Paragkash

We are a family of 4 from Mumbai, India; which includes 2 daughters 18 and 20 and we 2 architects around 50 years old; planning to explore France in 4 weeks by road in June, starting from Paris in an anti-clockwise loop. We have been to Paris, twice earlier. We are comfortable with 25 days road trips and have done it earlier in Scotland, USA and Canada.

I had posted a question earlier on Fodors which was more of a wish list.
We love Architecture, culture, nature.. would like to see some small villages, picturesque routes, architectural marvels.
Have been studying France for last 2 months. Have seen many you tube clips and have also seen Rick Steves Itinerary..
Preliminary Itinerary is as follows;
Land at CDG Paris- rent a car and drive out of Paris..
1. St. Michel 2
2. Loire valley- Amboise 3 or 4( Chamboard, Chenonceux, Cheverny, Saumur, Tours)
3. Sarlat (or some other place in Dordogne) – 3 D Pretty villages-Roque Gageac, Rocamadour
4. Aix-en Provance- 5 ( I loved this part in the clips and photos- Gordes, Le Baux, Rousillion, Senaque, Avignon, Pont Du Guard))- Marseille, Cassis
5. Nice- 4 D - Grasse, Eze, Monte carlo
6. Annecy – 5 (Including Chamonix-Mont blanc)
7. Paris 4( See Paris by Public transport- i may split this as 1 at the beginning of the trip)
Fly back...
I can still add 3 to 4 days to this itinerary..
Places I wanted to see but left out...
a. Bordeaux
b. Carcassonne
c.. Toulouse + ( Bilbao, Spain- as this was really tough to cover in our Spain tour)
d. Beaune, Colmar, Strasbourg, Dijon, Reims
e. Have also given up my dream to see lavender bloom in July as it would be too hot
Drive between Nice and Annecy is a bit Long... Should I break it..
Please advice on the itinerary, places, hotels/ B & B, with character and help me fine tune the plan to get the best out of it....

PalenQ

From CDG the first day after a long flight driving the Mont-Saint-Michel is a long haul - you may consider stopping for the night somewhere in between - Les Andyles and its famous ruined monastery or Les Jumieges, similar are perfect spots or if interested in Monet's House and Garden - Giverny.

Normandy - the classic Normandy of the D-Day WW 2 beaches around Bayeux is easy to include in your route - only a few hours drive from there to Mont-Saint-Michel - but perhaps non-Americans or non-Europeans are not so keen on seeing these popular sites.

Between Nice and Annecy you could stop at the heart of tourist Provence - the Avignon area with so so much to see and do in a compact area - the Pont du Gard - old Roman aqueduct, Les-Beaux-des-Provvence and Avignon and Arles, both really nice old cities - or base in a smaller nearby town like St-Remy-de-Provence, another perpetual favorite for folks seeking a small city to stay in rather than Arles or Avignon.

Note that Aix-en-Provence is a longish drive from the Avignon area so not a viable base - rather spend time in both IMO.

Overall your itinerary looks smashingly good! Yes perhaps a day or two more in Paris and do a day trip to Versailles perhaps. (Easily done by RER train - turn your car in when you get to Paris.)

zorrosf

1. Mont St. Michel is stunning from afar. Up close, it is vastly overcommercialized and not at all charming. 2 days there is a waste of 1.5 days. Dinan and/or St. Malo are worth visiting for a short time and sort of close.

2. Sarlat is a charming small city, with loads of day trips to charming villages. Forget the "some other place" and stay in/near Sarlat.

3. As stated, Aix is quite a distance from the famous villages of the Luberon, and even farther from Avignon and Ponte de Gard (and Arles). It is also EXTREMELY hard to find parking. We prefer St. Remy.

4. 5 days in Annecy may be too many. Yvoire was spectacular (you will pass Shits and Misery on the way!) and Annecy itself is very nice. I would cut this portion to 3 days and add 2 to Paris or go to Colmar and the Wine Road villages (Riquewehr, etc.).

Michael

Cut out two days from Annecy and if you feel adventurous, take the road closest to the Italian border to get from Nice to Annecy, or go to Chamonix and then to Annecy. You might have to stop overnight in Briançon and Chamonix. This road will guarantee you an Alpine experience.

nytraveler

A couple of notes.

I would not leave out Strasbourg/Alsace - it's unique in France in having a strong German influence and the whole area is charming with wonderful architecture and fascinating museums of life hundreds of year ago.

In the Loire - while Amboise is an adorable town and has several great sights - I would take the unique opportunity to stay in a private chateau. We stayed in a moated 15th century chateau near Chinon, having dinner en famille one evening with not only the owners but also guests from 5 other countries - with all the food and wine coming from the owner's estates. And two of the antique-filled reception rooms were set aside as a lounge and game room for the guests. The cost was extremely moderate and they had I believe 6 or 7 rooms in the chateau itself (where we stayed) and perhaps another 5 or 6 in the annex (previous stables).

kja

A few specific comments -

Are you sure you will be sufficiently well rested after your flight to pick up your rental car as soon as you arrive?

As zorrosf said, 2 nights in Mont St. Michel might not be the best use of your time.

You might find some useful information in the thread I used to plan my last visit to France, a 3.5 week trip through western France. I received a wealth of very helpful information:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-itinerary.cfm

Paragkash

Thanks everyone for prompt and invaluable replies...
My earlier post was just a wish list of places I would love to see. I got a lot of beating here for that. Had to put in 2 more months for the itinerary. But I know this isn't perfect unless it is shaped up by wisdom of fodorites.
PlaenQ-you have given me very good advice in the past and will follow it this time too. Your Thumbs up means a lot and gives me a lot of good energy and good vibes.
I will take a break to see Monet's garden. I am a World War II history buff and would try and visit the "Guns of Navaronne" like cliffs and bunkers. Rick has suggested Arles as a base but the photos didn't click with me. May be I shall re-consider.

Paragkash

Zorosf, I agree with your statement on Mont st Michel. But I have been visiting fairly-tale castles in Germany, Spain, Portugal, Czech Rep. And the quest would be incomplete without a visit to Mont St. Michel.
I shall take your judgement on Sarlat and St. Remy.
I wish I could also see the Lavender bloom in Luberon area.
Thanks for great suggestions.

Paragkash

Michael, I agree that 5 days are a lot and do have Chamonix on my list, as I skipped it last time when I was staying near Aigle, Swiss Alps. Would love the Alpine experience suggested by you. The road to Chamonix goes via Turin, and has some interesting places on the way. It's an Automobile hub. Will study it further.
If I go to Mont Blanc, I think I may need min. 4 days for this part. Shall check out Briancon.

Michael

<i>The road to Chamonix goes via Turin, and has some interesting places on the way.</i>

There is a road that stays in France (I took it from Chamonix to Nice), and goes over 5 mountain passes. However, some sections might still be closed in June.

Paragkash

Nytraveler, I would love to experience Alsace and Burgundy and Champagne. I fear that we would be fagged out by the time we reach there. But I do have a couple of days before we reach Paris. Shall see where I can judiciously add those days.
Bilbao, Spain is high on my list as it has great architecture and I don't have another Spain visit in the offing.(My daughter too is studying architecture) Though it would be stretching ourselves too much.
I do plan to visit Germany- Austria for the 4th time to visit places that we missed and some we loved; may cover Strasbourg with the Rhine Valley later.

Paragkash

Kja, Am also thinking of staying near CDG and kick off the journey the next morning by 5 or 6 am to beat the Paris traffic. Am not very comfortable driving straight off in peak traffic. Have driven left hand drive cars in the USA, Canada and Turkey but may need a couple of hours to get used to it again.
2 days in Mont Michel area was on optional list, but included it as it is in one corner and cannot be combined with any other future trip. I may think of doing the loop in a clockwise direction and think whether we have the energy and zeal to spend 2 days in Mont Michel after seeing loads of places in a month.
I have saved your trip report for detailed study. Thanks a lot.

The more I study France, the more I fall in love with it and want see more. I wonder how I did not do this earlier in my life. It would be my dream to spend extended time in Provence area, like our respected fellow traveler Stu Dudley does. his notes have been a great help in planning and have no words to thank him.

kja

"Am not very comfortable driving straight off in peak traffic. Have driven left hand drive cars in the USA, Canada and Turkey but may need a couple of hours to get used to it again."

All good reasons to think you should spend AT LEAST a night OR TWO in Paris before trying to drive.

"think whether we have the energy and zeal to spend 2 days in Mont Michel"

I loved my overnight, not quite full-day visit to Mont St. Michel. I honestly can't imagine spending 2 days there. YMMV.

"The more I study France, the more I fall in love with it and want see more." Understandable! So face the fact that you can't see it all in one trip, even a trip that lasts 30 days, and consider skipping some parts so that you can see more of the parts you do see.

You'll have a great trip no matter what you decide!

dugi_otok

Here is my 2 cents:
Paris to Paris (29 nights) Total point to point drive is about 3,034 km-33 hours
From Google maps:
A. Paris-3 nights
358 km-3 hours 43 min
(If you do not want to drive in Paris you could take train to Caen, rent a car there.)

B. Le Mont Saint Michel-1 night
310 km-3 hours 27 min

C. Amboise(Loire )-3 nights www.le-vieux-manoir.com
361 km-4 hours 18 min

D. Sarlat-la-Caneda(Dordogne)-4 nights www.villaconsuls.fr
281 km-3 hours 3 min

E. Carcassonne-1 night http://www.chateau-palaja.fr/
226 km-2 hours 20 min

F. Uzes(Provence West)-3 nights
309 km-3 hours 17 min

G. Nice(The d'Azur )-4 nights
244 km-2 hours 51 min via Aix en Provence

H. Saint- Saturnin-les-Apt (Provence East-Luberon)-3 nights http://www.masperreal.com/indexfr.html
382 km-3 hours 56 min

I. Annecy (French Alps)-3 nights
254 km-2 hours 33 min

J. Beaune(Burgundy)-3 nights
http://www.la-saura.com/en/index.asp
311 km-3 hours 5 min
If you do not want to drive in Paris you could return car in Dijon and take train to Paris or stay at CDG)

K. Paris-1 night

dugi_otok

Oops
Uzes B&B recommendation http://www.maslaurent.com/en/

Paragkash

Kja, i liked you idea. I may have to pay a drop off charge if I pick up the car at Caen. But that's doable. Option 2 is that I split my stay in Paris and stay 1st 2 nights and leave really early on the 3rd day. Am yet thinking whether to do this route in a clockwise direction. My funda is that I want to see my must see places 1st..which are Loire Valley and Provence. But most people have done it the way Rick also has suggested. Thanks for the inputs.
I generally spend min. one sunrise and one sunset at the places I want to see. It gives me more tranquil feeling and I catch the golden Hours of photography. To get that 2 nights at Mont Michel should be ok. So I shall get min 2 sunrises and 1 sunset there.
I generally start the day by 6 am and sometimes 5 am if I have a very long drive in the day.

Paragkash

OMG.. dugi_otok, your 2 cents are priceless. Very methodically charted out detailed itinerary including hotel suggestions, almost matching mine. that's almost half the job done for me
Your 1st hand report shows loads of study and that you have put in. It covers much more than what I have planned. Need to study more to comment and follow. Thanks a lot.

I appreciate everyone's efforts and wisdom..Looking forward to some more suggestions...

Gretchen

There is NO reason to go into Paris upon arrival at CDG, but there is GOOD reason not to try to drive to MSM. Head north to Rouen for the night--an easily done drive. You might even stop at Giverney en route. And a worthy city to look upon. Or as suggested elsewhere, Les Andeyleys.
I would wonder also if you wouldn't like to drive leisurely to MSM along the coast--Honfleur to Bayeux to MSM, perhaps at least passing by some of the D-Day beaches--and having a look at the Channel.
Look at MSM from the coast and head on to the Loire.
I would shorten the time around Nice and particularly Monte Carlo.
Resist those who would have you add yet another COUNTRY to a nice itinerary in France.
I would tighten up a few things

jpie

If you are doing a driving trip of that length you should consider an auto lease program. We use this one every year when we come for 6 months from the US. Anything over 3 weeks and it starts to make financial sense. You can pickup in one city and drop in another which will give you more time without back tracking.

http://autofrance.net/

We also like that we can choose exactly the vehicle we want and it is brand new-this year it had all of 2 KM on it when we picked it up. Also the prices cover full insurance.

Also, you might consider flying or out one of the other cities in France to London for a connecting flight-we now almost also fly in or out Bordeaux since it is so much easier than Paris. Not sure of your options, but it might be worth considering.

Paragkash

Gretchen, I liked your plan. Also checked the google map. the road to Giverny doesn't go through Paris city but goes via N104 and N184 to A15 which looks like a city by-pass on the north of Paris. The distance is only 95 km and take about 1.30 hrs. which is cool after a 9 hours flight. Vernon next to Giverny is also a pretty place.
Rouen is 167 km and about 2.30 hrs drive. This suits me as a night stopover, between St Mont Michel which is 389 km.
Will avoid the temptation to visit Honfleur.