>>Wed., June 26
Arrive 9:45 a.m.
Get a reservation at Hotel Relais Bosquet in the Rue Cler area
La Promenade Plantee and The Viaduc des Arts to walk off jet lag<<<

The promenade and the Viaduc are quite a ways away from the R Cler area. I think I would try to do something closer to your hotel - like the Eiffel Tower, walk along the Seine, Hop-on-off bus, or a Bateau Mouche(sp)

>>Evening - Vedettes du Pont Neuf river cruise>>
If you do a Bateau Mouvhe, thos might be a repeat


>>Thurs, June 27
Morning: Do Giverny early in the trip in case it rains later?
Afternoon - Rodin Museum
Evening - Musee d’Orsay (Thurs open until 9:45p.m.)<<

Why leave Paris???? I think the Giverny trip would consume most of a day. I would go to the Orsay as early in the am as you can (to avoid later crowds), then wander the "Hood" in the 7th & 6th, then visit the Rodin in the afternoon.

>>Fri., June 28
Overnight in Bayeux
Hotel d'Argouges or Hotel Churchill?
Tapestry Museum<<

You can do more stuff in this day. The Tapistry & museum is a 1 1/2 hr event. There are other museums in Bayeux.

>>Sat., June 29
D-Day tour. (Overland?)
Late train back to Paris<<

Fine

>>Sun. June 30
Morning: Luxembourg gardens
Afternoon: Morais, Richard Lenoir market, Place des Vosges
Evening: 5:30 - Evensong at Notre Dame,<<

Good plan for a Sunday. Spend time in the Isle St Louis too.

>>Mon. July 1
Morning: St. Chappelle, Ile St Louis, Latin Quarter, Shakespeare & Company Book Store
Afternoon: Tuileries Garden, Musee de l’Orangerie
Evening: Ballet at Opera Garnier<<

The Latin Quarter is my least favorite region in Paris. How about taking a "Paris Walks" tour?? Or wander the St Germain des Pres area.

>>Tues., July 2
Morning: Sacré-Coeur/Montmartre
Afternoon: Pere Lachaise Cemetary
Evening: Take an Art Nouveau self-guided walking tour around the Auteuil area in the 16th Arr<<

You've picked 3 sites that are very far apart from each other. How about Montmartre, Arch de Triomphe, and the 16th (one of our favorite areas),

>>Wed., July 3
Morning: Versailles
Afternoon: Passages
Evening: Louvre open until 9:45 p.m.<<

This might be a busy & tiring day.

>>Thurs., July 4
Train to Avignon
rent car and continue on to Luberon
Reserve 2 nights at: Les Mas Perreal - Luberon<<

Fine

>>Fri., July 5
Explore Luberon lavender fields
Hopefully find and eat at:
Le Castelas Ferme-Auberge
Sivergues-en-Lubéron<<

Fine

>>Sat., July 6
Explore the lavender fields around Sault
Reserve 2 nights at: La Ferme de la Huppe in Gordes<<

Why move??? Mas Perreal & Gordes are only 20 mins apart...

>>Sun., July 7
L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue<<

Get to the market very early & leave by 10:30 - or when the July crowds start to overwhelm you. You can do some more stuff in the afternoon. Perhaps visit Lourmarin on the 5th or 6th & save the lavender fields or Gordes & Roussillon for after the market today.

Stu Dudley

Just a general comment - if this is your first visit to Paris, you may want to spend some times near the beginning of the trip seeing those famous sites in the city, rather than leaving Paris for Giverny on your first full day there. The Promenade Plantee sounds great, and it's been on my to-do list for our last several trips to Paris, but I would choose other places for that first day. What about walking along the Seine, to Notre Dame and around Isle St. Louis? Or over to the Eiffel Tower?

And yes, it seems a little busy. My rule of thumb is to pick one or two must-sees a day, and anything else we do that day is just icing on the cake - that sort of "plan" means you need to know what's close to your must-sees of the day, of course.

I'm guessing, based on your putting two of Paris' best and most famous museums as evening visits, that you're not so much into art. If that's the case, then placing them at that point in the itinerary is ok. Check to make sure that the galleries that you want to see are open during those evening hours. And keep in mind that, if you run out of steam on those days, those are the activities that you'll cut out. Remind yourself, you can't do everything! And I wouldn't plan the Louvre for the same day as Versailles - that's two big activities in one day. Hint: pick up picnic foods of cheese, bread, some dessert pastry and a half-bottle of wine for a nice DIY lunch somewhere on the grounds of Versailles. That's what we did, and enjoyed the experience very much!

And by scheduling things like museums for the evenings, you'll be losing out on leisurely strolls and long evening stops at cafes. Which is ok, of course, if you're not so much into strolling and drinking at cafes.

One time we took an evening cruise on the Seine on our arrival day, and I spent time on the cruise trying to keep from falling asleep. On the other hand, it's a wonderful way to get your first sight of the Eiffel Tower, IMHO.

Can you stay at Les Mas Perreal for all 4 nights? I think it is central enough for all you want to explore in the Luberon. If you cannot stay all 4 nights there, and you go ahead with your plan to move to La Ferme de la Huppe, I suggest visiting Sault while staying at Les Mas Perreal.

Le Castelas Ferme-Auberge is a great place to eat, located in a beautiful setting. Make sure you make reservations. You shouldn't have a problem finding it. Once you arrive at Sivergues-en-Lubéron just follow the dirt road that leads out of the tiny village. The road ends at Le Castelas Ferme-Auberge. Try not to go on a rainy day- it's better to be able to sit outside.

Rental car drop off at the Marseille airport is fast and easy. No shuttles- just walk across the street to the terminal. If you forget to top the tank prior to arriving at the airport (I did this), there is a gas station at the airport, just past and next to the rental lots.

Too busy. Too random. Too much needless moving around.

You don't want to take a boat ride the night of your arrival. You don't want to pick places to walk around that are far from your accommodation.

Why head right out of town the day after your arrival? What if THAT day it's raining? I don't get the thinking here.

You can cover more ground on the 28th.

July 2nd plans make little sense - you're all over the place.

July 3rd will be exhausting.

I don't understand why you're moving in the Lubéron to someplace that's just down the road.

Rather than timetable holidays, I prefer to make a list of places or activities I'd like to do (with their opening times etc) and each evening I choose what to do the next day. Sometimes I know that I'll not see everything on my list and just do the things I really want to do early in the trip so I don't miss them.

Moving is on to the next hotel is really not much fun so if it's possible to not break your time in Paris into two, I'd stay once in Paris. You're going to chew up most of a day getting to the Luberon (even if the train is only 3 hours or so), so maybe travel from Bayeux instead? It's about 6-7 hours Bayeux to Avignon which sounds a long time but you can relax on the train.

Alternatively, if you can see everything you want to in Bayeux in one day, take a day trip from Paris. You can get 'home' as late as you like. You may even be able to take an organised day trip, although I've no experience of this.

Personally, unless I were busting to see Bayeux, I'd skip it and stick to Paris and Provence.

You'll have a great time no matter what you end up deciding.

I'm sorry, regardless of the good intentions of some people on this forum, whenever I look at a first shot of an itinerary, especially one with so few days, I can only think that they should talk to a professional before purchasing anything, including airfare. D-day would never have happened without proper planning. This is no different, just not as decisive.

This is a 12 night trip with 7 nights in Paris, 1 in Bayeux, and 2 in each of Gordes and Luberon. Hardly something that can be called unplanned or too, busy, I think.

Summarizing;

Wed., June 26 Paris.
Thurs, June 27 Paris
Fri., June 28 Paris - Bayeux
Sat., June 29 Bayeux - Paris
Sun. June 30 Paris
Mon. July 1 Paris
Tues., July 2 Paris
Wed., July 3 Paris
Thurs., July 4 Paris - Avignon - Luberon
Fri., July 5 Luberon
Sat., July 6 Gordes
Sun., July 7 Gordes
Mon., July 8 - Marseille Airport - fly home

You obviously intend to get to Bayeux and the Normandy beaches and realize that it can't be done easily in a day trip. If you are okay with packing up in Paris after 2 days and heading to Bayeux for 1 nights before coming back, that's fine. I would probably stay 2 days in Normandy to fell less rushed. You will still be coming back to 4 more nights in Paris.

I do agree with those who wonder why you are moving 20 kms for your last 2 nights. Is it a hotel you really want to stay at and can't get for all 4 nights? You will have a car so the effort to move doesn't seem to make sense unless there is a "dream" somewhere in one of those 2 hotels.

First off, let me apologize if this posts twice. I'm having trouble (!) with my computer.

Thank you so much for all your feedback. You all make excellent points. I'm going to re-evaluate my itinerary and come back with a revised one.

I agree going to Giverny the first day and then Bayeux the next day is not a good way to start the trip. I'm going to change Giverny to later in the trip.

My main reason for going to Normandy is to take the D-Day tour. I have read on these boards the suggestion to stay overnight rather than try and do it as a day trip. Maybe I could just take a later train from Paris to make more use of my time in Paris that day.

I had planned on doing the Louvre and D'Orsay in the evening because I thought it would be a way of squeezing more into the day. I do see your point though about possibly not having the energy for it at the end of a long day so I might rethink that.

As far as the cruise, I had read suggestions on these boards that that would be a good thing to do on the first day. Not true?

Walking around the first day closer to our hotel -- another good idea.

And of course I know Versailles, Passages, and the Lourve all in one day is crazy. That's when I gave up and posted on this board because I just couldn't figure out how to fit it all in.

As for staying in two different places in Provence, basically that was just because I couldn't decide which one to stay in -- they both sound wonderful.

We're flying out of Marseille so that's a done deal.

Picnic in Versailles.....nice.

Again, I can't thank you enough for taking the time to share your thoughts. Back to the drawing board......
Laurie

Hi Laurie,

I can appreciate the need to write everything down so you can get a feel for what you will and won't be able to fit in so it's good that you are trying.

I, too, would caution assuming you will want to hit a museum in the evening after a day of touring, particularly at Versailles for example.

I would recommend making sure you know what your top goals are and make sure you fit them in and leave the others for "stretch" goals to see how you are feeling.

What about heading to Bayeux straight away to not break up your Paris portion? You could stay an extra night to deal with the jet lag and still come out "ahead".

We've done 6 days in Paris and a week in Normandy (including Bayeux) on separate tips. Perhaps the photos/commentary can help further. Good luck.

http://ukfrey.blogspot.co.uk/2011/06/paris.html

http://ukfrey.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/normandy.html

Heading to Bayeux on arrival in France is not a bad idea at all. It's two hours by train which is easy. That gives you a single stay in Paris and every day not moving from hotel to hotel is at least half a day saved and less stressful.

Wonderful photographs! What a lovely family you have! I love the shot of you and your wife exhausted on the couch. Too funny. I did consider going to Bayeux on arrival, but I thought that trying to figure out trains and schedules in another language while we're completely jet-lagged and exhausted might be pushing it for us. My hope is that we can just store our luggage at our Paris hotel while we leave for the one night and then just check right back in to the same hotel on our return. I'll have to check with them to see if that's feasible though. I was also originally planning this leg of the trip for Sat - Sun to break up the Paris portion equally, but I was worried about the availability of return trains on a Sunday so I bumped it up to Fri - Sat. Plus it might be nice to spend Sunday in Paris.
Now I've just got to figure out what my priorities are. I realize that we may change it around once we get there, but I need some type of blueprint. I also know it's probably a mistake to schedule every minute which won't allow for relaxing or the unexpected.

If you want to go to the Dday beaches, rent a car at CDG, go to Giverney on the way. Maybe stay in Rouen the first night--or just drive on to Bayeux. If you take the train you have to leave from Paris.
Get the Michelin Green Guide to Normandy and do your own tour from it.
Stay in Bayeux, see the tapestry and the beaches. leave the car in Bayeux and train to Paris.
Your plans for Paris are indeed all over the map. I like the DK Eyewitness Guide to Paris because it visually groups sites/sights in areas that you can easily walk around and see.
You seem to want to leave Paris a lot --Versailles and Giverney--as you have it listed so far. Checking in and out of hotels is time consuming on all levels. Consolidate your trip to minimize that. It isn't any fun. LOL
The Michelin Green Guide to Paris is good for planning your museum going. Not all of the Louvre is open every day so if you are set on one part, have a backup in case that is closed. Personally the Louvre is good for a short visit, but the Orsay much more. And then there is the Rodin, Carnavalet, Cluny, Orangerie that deserve a look, among others.
I have spent some time in the 16th (my parents lived there) and it is possible there are other areas that could be more interesting. And I LOVE Art Nouveau. Look up the Metro entrances for Art Nouveau.
The Viaduct des Artes is really neat--the evening boat ride is good--it could be quite late for seeing the lights come on at that time of summer. Take a bottle of wine.
And again, I'll suggest you contact Michael Osman for at least one day of a guided tour.

Both Giverny and Versailles will take more than half a day when you include transportation. And your Versailles/passages/Louvre day will be a whole day of walking. Because the Tapestry Museum isn't that big, you could squeeze something in in Paris in the morning and take a noon-ish train to Bayeux.

And for us jet-lag lasts several days, at least 1 or 2. You might lighten the schedule or those first few days.

But altogether I think you have too much planned. I bet you don't get to half of it. Time to plan another trip!

Agree to stop at Giverny on the way to or from Bayeux. That's what we did and it was an easy stop. We were driving, so don't know how easy it would be on the train.

It wouldn't be easy at all on the train.

Another way to say what this trip is --12 days, including arrival and departure in 3 wide apart parts of France--Paris, Normandy and Provence.
Getting to Provence on the TGV is fast enough. I would stay in one of the termini of the TGV for the whole time.

Then in addition to the more distant "desires" are two day trips from Paris which are really DAY trips, not half day trips as envisioned.
It is just a LOT to do in the time alloted, and may turn out to be a drive by, instead of a really nice amount of time to spend seeing and delving into France as a beautiful country to enjoy.
I would choose Paris and Provence, since your departure is from Marseilles. If you want to do the DDay beaches, take the one day tour from Paris.
I would choose Giverney or Versailles for one other day trip. Sometimes you just can't fit everything in. I am no fan of Versailles, but that is for the OP to decide.
There is SO much to do in Paris and see and experience. Let the day trips "hang loose" and see if you really want to spend the day outside of Paris.

>>Let the day trips "hang loose" and see if you really want to spend the day outside of Paris.<,

I agree.

For our '08 three week stay in Paris, I had about 5-6 day trips planned. We didn't do any of them. On our next 2 trips to Paris, I planned 0 day trips. I'm helping a friend with a trip to Paris next year, and I advised her to do Giverny last - if she ran out of things to do in Paris.

Stu Dudley

We took our family to PaRIS (adult children and spouses/fiancee) for a week. Son and fiancee were absolutely going to go to Versailles. I tried to say it wouldn't be time---DS said hush, mom. Got to be 2/3 of the way to the end, and fiancee said--OH, we don't have time to do THAT!!

Giverney is on the way to Bayeux, an easy trip by rental car.

Thanks so much for all the wonderful advice. It probably does make sense to rent a car and drive to Bayeux. Would we be able to return the car in Bayeux and take the train to Paris? I'm a little nervous about driving in a foreign country, possibly completely jet-lagged. I'll have to think about that one. I'm a big gardener so I don't think I can go to France without going to Giverny. Versailles though? I always thought that was a "must see," but truthfully, I could probably live without seeing it. Since I've saved that for the last day of our trip, we could easily skip it if we wanted to
Thanks,
Laurie

Yes, of course you can return the car in Giverny and take the train back to Paris. But don't expect to be able to stop at Giverny on the way back from Paris on the train - it's more complicated than that, by far. It will take a separate trip out from Paris to visit Giverny.

There are plenty of places, though, that you could drop the car if you drove back toward Paris and visited Giverny while still with the rental car. Places that wouldn't involve driving in Paris, if that's a concern (though it really needn't be).

We're gardeners too - but we've visited a dozen of gardens in France that we thought were more interesting than Giverny. We prefer the Italian/French "structured" garden style, over the English style gardens (Giverny). We actually preferred the gardens in Versailles, Villandry, Jardins d'Eyrignac (Dordogne), Cormatin (Burgundy) just to name a few.

Stu Dudley

If we do decide to rent a car at CDG and drive to Giverny and then onto Bayeux, how would we make that as easy as possible? Can we rent a GPS with our car, and if so, can it be programmed to English? Any map recommendations? I want to make this as easy as possible for my husband (and me.) Also, if we go to the expense of renting a car, should we just do a self-guided D-Day tour, rather than joining a group tour?
Thanks,
Laurie

Just a few thoughts, renting a car and driving in a foreign country after a long flight can be taxing, particularly if you haven't slept on the plane. I have done it but I don't really like to do it and I have lots of experience driving in Europe.

GPS is an optional add on with lots of the car hire companies or you can buy a GPS with European maps before you leave the US, we bought a refurbished one from Amazon. However, while GPS helps it isn't foolproof.

As you said earlier you know you're trying to do too much on some of these days but you can't figure out how to fit it all in. I think you need to allow yourself not to see everything and not to be disappointed if you don't see everything. I've been to Paris many times and I've ever been to Giverney, I'm a keen gardener and I've thought about it several times but never had enough time, its something to look forward to for another trip.

I love museums but I find them quite demanding and I don't like to spend more than two hours but I would find a museum visit in the evening too tiring after a full day out.

I know you'll have a great trip because you have a decent amount of time and your working on the itinerary a long time in advance. You can prioritize some of the choices in Paris when you get there, it's just a matter of knowing you won't see everything and choosing to have a more leisurely time.

Thanks, welltraveled. I'm thinking the same thing. I don't think we'll rent a car until we get to Provence. If nothing else, trying to set up this itinerary has shown me that I'm going to have to figure out my priorities and just let some things go. I really appreciate all the supportive responses. There really is an art and balance in traveling.
Thanks,
Laurie

>>I'm going to have to figure out my priorities<<

I'll say it again - save the Giverny & D-Day stuff for last. Determine what you feel like doing, as your days dwindle down in Paris. DO NOT "head out" elsewhere on the 1st & 2nd full days in Paris - and spend so much time "getting there and back".

Versailles does not consume nearly as much travel time as Giverny & Bayeux.

Stu Dudley

I am going to heed your advice and save Giverny and Versailles until the end. D-Day, I have to make my mind up before I go so I can get my hotels lined up. Since I don't want to travel on a Sunday, if I go, I'm sort of locked into leaving Fri - Sat. That way I'm at least spending the first 2 nights in Paris. Otherwise I would have to do it Mon - Tues, leaving me only 1 last day in Paris (although I guess that would also be 2 nights.) Hmmmmm....maybe that would be better.
Laurie

Well I find itinerary posts can be very confusing and they make my eyes swim too.. especially loaded ones. You have included way too many things for me, but i won't advice on which to do, and which to skip since I think thats pretty personal tastes..

What I would do is simply write down on a peice of paper the main three things you absolutely wish to do, be it Giverny, visit Louvre, or walk the passages, and then make those three the priority in planning.

I would not leave Paris for first day or two.

and finally after a day at Versailles, if you do it right, and by that I mean seeing the lovely grounds, ( and do not miss the pretty gardens behind the Grand Trianon!) visit Marie Antionettes Hamlet etc, then there is no way you will want to do much after that, I generally allow Versailles as a full day and then after arriving back in Paris its dinner and early bed! Feet will be sore, you will have been in some major crowds( Palace in June will be PACKED, but grounds are never too crowded) and you are most unlikely to want to go to any musuem|( and if you do go you won't appricieate it ,, why ruin a good thing like Louvre by going exhausted )

I think you will find the drive down the Seine and the odd chateau on the cliffs above as a pleasant day on the way to Givernay. Givernay can get a bit busy. It tends to be pleasant in the later afternoon, where the coach customers have hurried away. I might avoid weekends.

Many GPS can be set to instruct in the main european language of your choice (mine does English, French, German and Italian), but I might drop a note to the car rental company to confirm.

Bilbo has it right--the drive from CDG to Giverney is very lovely and easy. We arrived as the OP is saying and had lunch in Vernon.
We planned only to go on to Rouen and the road along the Seine was beautiful.
just get a map of Normandy and look at it--even on Google until you are sure you are going to be driving. THEN get a Michelin Normandy map that shows all the little byways. GPS is fine, but I don't think it allows you to see the "big" picture--at least not mine.

Bayeux is only about a 3 hour drive from Giverney.
Again, I always try to consolidate our time wherever we are going to keep from checking in and out of hotels as you are proposing doing in Paris for these side trips.

The "expense" of renting a car also gives you a lot of leeway in what you do and when you do it. A self guided tour of the beaches is VERY easy--michelin Green Guide or any of the myriad guide/tour books sold all over Normandy. I'd plan it before I go, however.

I advised leaving Versailles to the end of your time in Paris, not necessarily Giverney and Normandy. I think you have to decide if these are going to be a part of your trip at all, personally. They require more time and planning than hopping on the train to VErsailles for the day.

I agree with Stu and the others who say let the day trips hang loose and do them only when and if you have had your fill of Paris. And I would make Normandy a day trip so you don't have to move hotels back and forth (or skip it completely for this trip). Most people feel that Paris (maybe with some day trips) and one other region are plenty for a 12 day trip.

I also strongly agree that you don't want to plan out every single day. Have your list of places you want to go and each night plan out the next day. I think you actually get to see more that way, while feeling less rushed.

Some of the things you list - La Promenade Plantee and The Viaduc des Arts, Pere Le Chase, the 16th - they are all wonderful - but no where near as wonderful as just wandering around the central areas: the Ile St Louis, Ile de la Cite, the 5th, 6th, the area around the Louvre, the Marais. Designate one or two neighborhoods per day and figure you'll spend at least half the day just BEING there - wandering the banks of the Seine, browsing through a market, walking through a garden, sitting at a cafe. Then you can also do whatever museum or 'site' is in that neighborhood. After two or three or four days of this you might be ready for a day trip to Giverny, or Versaille, or Normandy. But you might not, and you shouldn't have to if you'd rather just stay in Paris. Here's my photos.

http://www.pbase.com/annforcier/paris