From Monterosso (note it ends in o) why not get the train and go through to France? Nice is a pretty seaside town. I am not sure why you want to fly to Lyons. It is an interesting town, I'll grant.

You could stay in Nice for a couple of days and drive around in Provence, and then either drive or take the train north to Paris. There are some lovely towns in Provence like Aix en Provence you could visit.

Milan and Lyon are very close to each other. I don't much see the point. I would recommend a train through the Alps into Switzerland and then another train into France.

(I meant I don't see the point of flying.)

Your daughters are adults,, and should be doing some research and helping you plan this trip! I took my 11 yr old to Europe, and on a seperate trip took my 13 yr old. Both kids were required to contribute to the trip by a) saving their own spending money, and b) ( most importantly) doing some research and presenting to me three choices of sites they wanted to see. Kids are on the computer all the time,, they would have no problem googling "site in" or "tourist sites in France" or whatever... I just think that when a nice parent like you offers to take two adult children on a trip , pay their way etc,, the least the kids could do is to contribute to the planning.. AND the most important factor is this,, when people take ownship of what kind of trip they have then they WHINE less.. if they are just led around by you ,, then anything they don't like, or anywhere that bores them,, is all YOUR fault! I think if they contribute a few ideas ,, ( sorry saying "beach" is not specific enough then they will enjoy the trip more and you will feel less pressure to please them( although they have got to be pretty pleased to get such a nice vacation!)

Are you into wine? Burgundy is a lovely region between Lyon and Paris...we'stayed in Beaune twice and my parents stayed in Dijon. There is more than enough to keep you busy for 4 days! Plus you can drop the car in Dijon and train into Paris...we found that less stressful.

As I suggested to another OP on Fodors - during your stay in Italy - why don't you stay in a seafront accommodation just north of Pisa, that is between Cinque Terre and coast of Tuscany. That way you would be on a Mediterranean beach, and still close to do day trips to Lucca, Pisa, Florence etc, and also close to Ligura, where the Cinque Terre are situated.

I would not choose Pompeii since it is in southern Italy, and personally we visited there a year and a half ago, and my two teenage sons were not impressed by it at all.

I went to Lyons years and years ago, with my mum when I was a teenager, and it hadn't impressed me at all. I would prefer to make a stop in Geneva on the way to Paris, you might lenghten you travel distance a little bit more, but the scenary is breathtaking in that area.

Why do you intend to train to Milan and fly to Lyon? Unnecessary hassle in my opinion. I would fly from Pisa to a town on the French Riviera, (check out Ryan Air and Easy jet low cost airlines, they do make flights in certain towns on the French Riviera coast) and pick up car at airport.

I am sure that your daughters would love the vacation - they are not little kids any more, so there is plenty of places that would interest them for sure in the places you mention you would like to visit. If they like the Mediterranean sea, so they will have plenty of it on the Tuscany or CT coast and on the French Riviera coast.

Wow thank you for the many ideas! I like them all and will likely make some changes to this.

Charnees and Kerouarc training into France and maybe through the Alps is a great idea and I will be looking into this.

Justine I love your reco to have kids get involved in the planning and for all the reasons you listed. I will let you know what the result is.

Jamikins we are definitely into wine and I have thought about that region for the three nights prior to Paris. Many many years ago I spent 6 weeks in Chalon sur Saone area living with three different families. Have you ever been to Givry? Beaune is another possibility.

Anna I am taken with your idea of a seaside location north of Pisa and will look at the map to see what the possibilities are. Why do you suggest that instead of Montarosso? Is it because once you get to the cinque Terre