Going to France

[bjannsen]

Yup, the wife and I will be going to France - Paris for 10 days and Provence for 5 weeks starting June 6. She will be looking at perfume, flowers, decorations - I will be looking for Lavender fields, old villages and general 'French Life' photos (if there is such a thing).

My main question is for Provence; what are the 'can't miss' places? We have Gordes, Sault, Saint Remy, Avignon, Banon and about 10 other places on my list, but I'm looking for any ideas (particularly from any French POTN members) as to where I need to look for great sunrise and sunset landscapes.

Other than landscapes, I'd like to shoot old villages and villagers and come away with a great sense of French life in the country.

If there's any POTNer's in the Provence area maybe we could hook up for some pointers and suggestions...

Thanks for any help...

Brian

[Philscbx]

This is the guide source you need/
http://www.ricksteves.com/
He has a DVD set I may order anyway.
The series by far always shows the best there is to see.
When I compare my tours to Europe, then see his of the same area or city, I then see what I missed.

Update/
Here's one of their tours to where your going/
http://tours.ricksteves.com/tours09/product.cfm/rurl/code/FVV09/199

[blueM]

In Aug 2006 we drove from Italy to Paris thru Provence & central France. Here are some places you might want to consider depending on where you are located and how far you want to travel:
Grasse
Roussillon (near Gordes) – we wanted to go here but did not have time

If you will be driving to or from Paris consider these which are quite close together:
Rocamadour
Sarlat-la-Caneda
Beynac-et-Cazenac
We stayed in Gourdon for several nights & day tripped to the above locations. I was blown away by these places. I have traveled quite a lot in the USA, but only 1 trip to the UK. There is no place in the US like rural France. Wish we would have had more time.

Here are a couple of books that might be worth buying. I think I found used on Amazon:
1. “France on Backroads – The Motorist’s Guide to the French Countryside” by Duncan Petersen (Hunter Publishing). I purchased the 4th edition, copyright 2000
2. “Undiscovered France – An Insider’s Guide to the Most Beautiful Villages” by Brigitte Tilleray with photographs by Richard Turpin.

Also check out this web site:

http://www.les-plus-beaux-villages-de-france.org/index.php?lang=en

Hope this helps
Kevin

[funlovincamera]

The Pont du Gard near Nimes would be worthwhile. http://www.cambridge2000.com/gallery/html/P9043730.html