Where to spend our last week in France??

We;ve rented an apartment in Paris in July for 3 weeks. We%26#39;ve kept our 4th week open so that we can venture out of the city and are looking for advice on where to go!

Here%26#39;s our ideas so far:

1) To a beach! We know the Cote d%26#39;Azur will be quite popular that time of year. Any other less popular, but beautiful places we should consider?

2) The alps. We love mountains and hiking.

3) Somewhere simple, relaxing in the French countryside, where we can ride bikes, taste wine, have a beautiful view.

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Its all great. And it will all be crowded, although August is worse than July. Try the Ile de Re. It is cute place that you can bike around, enjoy the beaches and explore. There will be tons of tourists, but mostly French ones.

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Have a look at this place.

http://www.poulissen.com/

Not sure if it is available at the end of July, but it would fall into your #3 category. It is absolute heaven. Owners are lovely people and speak fluent English and French.

You would need a car in this location though. Not sure if you are planning to have one.

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Beaches? try the Cote d%26#39; Argent (silver coast) west of Bordeaux. The coast is 250km of golden-rather than silver-sand between the ocean and a huge pine forest. the resorts are built on %26quot;strips of land%26quot; extending from the ocean to way back inland and each %26quot;strip%26quot; is separated from others by a large expanse of forest .This means that the beaches are crowded right by each small resort but 10 minutes away you are alone. Most strip shave a resort by the ocean and another by an inland lake a few kms from the ocean.. exception is the huge Arcachon bay, opening on the Ocean, and home to a dozen resorts. It all look much more greener and natural than the over built cote d%26#39;Azur..Mind you the summer homes don%26#39;t come cheap.. Another god point is that the beaches are only a few hours away from either the Dordogne or Gascony, both areas that have more medieval villages, castles etc. you can ever imagine.

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Have you thought about staying somewhere in the Loire Valley? It would only be about three hours drive from Paris (less by train). There are plenty of options from chateau hotels or gites in the country or staying in one of the towns at a riverside hotel e.g. Amboise. We stayed for a week in a stylish gite in very quiet countryside only 10 minutes drive from Chinon and used this as a base for exploring the chateax and vineyards of the Loire Valley - a week would enable you to see a few chateaux (Chinon, Villandry %26amp; Chenonceau are my favourites), try a few vineyards and still have time to just sit %26amp; stare.

Further afield (but not as far as the Cote d%26#39;Azur) is the Dordogne area (Perigord) - stunning castles, pretty bastide towns, fine restaurants and activities like canoeing or taking a boat trip on the Dordogne river.

I hope this is of some help.

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I would go the Alps. We went to Annecy and it was the most beautiful place I have ever seen. Chamonix, Geneva are very close from there and can easily be done in a day trip.