Tour de France: A City Sampler From Bordeaux to the Loire Valley and Alsace
In October I began a 3-month odyssey around France, beginning with some quicker travel for a few weeks where I was able to sample several cities, starting in Bordeaux and working my way up through the Loire Valley, stopping briefly in Paris, then spending a month each in the Alsace Region (using the city of Mulhouse as my base), then Dijon for the month of December. It was a bit of a complex itinerary, but thankfully everything worked out without any hiccups.
My main goal was to properly explore as much of France as I reasonably could, given time and budget constraints. I had visited Paris a couple times back in the 2000s and to be honest, it wasn’t a city I ever really connected with. And I made the enormous mistake of writing off the rest of the country for years, based on those experiences. Now that I’ve matured (both as a person and a traveler), I know that big capital cities are not the only places worth exploring and living. And honestly, my time in France showed me that life can be just as pleasurable in smaller cities, and even better much of the time. France has an incredible wealth of liveable small cities with all the amenities one needs, for far less money than it takes to live in Paris. And I have barely scratched the surface by getting acquainted with several of them.
I had planned to attend a couple events during my time in France, which was also a factor that played into my schedule. I ended up spending about a week in Bordeaux to begin with, followed by shorter stints in three Loire Valley cities: Tours, Nantes, and Angers.
Bordeaux: Vibrant, trendy, chic, and youthful
Bordeaux impressed me thoroughly. It is often compared to a “petit Paris,” with a lot of similar architecture, urban planning and a lively, elegant, “bobo” (bourgeois-bohemian) vibe. In fact, a lot of the urban renovation Georges-Eugene Haussmann brought to Paris in the mid-19th century (basically the blueprint for the modern city that exists today) was inspired by what already existed in Bordeaux. It’s a very Instagrammable city, without the crazy masses of tourism of the capital.
Bordeaux is known for a few things, one being that it is home to the longest pedestrianized shopping street in all of Europe, Rue Saint Catherine. It’s also, obviously, a major wine hub, and La Cité du Vin is a testament to that. It’s a museum with interactive exhibits about wine production, but even if you aren’t into wine, the architecture of the building is something to behold. Also, the gorgeous Miroir d’eau (Water Mirror) in front of the Place de la Bourse – the world’s largest reflecting pool.
Bordeaux has everything that I came to expect in a French city after visiting more than a dozen of them: beautiful public gardens, bustling food markets, the street cafe culture, attention to aesthetics, a very active and sporty population. I definitely need to go back and explore more.
Loire Valley cities: Chilled vibes and chateaux
Tours is a good base to visit several nearby chateaux, as well as a popular cycling hub. I observed a huge cycling culture all over the country (not surprising in the land of the Tour de France), but it seems particularly popular in Tours. The city is mostly flat, easy to walk as well as bike, and very chill. The old town is compact, but has plenty of cafes and ancient half-timbered buildings. There’s a great botanical garden also within walking distance, along with some other splendid parks.
My time exploring Angers was limited as I was attending a skating competition during the few days I was there. Angers has an imposing chateau right in the old town and more half-timbered medieval architecture. Like Tours, it’s very walkable, but the city center here is a bit hillier and could be a little more challenging for someone with mobility issues.
Nantes is a larger city than Tours or Angers. It has a reputation for being quite innovative – in fact, the city won an award for “European Capital of Innovation” in 2019. The city is a hub for both tech and creative industries. There are several distinct districts which all have a completely different vibe, but probably the area that most epitomizes what makes Nantes unique is the Île de Nantes, an island in the Loire River which has been transformed from an industrial area into a hive of modern architecture, creativity, and urban development. Here you will find the top tourist attraction in Nantes, the Machines de l’Ile, a steampunk wonderland inspired by Nantes native Jules Verne.
But there is plenty more to see and do in Nantes, from wandering around the Château des ducs de Bretagne and the city’s historical center, to spending an afternoon in the incredible botanical garden, visiting the museums, or taking a ferry over to the colorful old fishing village of Trentemoult.
After that, I spent a few hectic days in Paris before moving on to the Alsace region. I won’t talk about Paris much because it’s already the most-visited city in the world, and there’s nothing I can really add. Great for short-term tourism, not so much for slow travel on a tight budget.
Alsace: Old world charm and coziness
With Mulhouse as my base in Alsace, it was easy to take daytrips to nearby cities not only in France (like Strasbourg and Colmar), but also Freiburg, Germany, and Basel, Switzerland, which is merely a 30 minute train ride away. I will cover Mulhouse in much more depth in a separate article, because I think it’s truly a hidden gem!
I then had a quick detour to Grenoble after the Alsace to attend a figure skating competition. Unfortunately I only had one free day to really explore, but I was able to at least sample the vibe of the city center a bit. It’s not the most impressive or beautiful in terms of architecture, but it is a lively student city with spectacular surroundings and plenty of outdoor sport activities.
Dijon: Burgundy’s capital of gastronomy
Finally, I traveled to Dijon, Burgundy in early December. By this time, the weather was getting pretty chilly and gray, and I was feeling a bit tired of moving around. Perhaps a touch of Seasonal Affective Disorder kicked in – it had been many, many years since I experienced anything that could be called “real” winter. And to be fair, it was still quite mild in Dijon, but there were some frosty days and very little sunshine. I had originally planned to do a few daytrips from Dijon, but due to my lack of energy and higher train prices around the holidays, it didn’t quite work out. Still, the city was pleasant and comfortable, and I’d be happy to return to the region any time.
What makes French cities so liveable?
Although every French region and city has its own particular atmosphere and unique points of interests, I noticed some commonalities that united pretty much all of them – at least, the small (over 100k population) to medium-sized cities. One is that they all have great pedestrian-friendly centers, dedicated bike lanes, and very accessible and easy to use public transit, generally in the form of an integrated tram and bus system, on top of regional and long distance trains. It’s common to also find a free circulator minibus in the city centers.
Another thing that every French city tends to have is at least one (if not more) beautifully landscaped public park and/or botanical garden, typically with a small menagerie, fountains, statuary, and plenty of places to rest. I was especially impressed by the huge, lush botanical garden in Nantes, which is right next to the (equally impressive) uber modern main train station.
The third item which you can expect in virtually any French city is at least one very impressive, and often very ancient, cathedral. Sure, you can find cathedrals all over Europe and Latin America…I have been to plenty of them. But there is something special about a classic, grand, Gothic French cathedral. I still have yet to visit some of the “greatest hits” in towns like Rouen and Chartres, but the cathedral of Strasbourg with its beautiful astronomical clock was a standout, as well as the cathedrals of Bordeaux and Tours. I was also able to visit the newly reopened Notre Dame de Paris on my last night in France (tip: they stay open late on Thursday, no pre booking required – the wait in the queue was about 20 minutes).
I noticed something else – Paris aside, everywhere I visited was incredibly quiet. Having spent much of the last few years in Latin America, Spain, Italy, and coming from the US, the difference is palpable. I’m used to shops and cafes blasting loud pop music everywhere. Some French businesses do (usually chain stores or fast food outlets), but many opt out of this form of noise pollution so people can relax or have a conversation without shouting. There are far fewer people playing videos without earbuds in public than I have encountered elsewhere – there are even rules against it on the train, and they are enforced. Bliss!
Final thoughts – is France worth it for slow travel on a budget?
Like any country in Western Europe, France is not an ultra-low budget destination, but I think that value for money can definitely be found if you are adaptable and willing to explore beyond the popular tourist hubs. It can be quite possible to live on 1200-1500 Euros per month in a smaller city if you are willing to rent a basic studio apartment and prepare most of your own meals. (Dining out can definitely be pricey here.) The main challenge will be finding a decent place on Airbnb – the smaller the city, the less available inventory will likely be, and you might need to compromise on amenities. I would book well in advance, once you have an idea of where you would like to stay. As for food, I did most of my shopping at Carrefour and E. leClerc hypermarkets whenever possible, and could eat well for about 50 Euros per week. Yes, I ate a lot of baguettes, crepes, omelettes, and cheese (but also plenty of excellent fruit, veg, and meat), then worked it off by wandering around beautiful pedestrian-friendly cities. And I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. À la prochaine…
