Maybe it sounds a bit braggy, but I'll write it anyway: I dare say that my boyfriend and I are quite experts at traveling a country quite extensively in a short period of time. Enjoying ourselves and lying on the beach? Somehow we can't do that. We have to be always on the run, to make the best of our time. So, after Covid once again disrupted our plans to visit the Balcans, we started planning our road trip through France. Originally, the south of France was on the agenda. Jet set life, Cote d'Azur. But if there weren't so many interesting things all around! Monaco & Andorra, those strange little countries you kind of have to visit when you're already there. Oh, and then there are the impressive Pyrenees! The Provence! The castles of the Dordogne! And Spain is not so far away anymore either! How to decide what to see and what to skip?! The program became fuller and fuller.
In the end it became 2 exciting weeks (and more than 2500 km) through the south and southwest of France with some border crossings. Here is a small photographic reportage.
The itinerary of our Tour de France: Nice - Monaco - Parque National du Lubéron - Mèze - Sète - Carcassonne - the Pyrenees - Lourdes - San Sebastian (Spain) - Dordogne - Rivière-sur-Tarn - Nice
We started our tour in Nice. The city keeps what its name promises - it is a really nice city in which we immediately felt comfortable. It seems to be a very easy going, dynamic city. We quickly threw away our cliché that Nice is only for the rich and beautiful and enjoyed the cozy atmosphere, the beautiful alleys and the many good restaurants and bars.
 |
| Nice waterfront |
 |
| Downtown Nice |
 |
| Once in Nice, don't forget to eat at the Indian Restaurant with the umbrellas. We ate there twice and probably gained 2 kg each, but it was so worth it!! |
With our rental car we discovered the surroundings of Nice. And off course had to have a quick look at Monaco, which before was just a strange little country to us. Well, I guess it still is a strange little country, but at least I have visited it now! :-) We tried our luck in the casino of Montecarlo, but actually all we achieved was to block a machine as we didn't know where to put in the coins. Oops!
 |
| The casino of Montecarlo. Worth a visit, but be careful where you put in your coins! |
 |
| Our rental car...not On the way back from Monaco, we found a very cute village named Eze. Isn't that a picture perfect village? The view from up there was spectacular - and the cocktails worth the price! |
We discovered the area of Cap Ferrat (known for the villas and the rich and famous inhabitants). Instead of VIPs we found a beautiful pathway along the sea and later the beautiful village of Villefranche, where we took a swim in the sea and enjoyed the Cote d'Azur mood.
 |
| The town of Villefranche |
 |
| How I would like to know who lives here |
 |
| Villefranche |
In Villefranche we discovered covered streets. Wouldn't that be a perfect setting for a movie?
We continued our road trip towards west but stopped by in La Ciotat. We had heard that this city is so ugly and empty we should not miss it. A recommendation so strange that you definitely have to check it out! Surprisingly, La Ciotat is quite a cool city with an interesting flair. Not at all boring and dead!
Shortly after La Ciotat we took the famous "rue des crêtes" which leads to Cassis. When it's too windy, this road is closed. We were lucky the wind was not too strong and enjoyed some quite spectacular views.
We had one night in the Lubéron area and stayed in a beautiful house in Cadenet. There, we enjoyed that had grown just beneath us. I guess this is what they call "Savoir vivre", don't you think?
 |
| Cadenet |
We had a day to visit some of the beautiful villages in the Provence region - and there are a lot! The most famous ones are the "villages perchés", villages perched at the top of a hill. We started in Lourmarin, famous for the write Albert Camus, who is buried at the cementary there.
Then we continued to Roussillon and Gordes, two other very picturesque villages.
 |
| A "village perché", squeezed in a hill |
 |
| Roussillon |
 |
| Provence |
 |
| Gordes |
 |
| Even though it was not lavender season, there was lavender everywhere - even in my ice cream |
I could have strolled around in these beautiful villages forever - but off course we had to continue soon again. But it didn't took long to find another highlight. By coincidence we came across Chateauneuf-du-pape, a name that we only had known from (expensive) wine bottles. Obviously this is a village and we surely wouldn't miss t!
After I had been disappointed in Bordeaux because the chateaux and the whole "wine thing" seemed to be very snobby and arrogant, I was positively surprised in Chateauneuf! We had the chance to taste a lot of wine, were welcomed very warmly and I never felt uncomfortable. It was amazing!
 |
| Beautiful area of Chateauneuf-du-pape |
Off course we could have tasted some more wine, but we had a mission this day: Let's get back to the sea again! Our next stop was Mèze, quite a sleepy town.
Not far from Mèze is Sète, which is bigger and famous for its oysters. We took a little boat trip to visit those "oyster farms" in the sea. Quite impressive, the hard work has to be done to produce those strange creatures!
Next stop on the list: Carcassonne, famous for its huge medieval fortress. Quite impressive, isn't it?
The next day brought us through the Pyrenees (impressive, rocky mountain route!) to Andorra, another country that we haven't known before.
Well, what should I write about Andorra. We only had one night there which was enough for us. There are hundreds of shops and shopping malls that would be perfect for shopping, but otherwise there are not many beautiful things to see there. After the beautiful, small villages in France, I was happy to continue the next day.
 |
| Andorra la Vella Our next stop was a little cultural shock again - we stopped in Lourdes (France), a town famous for the Marian apparitions in 1858 and nowadays as a very important site for pilgrims and religious tourism. Even if my boyfriend and I are both quite sceptical with these things, Lourdes was an interesting place to visit and observe people from all over the world, even without a religious background. |
And finally we reached the city that marked the end of our journey towards the southwest: San Sebastian in the Basque Country. Another cultural shock, but a very welcome one. San Sebastian is a fantastic city - two beautiful beaches (one for the swimmers, one for the surfers), a nice old town and hundreds of cozy bars and restaurants.
San Sebastian is well known for the good cooks and the pintxos (little snacks, often "spiked" with a toothpick and probably the big brother of the Spanish "tapas"). We could have enjoyed them all day - going from bar to bar, drinking wine and eating Pintxos, what an amazing life!
 |
| The beach of San Sebastian |
 |
| Pintxos |
 |
| The old harbor of San Sebastian After San Sebastian, we already started our way back towards Nice, but luckily we had some more days to follow! We crossed Bordeaux (this time we ignored it as much as they had ignored us while we were on our wine tour there! :-) ) and headed towards the region of Dordogne. This area was one of my top highlights of the whole roadtrip: beautiful villages, a lot of castles and a constant feeling to be back in time somewhere in the Middle Ages. I loved it! One of the most beautiful villages in the Dordogne region is Sarlat. Doesn't it look a bit like an open air museum? |
 |
| Our Air B'n'B for 2 nights, Terrasson-Lavillededieu |
 |
| Downtown Terrasson |
Another highlight in the Dordogne is the city of La Roque Gageac. I haven't seen much villages as picturesque as this one and it's hard to describe. I let the pictures talk. We took one of the traditional shipping boats called "Gabarre" and did a little tour on the river (the Dordogne). It was totally worth it!
One last village that I have to show you is Beynac-et-Cazenac. With its impressive Chateau de Castelnaud from the 13th century and the beautiful old town, it's not surprising that Hollywood already discovered this place. It was used as setting for movies like "Chocolat" with Johnny Depp or "The Messenger" with Milla Jovovich.
What would a roadtrip in France be without a night in a castle! So before we headed back to Nice, we rewarded ourselves with a night in Chateau Lugagnac in Rivière-sur-Tarn. Despite the spooky stories we were telling each other before going to bed, we slept well. And the next morning, we had the chance to enjoy a breakfast in the the great knights' hall, framed by old paintings, swords and other memorabilia.
Our trip ended where it started: In nice Nice. Those two weeks were amazing and we discovered so many beautiful places. Off course it was too short as France is such a big country. But it inspired me a lot to visit again!
If you have the chance to go yourself, don't miss my highlights:
- The "villages perchés" in Provence region, such as Roussillon, Gordes and Lourmarin
- The region Dordogne with villages as Sarlat-la-Canéda, La Roque Gageac and Beynac-et-Cazenac
- Nice for a cool weekend to relax
- and when in Nice make a little detour to Eze, enjoy the little village and the fantastic view over the sea with a yummy cocktail