My boyfriend and I are going to France for 2 weeks after we graduate, kind of a way to reconnect again since school has caused us to spend much less time with each other. We are 22. Our budget each is 3500-4000 including plane tickets (im expecting to be about 1800 round trip) and staying in nice hostels/cheap hotels.
Which places should we go in france? I've read to keep away from touristy areas because prices are higher. We will go to paris of course, but not stay for our whole trip.

If anyone has tips on actual places they have been to, hotels and prices, favorite site seeing places, restaurants, etc.

We are virgins when it comes to traveling and neither of us have been to france. and neither of us speak french. sounds like a good idea right?
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Lonely Planet is a useful guide that often has excellent budget recommendations. The touristy parts of France are often busy because they're among the nicest/most interesting, and away from them not speaking French will be more of a challenge (think about English speakers visiting Shanghai, Umumqi, or somewhere more remote).

Try to visit not during French school holidays- things are more crowded and expensive then. It is a fairly diverse country- you can do mountains, beaches, countryside or city. Why did you pick France (not Germany, Italy, Greece, etc)? Deciding why you like the country might help choose where to go.

Have fun!

France is a very nice country,unfortunately the French live there.

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La Rochelle is a cool little place on the west coast.

It's easier to find hostels in touristy places. If you haven't been to Paris before, you should definitely stay there for a few days at least. I haven't stayed in a hostel there for quite awhile, it's a better idea to check ratings on hostelworld.com to get an idea of what's a good place to stay.

If you're into castles and wine, the Loire Valley is definitely a highlight. Look at pictures of Chambord, Chenonceau, and Azay-le-Rideau and you'll see what I'm talking about. I'm not sure if there are budget-friendly ways of visiting all the castles, though. You might be better off renting a car for a few days.

I'm not familiar with the resort area of Southern France, but Provence is really nice. It will probably be expensive and crowded during high season, but you can get good deals during low season. Aix-en-Provence would be a great base for young people. The tourist office runs tours each day to different areas so you could get around without a car. You'll get Roman ruins, farmers' markets, ancient castles, wine, great food, beautiful scenery, etc.

D-Day beaches could be interesting if you're into American history, and the nearby city of Honfleur is a nice place to visit.

Hello mate..there are plenty of info on the web and this forum to pick the most suitable for you...just be careful and read the reviews..personally I use http://www.otelicious.com/ when I travel .They have low ,high prices,and many offers... But you have to search for the best reviews and the best offers...take care and have a blast...

terenkleon wrote:My boyfriend and I are going to France for 2 weeks after we graduate, kind of a way to reconnect again since school has caused us to spend much less time with each other. We are 22. Our budget each is 3500-4000 including plane tickets (im expecting to be about 1800 round trip) and staying in nice hostels/cheap hotels.
Which places should we go in france? I've read to keep away from touristy areas because prices are higher. We will go to paris of course, but not stay for our whole trip.

If anyone has tips on actual places they have been to, hotels and prices, favorite site seeing places, restaurants, etc.

We are virgins when it comes to traveling and neither of us have been to france. and neither of us speak french. sounds like a good idea right?
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You guys did not detect the scent of spam from the very start? Who comes to a SHANGHAI expat website and asks on their very first post about where to visit in FRANCE? (1800 round trip? 1800... what? USD? AUD? EUR? CNY?) Plus the link to navteq in the signature...

hook, line and sinker

Almost an achievement, to write an essay that Ms Flower did, to not recommend Antibes, the Pearl between Cannes (West) and the border to Italy Vintimille/Ventimiglia (East).

Antibes is by far the best place to live in on the French Riviera, except St. Tropez maybe, but you don't want to go there, if you don't take a helicopter from Nice airport and have that Crystal Magnum Champagne waiting for you.

PM me and I give you some real information about the area Antibes/Juan les Pins, where to live and what to do. So easy to get around with trains around the coast line and the buses to the mountain villages. 35 minutes by bus from Nice Airport to Antibes. Five minutes walking distance to Old Town.

And bollocks about when and don't go to the Riviera. It depends on what you like. Some people like many people, like in August and 27 degrees in night time. Others wants the 19 degrees in the evening in beginning of October, but the sea is still around 22-23 degrees.

And Monaco of course is the best the last Friday nite of August when the Champions League winner meets the Europe League winner in the Super cup final. What do we hope for this year. Manchester City against Milan?

robertjan wrote:France is a very nice country,unfortunately the French live there.

Another thing why Antibes is the best. Antibes have a long tradition with English speaking people living there. Together with Mallorca i believe, no other comparisons, Antibes is the biggest harbor for private owned luxury yachts in Europe, and these yachts have a LOT of staff on board, and those needs joy, which means pubs and a place to stay, so Antibes is full of companies and staff all year because of the yacht industry, and they bring a nice athmospere to the French 500 year old town. Because is it anything that the French can't do, so is it to have a pub culture, a bit like the chinese. Therefore there is a lot of English pubs all over Antibes old town. Lucky me!

One of "the Regulars" in Antibes since many years:
http://www.superyachtphoto.com/photo/MD4982/Superyacht-Lady-Moura

I wrote the places that I liked best. I didn't often go to Antibes as I didn't move to France only to be surrounded by the English...
And Ventimille... really? Probably the worst place in the whole of Italy...

Don't go to France, it is a sh1tty place...seriously

Amen.
Do not go to France. Don't waste your money there. Go to Finland, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Switzerland or wherever you like, but do not go to France.
Where did you got the idea from to go to France ?