nola77382

My husband and I will arrive at CDG on 10/3 Saturday 830am. We depart from CDG on 10/18 Sunday 1030am. That gives us 15 sightseeing days in France. Husband agreed to 5 nights in Paris (I lobbyed for 7) but the rest is undetermined. This will be our 4th time in France.

Looking at a map and things that interest us (chateaux, wine, pretty towns, museums, churches, history, views) and the distance between destinations, I thought we’d train from CDG to Lyon and stay there 3 nights; rent a car and drive to ??? for 3 nights; and then drive to the Loire Valley, possibly Amboise, for 4 nights.

Is it feasible to go to the Dordogne (?Sarlat?) on this trip? I’ve already ruled out Provence; too far. Husband loves to drive in France but we really don’t want to spend all our time in the rental car.

We also want to see Chartres and Vaux le Vicomte. But given we only have 5 nights in Paris, I really don’t want to do a day trip once we’re settled there.

So how does this look?:
Lyon 3 nights; ???Sarlat in the Dordogne or a different location 3 nights; Amboise, Loire Valley 4 nights.

Is it feasible to drive from Amboise and see both Chartres and Vaux le Vicomte on our way to Paris?

Should I add another night to Paris (take it away from Amboise) if we see Chartres and Vaux le Vicomte on our way to Paris—I imagine this would take all day…

Although the trip isn’t until October, I want to lock down the apartment in Paris so your thoughts on this tentative itinerary would be helpful.

Thanks!

annhig

for my tastes, it's a bit hectic - i think that you have time to do a max of two places plus Paris in the time you've got.

to work out whether you can do Amboise- Chartres - Vaux le Vicomte - Paris, google maps is you friend. it looks to me as if it's over 2 hours to Chartres and then another hour and a bit to Vaux - so if you actually want to see anything in Chartres, yo might want to stop over in or near Vaux and then get the train into Paris from a suitable place where you can return your car the next day.

Personally, i think that in the time you've got you could do the Dordogne and the Loire, finishing with Amboise-Chartres - Paris, OR you could do Lyon - Dijon - Paris remembering of course that 5 nights in Paris [or anywhere else] equates to only 4 days, and that you lose at least half a day every time you move from one place to another.

happy planning!

denisea

I can never get enough of Paris. Chartres is an easy half day or day trip from Paris by train from Gare Montparnasse. Another thought might be, if wine and gorgeous cathedrals, are of interest, Reims. I may be a minority but I love the cathedral there and enjoyed it more than the one in Chartres. Champagne houses could be visited there also.

If you to the Loire, I enjoyed Amboise but was not there too long. It can be touristy for sure.We spent our time at the chateau there and loved the little chapel where da Vinci is reportedly buried. We both loved Chenonceau.

You will get tons of advice on this and I am dying to get to Vaux le Vicomte!

aliced

I would say that you would not have time to do Sarlat & that area of the Dordogne with anything outside of Paris. We are spending three weeks there in September! That said, our previous "Paris-plus" trips have included: North to Caen, Honfleur, Dieppe, Deauville, Bayeaux, Normandie, Mt. St. M, Chartres. (5 nts). East to Reins, Epernay, Dijon, Cote D'or including Beaune, then Loire including Chenonceau & Chambord, and lastly Amboise (5-7 nts) before looping back to Paris. South was a TGV thru Lyon (we did not spend time there) to Nice from which we explored Monaco-St. Tropez (5 nights). Because I want to see Limoges & Bordeaux while in SW France, it seemed logical to combine this w/ the Dordogne and now Toulouse and even western Provence; most Fodorites think the Dordogne area of Sarlat deserves 7-10 days. As far as more local excursions from Paris for a day, Fontainebleu & Barbizon were lovely, as was Auvers-sur-Oise to the north (we had done Giverny previously). We too like to plan something after 5 days in Paris. We have always had great weather in Europe in Sept/Oct.

aliced

Sorry, need to add "anything ELSE outside of Paris" with reference to Sarlat. It takes a long time to get there via car or train, do think 5 days would be too short.

russ_in_LA

If I had 10 days in France outside of Paris, including the choices you have presented, I would do one of the following:

Train or fly to Avignon - Rent a car and explore the Luberon - 4 nights
Train from Avignon to Lyon - 2 nights
Drive from Lyon to Dijon - touring Burgundy region 2 nights
Drive from Dijon to Orleans - touring Loire Valley 2 nights
If that is too much moving around for you, then eliminate one stop and add to the other three

OR option two

Train to Lyon - 2 nights in Lyon
Drive to Sarlat (4 hours) - 4 nights - explore the Dordogne
Drive to Orleans (4 hours) - 4 nights - explore Loire Valley

honeyhead

We have done the following trip last April and it went pretty well without spending too much time sitting in a rental car:

Arrival in Paris
Train from CDG to Avignon (unbeatable 3h30min nonstop!)
Rental car from here
4 nights near Avignon
4 nights Luberon (best area in Provence IMO)
4 nights near Aix en Provence (with coast day trips)
Train back to Paris
5 days in Paris
Departure

15 days are perfect for getting to know Provence intensively.
Another Option would be to stopover in Lyon (Train stops there) and squeeze in 2 nights.

nola77382

Thank you all for the thoughtful replies.

annhig, it was seeming hectic which is why I started questionning myself. I'm leaning toward doing the Dordogne and the Loire, finishing with Amboise-Chartres-Paris. Might do Amboise-Vaux le Vicomte-Paris because I believe Chartres is an easier day trip from Paris, if we choose to do a day trip from Paris.

denisea--your recent trip report is one of the reasons I booked this trip! I could stay in Paris for 2 weeks but husband wants to see more (and I'm really ok with that). I'm hoping Amboise won't be as touristy during October. Chenonceau is on the list of chateau we want to see.

aliced--from everything I've read about the Dordogne, it does seem to warrant as much time as one can allow. There's so much to see in France (and so little time!). Sure hoping your weather karma follows us!

russ--I'm leaning toward your option 2. It seems Lyon is an easy train ride out of CDG, we can get over our jet lag then rent the car and start exploring. Provence still seems too far for this trip since I really want to explore the Loire Valley.

I think I'll just book the apartment for 5 nights in Paris. We're going with parisbestlodge crazy view on Ile de la Cite.


Merci.

StuDudley

The Dordogne is difficult to get to from CDG. This is what I would do:

- Arrive at CDG & spend 5 nights in Paris
- Take one of the many trains to Brive la Gaillarde, rent a car, visit Collonges la Rouge, then spend 6 nignts in Sarlat.
- Drive up to the Loire and spend 3 nights there (I would stay at Chenonceau - easy car access in & out).
- Drive to Chartres, visit Chartres, then drive on to Chantilly, visit the Chateau (this is why I had only 3 nights in the Loire), and stay overnight in Chantilly.
- Drive 30 mins to CDG in the morning to catch your flight home.

We did a trip in about '11 exactly like this.

Do you have my Dordogne itinerary??? We've spent 10 weeks vacationing there. I've sent about 5,000 copies of my various itineraries to people on Fodors. If you would like a copy, e-mail me at [email protected] & I'll attach one to the reply e-mail.

Stu Dudley

greg

Vaux le Vicomte is underrated, but not well visited castle. If you get there on a day bus is not running, you need to use a taxi both ways from the station. If you can stop by while you still have a rental car, it would vastly simplify visiting this gem.

nola77382

Thanks, Stu Dudley. I just emailed you for the itinerary. I'm a little hesitant to stay outside Paris and hassle with returning the car the day we depart, especially with a relatively early flight. There'd be a lot less hesitation if it was say 230pm instead of 1030am. But this itinerary looks great otherwise! I hadn't thought about Chantilly since it's north of Paris; was focusing southward.

@greg, I read that it's difficult to get to Vaux le Vicomte on public transport so we would definitely only visit while we have the rental car.

StuDudley

Consider staying at CDG the night before departure. This year for our June trip, we spent the last 3 days visiting Fontainebleau, Vaux le Vicomte, and other chateau close to Paris. Then we drove to CDG, returned the car (not easy) about 6pm, checked into the Sheraton, and had a nice dinner there.

Don't do my suggested itinerary in reverse - starting with Chantilly. There would be several "problems" with that.

Get to Chartres on Saturday before noon to experience their wonderful Sat morning farmer's market (one of the "problems" above if you do the itinerary in reverse).

I have not received an e-mail from you yet. I've received 3 requests this morning for my Provence itinerary - but nothing for the Dordogne.

Stu Dudley

nola77382

@Stu Didley, I received the itinerary, thank you.

I'm still mulling over all the options for these precious 10 days. But I'm just so very happy to be planning a trip to France and particularly Paris. Cannot wait!

nola77382

Talked it over with the husband and we're going to do 2 nights in Lyon; pick up the car; spend 5 nights in Sarlat area; 3 nights in Loire Valley; return the car; and have 5 nights in Paris. We will probably not see Vaux le Vicomte but definitely still aiming for Chartres. It's still a bit of hopping around but I think it will work.

Went ahead and sent off to ParisBestLodge to reserve the apartment on Ile de la Cite. Will be looking for hotels in the other areas.

Thanks again, everyone! Nola

aliced

Nola,
Take a look at Auberge Du Bon Laboureur in Chenonceaux, it was delightful and convenient, you literally walk across the street to the chateau, nice to be able to leave the car parked onsite.

StuDudley

>>Auberge Du Bon Laboureur in Chenonceaux<<

I agree. We've stayed there twice. A Michelin 1 star restaurant also. Be the first in line when Chenonceaux opens in the morning - to avoid crowds.

Stu Dudley

nola77382

Thanks, aliced and Stu Dudley. The hotel looks great! Hopefully the price will be right.

About the Sarlat area, since we'll be there for 5 nights I thought to look for an apartment. Any recommendations?

Thanks so much.