Has been awhile since we did a travel blog with a few highlights of places we have been and what we liked to do in each location. A few years ago we did a road trip in France and while there were so many highlights here was a brief rundown of the main spots we went to and our favourites about each area.
A Start in Paris
While many people will say they either hate or love Paris I personally think you can't ignore its timeless architecture and historical stories etched into every "arrondissement". We definitely were guilty of doing a lot of tourist traps in the city but as a foreigner I really do think sipping wine while eating baguettes at night time along the Seine River is something so fun even if "kitchy".
In Paris besides the tourist traps we felt like a must do was the thrift shopping. So many kilo shops scattered across the city and the fashion is so inspiring and unique you are bound to find some treasures.
Art museums were a highlight in the city as well, having been to many large cities we always love going to museums in the biggest cities, many times they are famous for a reason with the ability to get some of the most unique and curated art pieces from so many talents artists. We love getting to see pieces that might never make it to anywhere near our locals in Australia.
Monet's house in Giverny
We rented a car in Paris (absolute chaos driving in Paris, maybe try to rent in a quieter place) and drove a bit out of town to Giverny to visit Monet's house. Loved how it was still set up how he lived in the house (the same tiling, kitchen set up etc) and loving Monet's paintings it rwas so interesting to be able to see his views and landscapes on his property that were directly portrayed in his artwork. Highly recommend, just try not to pop two tires on the steep curbs of the tiny town like we did.
Surf in Biarritz
We absolutely loved Biarritz a coastal town on the southwest end of France. We had really fun surfs (just be prepared for a bit of a walk down the path with your board if coming with your own board), slow soft waves and beautiful surroundings. We also were able to easily drive over to Spain even going for a quick Real Sociedad game just for the evening in San Sebastian. We were also lucky enough to be in the town when a surf event was on so we stumbled upon a French rave on the beach with live bands after the surf festival. Definitely a highlight of the trip.
Les Calanques
On the bucket list for the longest time this was an amazing thing to do when in the south of France. You can visit the Calanques from the Marseille side or the Cassis side. We stayed in Cassis and hiked right from town. The hike was longer than we realised and if hiking from Cassis be prepared for some steep sections of slippery rock, but 100% recommend. To be honest we saw people kayak into our final destination and this looked like a more preferable method for reaching the cove so would look at this option next time. Make sure to take a lot of snacks and water if doing the full hike from Cassis as ended up a longer journey than expected and you want time to sit and enjoy each beach.
Marseille
We heard a lot of mixed reviews for Marseille and while it sounds like a town where you have to make sure you are safe and aware about what you are doing, it also was really beautiful and wish we had spent more time here. There was an amazing beach club in Les Goudes but make sure you book before you go (we didn't but we went swimming around the corner and was beautiful water and cliffs).
Chamonix
When we were in the south of France time started to run out and we last minute decided to jet up to the Switzerland border. We arrived in Chamonix at night having picked the town from google maps because it was near the Switzerland border and having done no research on the area. We woke up to beautiful mountains outside our window and later discovered was a very well known ski town. We went in off season (September) so was cheap to stay and not busy but still so beautiful and still freezing at the top of Mount Blanc. This ended up being one of our favourite parts of the entire trip, so much so we extended our stay here and had to race back to Paris at the end to make our car drop off time.
As with all our Travel Series blogs we like to relay just a few things that we enjoyed on our trips that might offer new ideas or unique points of view. Hope to share another travel story soon!