standard in France and will facilitate all payments while here. A credit card with a chip & 4-digit code will make life easier, ©Pixabay A smartphone with a good international plan Your phone can be helpful in many ways :...

Monaco is the second smallest country in the world (the total area is not even 1 square mile), preceded by the Vatican. However, with almost 40,000 inhabitants, it is the most densely populated country in the world. This tiny coastal nation on the French Riviera brings into mind glamour, luxury, royalty, and money – the latter of which is apropos because you do need money to spend a day here as everything is expensive. But who doesn’t want to feel like a millionaire even for one day, so why not? Monaco's History The history of Monaco is directly linked with the...

The area around the city of Bordeaux is a rich and wonderful spot to visit. And the city itself, France’s 5th largest, is an exciting and dynamic place to spend a few days. Over about the last 25 years, the city has come a long way with a very successful regeneration program launched by former prime minister and Bordeaux mayor Alain Juppé. In the 90’s, the buildings were black from pollution, the riverbanks were lined with abandoned warehouses, and the city seemed closed into itself. Things quickly changed, and in 2007, Bordeaux was listed as an UNESCO World Heritage site , making it the...

Part of the bigger Languedoc-Roussillon region, the Roussillon area spans from the Spanish border to the city of Narbonne and includes the eastern fringe of the Pyrenees mountains. This area is also known as the French Catalonia , and the history and traditions of the Catalans are still very present today. The height of Catalan power was reached in the 13th and 14th centuries when the Franco-Catalan frontier was fixed along the base of the Corbières hills north of Perpignan. But Jaime I made the mistake of dividing his kingdom between his two sons at his death. Thus, the...

Reims is the capital of the Champagne wine region, and is a nice place to spend a day. There is more to see and do than just sip some bubbly (although that is a must, too). The center of Reims is small enough that you can enjoy walking to the major sites (the following loop is about 4 miles in total). The town of Reims has played a major part in French history, intimately linked to the kings of France. Clovis was baptized there, Louis the Pious was crowned there in 816, and beginning in the 11th century, 26 kings of France were crowned within the walls of the Cathedral. The Cathedral of Notre...

During the school holidays in February, many French families take off for the mountainous regions of France in order to enjoy skiing and other winter sports. This year however, because of the Covid, the ski lifts will remain closed. But the variety of other winter activities are still attracting local visitors. Outside of the snowy months, the mountains still attract and allow you to experience some of the incredible nature and regional specificities of these areas, with the most important mountain regions in France being the Alps and the Pyrenees. The world-famous French...

By Kaya Lemaire When I was 18, I didn’t know anything about France beyond the Eiffel Tower and baguette with brie. I wouldn’t have dreamed of travelling to the South, because I thought that the quintessential French experience lay in the streets of Paris. What I didn’t realize is that France is a mosaic of cultural nuances, landscapes, wildlife, and cuisine. In fact, lying nestled in between Montpellier and Marseille is one of the country's truly unique regions. A road trip to a magical place in the South of France Was I in for a surprise when we found ourselves hurtling...

At the time of writing, we’re in the midst of the grape harvest! Farmers markets all over France are bustling all year round as locals continue to prefer fresh produce over the grocery store chains. And this is even more true during the fall harvest season, with its abondance of new winter vegetables. In this post, we spend a week exploring markets in Provence in southern France. As well as farmers’ markets, we’re including antiques, handicrafts, textiles and other markets that are wonderful for buying authentic French souvenirs . So make sure you keep this list handy the...

Biarritz is part of the Basque Country and lies on the Atlantic coast in the southwest of France, not far from the Spanish border. It was once a small whaling town on the Atlantic coast. Then Napoleon III ’s wife, the Empress Eugénie de Montijo, discovered it in the 1850s and ordered the construction of a luxurious vacation home on the sand dunes. This later became the luxury Hôtel du Palais. And thus Biarritz became one of the preferred holiday destinations for the French nobility. Nowadays it still has its glamor, but also has a hippy surfer vibe, and it'...

Many of our travelers want to spend a few days in Paris during their self-guided tour of France . In Paris, we work with a charming family-run boutique hotel in the fashionable yet quaint Marais district in the 4th arrondissement. TIP: There are a lot of different metro stations around Le Marais district. Decide which place you would like to visit first, and then see which stations are near. Also check which metro line will be most convenient from where you’re starting. Le Marais - our favorite district in Paris, full of charm and antiquity A cafe in Le Marais in Paris (Photo© Borya CC...

By Naomi Dalton As many visitors to France are only in Paris for a few days, they arrive with a ‘bucket-list’ of attractions they want to see. The most popular include the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, The Musée D’Orsay , Notre Dame Cathedral and one or two places that are more specialized, relating to their interests, such as the Centre Pompidou Modern Art museum , or the Paris Botanical Gardens. One museum that is really worth a visit is the Musée de l’Orangerie . It’s only a 15-minute walk through the Tuilerie Gardens from the Louvre, so it’s convenient to visit...

Many of our travelers ask to include a wine tour , wine-tasting or vineyard tour in their self-drive trips. Therefore, we wanted to write a post on some of the famous French wine regions, including some top tips on the best wineries and wines. Bordeaux Bordeaux , in the French region of Aquitaine, is one of the most famous French wine regions, along with Champagne and Burgundy. This is partly due to Bordeaux being next to the coast, which led to it becoming a major wine exporting region for centuries. Bordeaux became the main wine supplying region to...

Many of you will have had to cancel the vacations you had planned for 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. Like us, you probably can’t wait for life to return to something close to normality so you can enjoy doing the things you love - seeing friends, going out for dinner, and starting to make travel plans again. In this post, we’re going to fast-forward to offer you some inspiration for future Fall vacations. Depending on where you want to go and what you want to do, the fall can be an ideal time to visit France. September is often still warm but not as overwhelmingly hot...

A Step-by-Step Guide Photo © : Robbie Shade As expert trip-planners , of course we would love to craft a personalized self drive tour of France - just for you! Trip-planning is hard work and time-consuming, especially when you don’t know the country or the language. The advantage of using a local trip-planner is that you can let us do all the hard work, and all you need to do is look forward to your trip. The other way of looking at it is that trip-planning can be part of your adventure! That’s why we’ve put together this step-by-step guide for planning a...

Many travellers are nervous about inadvertently offending local people, or committing a ‘ faux pas’ , while they’re visiting another country. That’s why we only work with local people who we know will offer our travelers a warm welcome and be patient, helpful, and understanding as they learn about and adapt to the culture around them. The French may appear to be closed, indifferent or inattentive sometimes (particularly in restaurants and stores); but sometimes there’s a good reason for this. Like any nationality, we have characteristics and ‘quirks’ that are very particular to our...

At France Just For You, we proudly specialize in the unusual! Our goal is to send our travelers off the beaten track to see France’s hidden gems and to try things they’ve never tried before. Whether it’s the food, the activities, the wine or the scenery you're excited about, here are some unusual things you can do on your trip to France, which you may never have done before (or do again!). And of course, if you book a tour with France Just For You, we can arrange for all of these unique experiences to be included in your self drive itinerary. GO ON A ‘MAMMOTH’ JOURNEY BY TRAIN THROUGH A...

The Nice Carnival will run from 15-29 February in 2020 . It’s the most important event on the French Riviera, indeed, in the whole of France. Every February for two weeks , over a million people from all over the region, the country, and the world flock to the festival to enjoy and participate in the events and soak up the buzzing Carnival atmosphere. The Carnival’s theme for 2020 is “ King of Fashion ”. Expect flamboyant floats, colorful costumes and stunning parades reflecting a theme that is such a strong part of French culture. There will...

If you plan to visit Paris in December, wrap up warm and head out into the streets to soak up the Christmas spirit! From mid-November onwards, the City of Lights begins to live up to its name as Christmas displays are constructed in store windows, Christmas lights brighten the boulevards, and Christmas markets start popping up all over town. There are also special bus tours and river cruises along the Seine to see the Christmas lights, and several open-air ice skating rinks to choose from near Paris’s...

The Normandy Cider Route , known as La Route du Cidre in French, is a unique well-marked route introducing travelers to calvados brandy and apple cider . As we head into Fall and the leaves start to display an autumnal array of yellows, oranges and reds, it is a beautiful time of year to explore the cider route in Normandy. Enjoy some apple cider and Calvados apple brandy from Normandy (Photo: OTI Bayeux-Bessin) If you’re visiting France from further afar, you may like to include a few days in Normandy...

Cassis, France. Approximately 15.5 miles south-east of Marseille, Cassis is a typical colorful Mediterranean port . This stunning area offers several pretty beaches , a historical harbor , impressive landscapes , and fine wines . Although the town of Cassis attracts the tourist crowds in the high season, it is nonetheless a lovely little coastal town to visit in the south of France. The bes t beaches in Cassis c an mostly be found in the famo us calanques , or creeks, just...