aagaph

We (wife and I) arrive in Paris on Sat AM after an overnight flight, and fly out the following sunday from Nice. We originally thought we would spend a couple days in Paris and then head down through the country and fly out of Nice. But I think we miscalculated the amt of time that we have and what we really want to see. We want to stay in paris for a couple days, then normandy/britanny, mont st. michel, loire valley (chateaus), and maybe burgundy or down to provence. We were in Paris last yr (love it), but dont think we need more than sat,sun (maybe monday) there for this trip. Should we change flight to fly out of Paris? Any suggestions on itineraries would be great. Trip is in in April. Need help!

Underhill

Please! You can't possibly see all that with the time you have. Get the Michelin Green Guide to France and see what will work for you. I suspect it will be Paris for a day or so and Nice and the region around it for the balance of the time.

StuDudley

In April, I would head south to Provence & the Cote d'Azur. Both Paris & Normandy are farther north that any spot in the continental USA - so the weather might be real iffy. In fact, it was quite rainy & chilly when we were in Normandy & the Pas de Calais for 3 weeks in late June/early July '11.

I would take the 3 hr TGV to Avignon, rent a car, stay in St Remy for 4nights, and explore Provence. Then drive to Nice, dump the car, stay in Nice for 3 nights and fly home from there - like you originally planned.

You might even consider skipping Paris and take the 3 1/4 hr TGV from CDG airport directly to the Avignon TGV station.

Stu Dudley

StuDudley

Like Underhill stated - forget about Normandy/Brittany/Loire/Burgundy/Provence/Cote d'Azur for a 5 day driving vacation. If you never got out of the car & drove from 7am to 7 pm (dark to dark in April) - I don't think you could even "drive by" all those destinations. Definitely no time at all to visit them or even stop for lunch somewhere!!!

Stu Dudley

dwdvagamundo

That's a lot to do in a week and to see anything, you'll have to choose either the west (Normany/Brittany and Loire Chateaus, or east and south.

Given that you have given more thought to the Normandy, etc., part of this trip more, I'd do Normandy/Brittany and drive back along the Loire Valley, then fly out of Paris.

StCirq

It's not just a lot to see - it's impossible. Pick two places, preferably Paris and one other. OR add a few weeks to the trip.

mamcalice

If you don't already have your airline tickets, stick with your original plan. Spend a couple of days in Paris and head to Provence and the Cote d'Azur. Fly out of Nice. Or spend 3 days in Paris and 4 in the Loire Valley and fly out of Paris

or

My own preference for April would be a week in Paris with 2 or 3 day trips.

As noted above, there is no way possible to see all of the places you have listed. For a week, limit it to 2 destinations.

aagaph

This is all really helpful thank you.

So it sounds like the best approach would be one of 2

1. Either fly in and out of paris and go to loire valley for 3-4 days

2. FLy into paris, stay for a couple days, head down to provence and cote d-azur, and fly out of Nice.

StuDudley

>> loire valley for 3-4 days<<

We love chateaux, and we've stayed in the Loire Valley for around 4 weeks. We're returning for 2 weeks next year.

However, compared to other regions we've explored in France (about 3 years worth of exploring - all total) the Loire countryside is our least favorite. If you choose to go there, don't visit Versailles while in Paris and make sure you really love Chateaux.

Our two favorite regions in France are Provence & the Dordogne. Followed by Brittany and the Cote d'Azur.

Stu Dudley

Underhill

For the Loire Valley châteaux you would really need a car. If you go to Nice, the public transportation is just fine.

StCirq

I agree with Stu. I've been roaming all over France for 30+ ears, have owned a home there for 20+, and the Loire is a big meh for me (OK, if you have a yen to see Renaissance and fairytale castles, it's the place to go, but the scenery is really bla compared to so many regions in France - and yes, you need a car or will have to deal with many logistics). The Dordogne is insanely gorgeous, but you need a car there too.

I'd do Paris for about 4 days, then TGV to Provence, rent a car, and fly home out of Marseilles (or Nice if you can't arrange Marseilles).