luna2018

Hi,
My husband and I are planning our first trip to France this July. We like to drive and explore independently with private city guides where appropriate. Here is our first draft itinerary... Please let me know your thoughts, Is this a reasonable amount of time at each stop? too little or too much? Is each stop worth our time? Anything missing? What would you change. Also would love any input on the not to miss stuff along the route as well as in each location, Starting to look at hotels so any input on a favorite or something really special would be appreciated,. Thanks so much for your help.

Early morning Arrival into Paris - stay 4 full days and 4 Nights

Rent Car and leave early on 5th day and drive to Strasbourg - stay 2 nights

Drive to Colmar -stay 2 nights (Should we do both Strasbourg and Colmar or just stay in one of them for 3-4 nights?)

Drive to Annecy stay 3 nights - Want to do Chamonix during this time as well (should we stay in Chamonix or can we do it during the time in Annecy?

Drive to Aix en Provence - stay 2 nights

Drive along the coast to Nice - Stay 4 nights

Depart from Nice mid morning flight

StuDudley

First recommendation. Book hotels ASAP. We usually book a year in advance. Alsace is kinda short on hotel accommodations. Especially in July.

Second recommendation.
You will spend most of your vacation inside of a car, and traveling on not too scenic routes. It is a 6 1/2 hour drive from Paris to Alsace. So you loose almost an entire day driving (not very scenic either). It is 4 hrs from Alsace to Annecy, and 4 1/4 from Annecy to Aix. So you only have 3 days in Alsace, 2 1/2 days in Annecy/Alps, and 1 1/2 days in Aix/Provence (which is pathetic, IMO). If this was my vacation, I would cut out Alsace due to it's relationship to the other destinations. Take the train from Paris to Annecy, and rent a car there (station & car rental is very close to Old Annecy.

More - based on your itinerary..
Take the TGV to Strasbourg instead, and pick up a car there. We were in Alsace for 2 weeks this past Sept (2 weeks 10 or so yrs earlier too), and I would choose a wine village to stay in, instead of Strasbourg or Colmar. I would only choose 1 location in Alsace. Maybe Kayserberg or Obernai. Alsace is compact enough so that you can get anywhere from one central location.

The weather on Mt Blanc is quite unpredictable. We were there for a week in July about 6 years ago - and we could not see Mt Blanc about 50% of the time. Rain a few days. We've also stayed in Annecy for 3 weeks.

When will you hit Aix??? If it is a Sunday or Monday - all shops will be closed then ( a few open Monday afternoon). Afternoon (after lunch) starts around 2:30PM in France. Aix is my wife's favorite shopping town. We've spent 43 weeks vacationing in Provence & the Cote d'Azur. Going back for 4 more this June.

Four nights in Nice is OK.

Stu Dudley

touringtimothy

Alsace is a beautiful region but out of the way Paris->Nice. You could instead stop by Burgundy (Beaune is cool) or the Auvergne (ancient celtic lands of extinct volcanos). Its a tad off the beaten path but lovely if into hiking, sports (tourist train up Puy de Dome, paragliding heaven, etc). It's not far from Annecy. But if you'd love to visit Alsace region, personally I think Colmar is over rated but there over 50 beautiful villages like Riquewihr (and can even stop by Colmar) along the wine route. Strasbourg is also very pretty but way out of the way...