Few movies have left as big an impact on me in my childhood as Beauty & the Beast did, so when I found out that there was a REAL “poor provincial town” I HAD to go and live out my Belle-inspired fantasies.  Now you too can travel the French countryside and live out your dreams as you visit these Beauty & the Beast inspired places.

Following are my recommendations for the ultimate 8-Day Beauty & the Beast inspired French road trip.

DAYS 1-3: Alsace Region of France

I recommend kicking off your French adventures by heading directly to the Alsace region of France.  This is the region said to have inspired Belle’s hometown in the 1991 animated classic film.

How to Get There

You’ll need to rent a car in order to do this itinerary in full.  Renting a car is not as difficult as it may seem but there are unique rules of the road for driving in France.  I recommend checking out my post on Driving in France before renting a vehicle.  You’ll want to avoid the toll roads if you’re on a budget and in doing so, it will take about five and a half hours to get to the Alsace region from the Charles De Gaulle airport.

Where to Stay

There are a number of small towns within the Alsace region that have been given credit for the look of Belle’s hometown and each has its own unique experience.  If you want something a little on the larger size with lots of dining and accommodation options, then I recommend staying in Colmar for the 3 nights.  But if you want the ultimate small town feel, you may want to stay in Riquewihr.  Either way, you’ll definitely want to spend a bit of time in each location.

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A few specific recommendations for lodging (listed in order of price):

• Relais & Chateaux – Colmar, France
• James Boutique Hotel – Colmar, France
• Best Western Hotel & Spa Le Schoenenbourg – Riquewihr, France

What to Do

Over the next two and a half days, you’ll want to split your time between Riquewihr, Ribeauville, and Colmar.  Where you choose to stay will likely influence the order in which you do these.  To avoid crowds in Riquewihr and Ribeauville, I suggest arriving early in the morning.  This is how you’ll get those empty street photos.  These are popular tourist destinations and several tour buses do arrive daily for people to visit these towns for short periods of time.

If you’re staying in Colmar, then I suggest doing Riquewihr first thing in the morning on Day 2, followed by Ribeauville. If you’re staying in Riquewihr, then I recommend doing Ribeauville first thing in the morning on Day 2, followed by Colmar. No matter which option you choose, you’ll definitely want to be on the lookout for Belle’s fountain!

Other fun things to do while in Alsace include:

• Visit the clocktower in Riquewihr
• Stroll along the La Petite Venise in Colmar
• Shop for Christmas early at Féerie de Noël
• Wine tasting! Hire a driver and see more of the Alsace region (or if you’re staying in Riquewihr walk to my favorite tasting room, Famille Hugel)

 

DAYS 4-6: Loire Valley Region of France

Most famous for its vast number of chateaux, the Loire Valley region of France oozes with history, decadence, and serene vistas. This region is also famous for having inspired both the animators of the 1991 film and the production team on the 2017 live remake.

How to Get There

You’ll want to leave Alsace early in the morning on the 4^th day, as it will take about 6-7 hours to drive from Colmar to the Loire Valley region.  (Most chateaux close around 5pm so it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to visit any of those on this travel day.)  There are a few different highways that you can travel but again, I recommend avoids the toll roads.  I made the mistake of taking the toll road from Riquewihr and it cost me around 60 euro.

Where to Stay

This will depend largely on how far down the Loire Valley you want to travel.  I recommend finding something centrally located near Tours.  Another great option is Blois which has a very charming small town feel.

If you really want to live out your inner-princess fantasies, you can even stay in a castle of your own! 

A couple of my recommendations for lodging include:

• Relais de Chambord – Chambord, France
• Auberge Du Bon Laboureur – Chenonceaux, France
• Chateau Belmont – Tours, France
• Mercure Blois Centre Hotel – Blois, France

What to Do

The Loire Valley is really known primarily for wine tasting and historical chateaux so you’ll want to spend days 5 & 6 really exploring these to the fullest.  (Honestly, you could spend a full week visiting chateaux and still not see them all). 

The most famous of all chateaux in this region is the Château de Chambord which famously inspired the Beast’s castle in both films.  You’ll want to dedicate an entire half day to visiting this castle.

A couple of other highlights include: Château de Chenonceau (some speculate that this chateau had an impact on Cinderella’s castle) and Château d’Ussé (some speculate this chateau inspired the story of Sleeping Beauty).       

If visiting chateaux all day, every day isn’t your thing, you could also explore some of the art in the region. Disney animators visited this region to study French Rococo art when developing the interior of the Beast’s castle. 

A couple of suggestions for viewing art in the region include:

• Musee des Beaux-Arts d’Angers
• Château du Rivau

Additional things to do while in the Loire Valley:

DAY 7: Versailles

By now you are reaching the end of your Beauty and the Beast inspired vacay but don’t worry, we’ve saved the best for last. Château de Versailles is the creme de la crème of all French castles. In fact, it’s one of the most famous palaces in the world and on day 7, you’re going to visit!  And the tie to Beauty & the Beast?  For the 2017 remake, set designers wanted to bring even more elegance to the famous ballroom scene, so they took inspiration from the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles when creating the huge chandeliers that decorated the grand room.

How to Get There

You’ll want to leave the Loire Valley as early as humanly possible on this day so that you can be one of the first groups through the gates at Versailles. It is about a two and a half hour drive from Tours so you’ll want to plan accordingly.  One thing to know before you go, is that it’s best to buy your tickets well in advance.  That way you can control which group you go in with (otherwise you’ll have to wait in line when you get there).

Where to Stay

You’ll have two options at this point.  You can either stay on property for the night (my personal dream) or you can continue on into the city once you’ve finished all of your sightseeing.  If you do continue on to the city, you’ll either want to return your rental car or make sure that your accommodations include parking (see Day 8 for Paris accommodation recommendations).

Following are the top 3 hotels literally across the street from the Palace of Versailles:

• Waldorf Astoria Versailles Trianon Palace – Versailles, France
• Hotel Le Versailles – Versailles, France
• Hotel Du Jeu De Paume – Versailles, France

What to Do

You’ll want to earmark almost a full day for Versailles. Not only does touring the interior take a few hours but the grounds outside are quite expansive and can easily take just as much if not more time to explore.

DAY 8: Paris

Last but not least is to spend at least one day in the City of Lights.  Paris needs no introduction and there are many many things to do here but the one Beauty & the Beast related location I wanted to call out is the Bibliotheque Nationale de France which is said to have inspired the Beast’s library, arguably one of the most famous settings of the 1991 classic.  How many of us dreamed of having the same kind of library?  Only me?  I highly doubt that.

How to Get There

Versailles is very close to Paris.  Only 40 minutes from the city center.  As mentioned, you’ll want to decide what is the best course of action for you & your vehicle depending on your comfort levels with driving in the city and where you want to spend the night, but either way, the city is very accessible either by car or by train. 

Where to Stay

This will depend on if you want to spend one extra night in Paris or if you need to get on a return flight home later that night.  If you do want to stay in Paris, some of my favorite hotels include:

• La Maison Champs Elysees – Paris, France
• Hotel Balzac – Paris, France
• Hotel Splendid Étoile – Paris, France
• Ducs De Bourgogne – Paris, France

When choosing a hotel in Paris it’s important to ask if smoking is allowed in the building.  Many boutique hotels do not have “no smoking” policies and as such smokers and smoking is quite prevalent. 

What to Do

Obviously you must head to the Oval Reading Room in the Bibliotheque Nationale de France to get the full Beauty & the Beast experience, but there are tons of other wonderful things to see and do in Paris.

For a full list of recommendations check out my Top 10 Things to Do in Paris.

That concludes our 8-Day Beauty & the Beast inspired vacation.  Please see below for a specially created Google Map that outlines where each of the places mentioned above is location.  As always, I’m happy to answer any additional questions you might have about this recommended itinerary.  Hope you found this helpful and please feel free to share it!

 

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