Planning a trip to France?

So finally after 7 years of escape and many life transformations, I could leave San Francisco and go back to France. This was a great trip, mostly improvised, set as a tapas menu: a little bite into many things. I nicknamed this trip "NO REGRETS" since we decided to eat all we wanted, drink all we wanted, buy all we wanted, and go wherever we felt like.

Here's our Tour de France without bicycles:

• Paris (quais de Seine by car, ND, Trocadero/Tour Eiffel, Chatelet/Beaubourg, Montmartre/Barbes, Montparnasse/St Germain/Republique/Pere Lachaise, Arc de Triomphe/Champs Elysees/Concorde/Louvre/Bourse, Buttes Chaumont) and suburbs (Versailles, Thoiry, St Germain en Laye, Rueil)
  
• Burgundy (Auxerre/Avallon)
  
• Hautes Alpes (Gap, Serre Poncon, Col D'Allos)
  
• Cote d'Azur (Nice, Monaco, Cannes, St Tropez, Camargue) and a bit of Provence (Aix en Provence, Arles, Nimes, Avignon)
  
• Toulouse and Carcassonne
  
• Pyrenees (col d'Aspin)
  
• Landes (de Biarritz a Mimizan)
  
• Bordelais (St Emilion)
  
• Perigord (Sarlat, Brive)
  
• Loire (Tours and Chenonceaux, Amboise, Chambord castles)
  

My first comment: France is a great place to go! Suggestions:

1. in Paris don't use a car (unless someone else's) - chances are you'll be towed away (happened to us near the Buttes Chaumont) - or you'll go crazy with traffic and parking. Use public transportation system: RER trains, subway, buses. One trip is something like 1 Euro! Buy your ticket by 10 in either subway stations or "bar tabacs". You can also walk a lot in Paris when weather allows - great source of surprises and enjoyment! Now Paris has many bike lanes as well so if you feel like pedaling, go for it! Great!!!!
   
2. if you plan to travel across France a rental car is great. Gives more freedom than the train system. We picked Avis Agency as a cheap one and were very happy with the car. Diesel gasoline was very welcome since prices are pretty expensive out there. About hotels, since we improvised a lot, we picked Etap Hotels, which cost around 30 Euros a night. Very convenient, usually well located, they do set expectations: cleanliness, quietness, comfort, facilities, sometimes private parking.... Breakfasts are cheap and good too. You can book rooms even after hours using their outside booth. Do request a non-smoker room if you don't smoke - French are still smokers overall although the situation is getting better - or you'll spit your lungs out.
   

Choosing off-season as we did (mid-May to mid-June in our case) is best: you will avoid the very crowded situations and won't struggle in your trip. The weather was really great and the countryside beautiful.

Talking about the plane tickets, surprisingly at these dates, the best prices were not at Orbitz.com or Travelocity.com, but directly at Air France website! To our great surprise the fares were the cheapest and the flight was direct. Other flights found would necessitate either a stop on the East Coast, or in Europe - for a higher price. Air France service was very decent, with special attention to the young kids. Food was not bad as on other flights these days.

I am posting reviews about our French restaurants/hotels experiences at we8there.com for those who are interested.

Bon Voyage!