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I fly into France mid-June. Will spend a week doing family stuff with my boyfriend, then we have a week to do whatever we want before he heads home. I plan to meet my climbing partner in Chamonix on the 26th for 2 weeks of climbing. Any suggestions as to how to spend the week before? I hate shopping. Have no interest in sitting in a cafe people watching. We'll spend a day in Paris and go to the Louvre but other than that, I don't have much interest in art/history right now as I figure I will have plenty of time to hang around in galleries & museums when my joints crap out on me. I guess I'm looking for more adventure/nature than culture right now. I'd like to see a little of Italy and Spain too if time permits. Any suggestions?

Nothing better, I think, than a hike all around the Mont Blanc group, walking up the ridges S of Val Veni and Val Ferret, the Suisse Val Ferret ecc.
You're going to better acclimatize, to enjoy fantastic (if weather will be a friend) views ecc ecc and enjoy the loneliness and the wilderness.

Haven't spent much time in France outside of the Chamonix area. I suggest renting a car and just driving around the countryside. In the city, a car would be a headache. Outside the city, with a car you can see a lot of the country. You're away from all the usual tourists hot spots and you can get a more authentic feel of the country. My two cents.

Is this the right question to ask on a mountaineering site? Actually, Paris can be quite overwhelming and you can spend weeks there. I haven't been there myself in the last 25 years but I suppose some things never change. For adventure take the stairway to the Eiffel Tower. Exposure is horrendous. But then, I'm not sure whether the staircase is still open.

For France, Fontainebleau comes to mind - great bouldering area, also here on SP. And then there is the Ardeche in south central France, a gorge with great white river rafting and some good hiking possibilities as well.

And, of course, you can always visit Euro Disney

Gangolf Haub wrote:And, of course, you can always visit Euro Disney

Forget Euro Disney, Asterix Park is way better

You're only spending a day in Paris? That's an absolute shame. When you're sitting out a storm in your tent at Chamonix, you'll be regretting how fast you blew through there.

Go to the Louvre, the Musee D'Orsay, the Picasso Museum, Versailles, Notre Dame and the Ile de la Cite, the Latin Quarter, hit a jazz club. I spent six weeks there one summer studying and I can list any number of things I didn't get a chance to do.

Still, if you can't bring yourself to see more of Paris, head south. You can hang on the beach in Nice (and check out the Chagall and Matisse museums). Go to Monaco for a day and hit the casino. You can climb at Verdon or Buoux, etc. Go to Avignon and Nimes and check out the Roman ruins, etc., etc., etc.

Don't get me wrong. I'm dying to go to Chamonix, but even after all the traveling I've done there, I can't imagine not spending a good chunk of time soaking up the culture.

Gangolf Haub wrote:Is this the right question to ask on a mountaineering site? Actually, Paris can be quite overwhelming and you can spend weeks there. I haven't been there myself in the last 25 years but I suppose some things never change. For adventure take the stairway to the Eiffel Tower. Exposure is horrendous. But then, I'm not sure whether the staircase is still open.

For France, Fontainebleau comes to mind - great bouldering area, also here on SP. And then there is the Ardeche in south central France, a gorge with great white river rafting and some good hiking possibilities as well.

And, of course, you can always visit Euro Disney

Since I'm spending half the time mountaineering my thinking was that I know I have at least one major thing in common with everyone here so I might get better responses as to other activity suggestions than if I'd posted on a more general site.

I've heard that so many people were jumping off the Eiffel Tower that they'd closed whatever sections people could jump off. Will see if you can still take the stairs up. Maybe I'll take all my gear and do it full on Monty Phython expedition style. That would be fun.

White water rafting sounds good but I'm too lazy and weak to boulder. Euro Disney.... *shudder* I'm not that hard.

fatdad wrote:You're only spending a day in Paris? That's an absolute shame. When you're sitting out a storm in your tent at Chamonix, you'll be regretting how fast you blew through there.

Go to the Louvre, the Musee D'Orsay, the Picasso Museum, Versailles, Notre Dame and the Ile de la Cite, the Latin Quarter, hit a jazz club. I spent six weeks there one summer studying and I can list any number of things I didn't get a chance to do.

Still, if you can't bring yourself to see more of Paris, head south. You can hang on the beach in Nice (and check out the Chagall and Matisse museums). Go to Monaco for a day and hit the casino. You can climb at Verdon or Buoux, etc. Go to Avignon and Nimes and check out the Roman ruins, etc., etc., etc.

Don't get me wrong. I'm dying to go to Chamonix, but even after all the traveling I've done there, I can't imagine not spending a good chunk of time soaking up the culture.

Tent? What is this tent of which you speak? I heard there were hotels at the base of every route!!!

Don't get me wrong... I'm not totally blowing off Paris... If I didn't think I'd be back, I'd spend more time there. I will be near Paris for a week or so every year but won't have this kind of time on my hands. So between that and the fact that arthritis is closing in me, I figure I'd better go do the more active/adventurous stuff while I still can. Paris isn't going anywhere. My youth and cartilage are.

MountaingirlBC wrote:

fatdad wrote:You're only spending a day in Paris? That's an absolute shame. When you're sitting out a storm in your tent at Chamonix, you'll be regretting how fast you blew through there.

Go to the Louvre, the Musee D'Orsay, the Picasso Museum, Versailles, Notre Dame and the Ile de la Cite, the Latin Quarter, hit a jazz club. I spent six weeks there one summer studying and I can list any number of things I didn't get a chance to do.

Still, if you can't bring yourself to see more of Paris, head south. You can hang on the beach in Nice (and check out the Chagall and Matisse museums). Go to Monaco for a day and hit the casino. You can climb at Verdon or Buoux, etc. Go to Avignon and Nimes and check out the Roman ruins, etc., etc., etc.

Don't get me wrong. I'm dying to go to Chamonix, but even after all the traveling I've done there, I can't imagine not spending a good chunk of time soaking up the culture.

Tent? What is this tent of which you speak? I heard there were hotels at the base of every route!!!

Don't get me wrong... I'm not totally blowing off Paris... If I didn't think I'd be back, I'd spend more time there. I will be near Paris for a week or so every year but won't have this kind of time on my hands. So between that and the fact that arthritis is closing in me, I figure I'd better go do the more active/adventurous stuff while I still can. Paris isn't going anywhere. My youth and cartilage are.

Tell me about it. Carpe diem.

MountaingirlBC wrote:

Gangolf Haub wrote:Is this the right question to ask on a mountaineering site? Actually, Paris can be quite overwhelming and you can spend weeks there. I haven't been there myself in the last 25 years but I suppose some things never change. For adventure take the stairway to the Eiffel Tower. Exposure is horrendous. But then, I'm not sure whether the staircase is still open.

For France, Fontainebleau comes to mind - great bouldering area, also here on SP. And then there is the Ardeche in south central France, a gorge with great white river rafting and some good hiking possibilities as well.

And, of course, you can always visit Euro Disney

Since I'm spending half the time mountaineering my thinking was that I know I have at least one major thing in common with everyone here so I might get better responses as to other activity suggestions than if I'd posted on a more general site.

I've heard that so many people were jumping off the Eiffel Tower that they'd closed whatever sections people could jump off. Will see if you can still take the stairs up. Maybe I'll take all my gear and do it full on Monty Phython expedition style. That would be fun.

White water rafting sounds good but I'm too lazy and weak to boulder. Euro Disney.... *shudder* I'm not that hard.

Come, take in the history and culture too... you can´t go to a place and ignore that... especially France. Because if you wait till your old and your joints "crap out", you´ll be too old because your joints have "crapped out". And people watching is one of the cheapest and best forms of entertainment around...what´s the price of a coffee for all that fun!

Maybe head down to the Verdon gourge area. Even if your not climbing, there is tons of cool canyoneering and hiking possible all over the place. And the whole Provence region is quite scenic with cool little towns everywhere (maybe a bit crowded in June though). And Mercantour Alps over towards Italy are quite nice and mellow. But you'll prob need a car to see the area.

Or else Maybe some days in the Annecy area (a bit closer to Chamonix).

Jump on a Swiss train and head for Zermatt & the Matterhorn

I'm with fatdad on this one. (And don't underestimate the physical exertion of a full day in museums.) But since this is your trip, here's a few additional suggestions: Mont Saint-Michel is very picturesque, Côte d'Azur has a beautiful coastline. Camargue, Avignon, the Châteaux on the Loire, the many wine-producing regions: there's something for everyone.

After a few days in Paris, I needed to get out of the city and spent a few days in Biarritz, on the west coast of France, and really enjoyed it. I love to surf...we rented boards and scored some really fun waves there. You'll also be close to the Pyrenees Mts there.

I've kind of come around to mountaingirl's way of thinking. I never went to Chamonix because I always thought I'd have time to go and, guess what...never happened. Always wanted to do the Dru (pre rockfall) and the Walker Spur, the Frendo, Mont Blanc du Tacul. Probably not going to happen now.

Still, contrary to some Belgians on this site, Paris is a wonderful city. If you don't enjoy that, alas, you're not in love. Still, spend at least a few good days there and then go to Chamonix with a clean conscience.