Hi all,

What are your most favourite places to visit in France, other than Paris and its
attractions.

Thanks.

JJ France is a big country with a very diverse range of attractions - can you be more
specific with your interests. BobS
--
robert@suggitt1438.*REMOVE*fsnet.co.uk *REMOVE* the obvious to send.

"JJ" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Hi all,
    >
    > What are your most favourite places to visit in France, other than Paris and its
    > attractions.
    >
    > Thanks.

[email protected] (JJ) wrote in <[email protected] >:

    >Hi all,
    >
    >What are your most favourite places to visit in France, other than Paris and its
    >attractions.
    >
    >Thanks.

Like the other poster siad, Fance is very diverse and has a lot to offer. I love
Provence but want next time to go to Normandy and Brittany.

So what are you looking for?

JJ wrote:
    >
    > Hi all,
    >
    > What are your most favourite places to visit in France, other than Paris and its
    > attractions.

Are you looking for recommendations??? You might want to tell us what kinds of
things you like.

I like visiting the military areas of Normandy, but that might not be your cup
of milk tea.

Mont Blanc the vineyards around Bourgogne The Calanques at Cassis small, mediaval
villages in the Massif Central Avignon the Pont du Gard the lake, mountains and old
town of Annecy sitting at a terrace watching and participating in a game of boules
being played in a village square in a small village somewhere in the countryside a
good restaurant anywhere the Verdon Canyon, les Gorges du Tarn The caves in the
Ardeche a farmers' market anywhere

Tom

"j coulter" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > [email protected] (JJ) wrote in
    > <[email protected] >:
    >
    > >Hi all,
    > >
    > >What are your most favourite places to visit in France, other than Paris and its
    > >attractions.
    > >
    > >Thanks.
    >
    > Like the other poster siad, Fance is very diverse and has a lot to offer.
I
    > love Provence but want next time to go to Normandy and Brittany.
    >
    > So what are you looking for?

    > What are your most favourite places to visit in France, other than Paris and its
    > attractions.

Mont St. Michel Marseille Grenoble French Alps (les Deux Alps)

On Tue, 2 Apr 2002 14:48:33 -0600, "Tom Johnstone"
<[email protected]> wrote:

    >Mont Blanc the vineyards around Bourgogne The Calanques at Cassis small, mediaval
    >villages in the Massif Central Avignon the Pont du Gard the lake, mountains and old
    >town of Annecy sitting at a terrace watching and participating in a game of boules
    >being played in a village square in a small village somewhere in the countryside a
    >good restaurant anywhere the Verdon Canyon, les Gorges du Tarn The caves in the
    >Ardeche a farmers' market anywhere

And leave us not forget the cathedral in Chartres...

OK, let me be more specific. Suppose you are based in Lyon. What would be your most
favourite places to visit in 5 days (excluding Paris and Riviera). Places of natural
beauty and chateaus are both appealing to me. Thanks for your help.

"BobS" <robert@suggitt1438.*REMOVE*fsnet.co.uk> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
    > JJ France is a big country with a very diverse range of attractions - can you be
    > more specific with your interests. BobS
    > --
    > robert@suggitt1438.*REMOVE*fsnet.co.uk *REMOVE* the obvious to send.
    >
    > "JJ" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    > > Hi all,
    > >
    > > What are your most favourite places to visit in France, other than Paris and its
    > > attractions.
    > >
    > > Thanks.

Hi

I live in Languedoc.

Check my homepage for ideas.

tlp.netfirms.com

Peter

Oh, oh 5 Days I`m german and I visit france very often (10 times Paris, + more than
10 times other parts) Do you want to make sight seeing or holidays? If you go to the
Normandy and see landing coast in the Normandy (military invasion 6. june 44) you
must see also Bayeux. There is a "tapissery", a "comic" talking about the landing of
William the qonqueror. If you go to Normandy and /or Bretagne, you can make a
boat-trip to a channel-island.

IMPORTANT: Many french people cannot speak english or do not want speak english. Its
better you have a little phrase-book or you can speak a little frenche If you can
speak french, lool also in fr.rec.voyages Lutz-R.

"JJ" <[email protected]> schrieb im Newsbeitrag
news:[email protected]...
    > OK, let me be more specific. Suppose you are based in Lyon. What would be your most
    > favourite places to visit in 5 days (excluding Paris and Riviera). Places of
    > natural beauty and chateaus are both appealing to me. Thanks for your help.
    >
    >
    >
    > "BobS" <robert@suggitt1438.*REMOVE*fsnet.co.uk> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
    > > JJ France is a big country with a very diverse range of attractions - can
you
    > > be more specific with your interests. BobS
    > > --
    > > robert@suggitt1438.*REMOVE*fsnet.co.uk *REMOVE* the obvious to send.
    > >
    > > "JJ" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > > news:[email protected]...
    > > > Hi all,
    > > >
    > > > What are your most favourite places to visit in France, other than Paris and
    > > > its attractions.
    > > >
    > > > Thanks.

"BobS" <robert@suggitt1438.*REMOVE*fsnet.co.uk> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
    > JJ France is a big country with a very diverse range of attractions - can you be
    > more specific with your interests. BobS
    > --
    > robert@suggitt1438.*REMOVE*fsnet.co.uk *REMOVE* the obvious to send.
    >
    > "JJ" <[email protected]> wrote in message
    > news:[email protected]...
    > > Hi all,
    > >
    > > What are your most favourite places to visit in France, other than Paris and its
    > > attractions.
    > >
    > > Thanks.

Personnaly, I'm particularly critical about the way common buildings are kept and
built in France. When I follow a road, except in dense urban areas built before 1914,
I generally consider that more than 50% of the buildings are not harmonious, or, at
least, don't correspond to my own conception of harmony. That's perhaps what Jack is
talking about when he says that he is sometimes critical too. On the countrary In
Germany I consider that 99 % of old buildings are well restored and kept, from the
biggest monuments to the most common houses and the new houses generally harmonious
in proportions. This is quasi systematical IMO. The same proportion is not far in UK,
Netherlands, Danemark, Belgium, Austria or Italy, for ex. Many towns of Lombardy,
like Vigevano, etc... have nothing to envy to northern europe in this matter IMO. In
Italy or Germany when you restore a house you do it very well and when you refurbish
an urban street you generally do it well, once for all. That's not always the case in
France unfortunately..., despite the fact that France being the most populous country
in Europe from the 15th to the 18th c. had one of the most important heritage of old
houses with Italy and probably the most varied in aspect. There is nothing in common
between a basque and an alsatian house, a normand and a provençal house or houses
from Touraine and Perigord. But will it be possible to notice this difference again
in one century...?

IMO this problem is the consequence of several french particularities.

1) IMO, the main one is the fact that the municipalities in France are very small
compared with the italian or german town territories for ex. Just imagine. There
are 36.000 communes in France....!!! I think that there are only about 250 in
sweden if I don't make a mistake. In hundreds of villages there is no more that
100 inhabitants. So for the building permit authorisations, it's quasi impossible
in many of them to have a really competent service with an architect concerned by
this very difficult matter wich is aesthetics. And in some case when every one
knows each other it's probably more difficult to refuse an authorisation just for
aesthetical reasons. Nevertheless the more rational rules, wich can be easily
quantified, like the limits (implantation) or volume or density or the buildings,
etc... are generally well checked according to the local urban planning rules
(plan local d'urbanisme). And even sometimes better than in some other countries,
since most towns and villages viewed from the sky, as well as their skylines, have
not been dramatically spoiled by too high or diverse constructions in France,
notably in old areas. But it's different when you see them nearer : the form of
the windows or the decoration in details... France is less densifyed than many
european counties and thus its population became urban in majority later than most
others... So many of these communes are rural ones, where many mayors have few
competence in architecture. Since they are small, they have too, by consequence,
few money to spend in extras like aesthetical considerations. Nevertheless a law
has been recently voted to oblige the communes to gather and use their money in
common (loi chevenement sur l'intercommunalite).

2) The subjectivity is not much developped in french laws wich are rather rational,
while aesthetics is a subjective matter by excellency. For ex. except in protected
heritage areas called "secteurs sauvegardes", in national parks, in "sites
classes" or "sites inscrits" or in an radius of 500 m around the about 36.000
french historical monuments (areas wich nevertheless cover roughly most of old
towns areas, but represents probably less than 5 % of french territory...), there
is only one disposition mandatory on all the territory to impose aesthetical
prescriptions to building permits, so on the remaining about 95 %.... it's called
article R. 111-21 of urban planning code. The building can (not must) be refused
if it damages the aesthetical interest of the surroundings. The prescriptions
according to this article are rare outside protected areas. It's much easier to
contest a building permit before the tribunals in France than in UK or Germany,
for example (you just need to live about less than 1 km from the building or to be
an assocation protecting the environment), but less than 5 % of building or
demolition permits are contested by neighbours in France... Let me be clear there
: despite the "paillotes" case in Corsica or elsewhere on the Cote d'Azur (beach
bars), the construction of normal buildings without authorisation are rare in
France at the difference of the modifications of front shops which are more
common, even in Paris. And this, despite the fact that the authorities are obliged
to do a proces verbal and to bring the case before the courts according to article
L. 481-1 of urban planning code. But in most communes they do it in fact only when
there is a complaint of a neighbour. That's notably the case in Paris because of
lack of staff to control the streets more regularly.

3) It is not necessary to have an architect to build an individual house of less than
170 m² in france, when you build it only for yourself, or when you modify the
facade of such an individual house. The french consider that the countrary would
be a breach to their liberty. That's why at the difference of Germany, individual
houses are rather small in France since WWII. By consequence even in
"lotissements" (equiped areas for individual constructions) the people can
generally build the house that they want. Consequently, they are generally all
different and corresponding to the taste of the one and the others... and
sometimes it can spoil the surrounding of some old villages. Furthermore, as said
above, the people can also modify old houses according to the needs and with few
aesthetical restrictions, except in protected areas or when the municipality have
a good architectural service. That's why so many old houses are badly restored in
France, notably in rural areas.

didier Meurgues

In article <[email protected]>, mpprh <[email protected]> writes
    >Hi
    >
    >I live in Languedoc.

You lucky thing.........

Marie
--
[email protected]

"JJ" <[email protected]>

Rent a room " view on the sea " inside le Mont Saint Michel*****

visit Pech Merle ****

http://www.quercy.net/pechmerle/

Rocamadour ****

Gorges du Verdon ****

"EC/BC" <[email protected]> a écrit dans le message de news:
[email protected]...
    > "JJ" <[email protected]> Rent a room " view on the sea " inside le Mont Saint
    > Michel**** visit Pech Merle **** http://www.quercy.net/pechmerle/ Rocamadour ****
    > Gorges du Verdon ****

Sorry these are my favorites sites in France If you only stay near LYON visit : Dijon
- Beaune ( caves ) - Autun Bourgogne- Morvan- Alpes....

Maison du facteur Cheval : http://www.aricie.fr/facteur-cheval/

My favorite? Lying in bed in my hotel in Arles with the light from the Roman Arena
coming through the window.

Jeanne