Itenerary advice on 14-day trip to France (1st time!)
 

I'm having a hard time deciding an itinerary for 14-day trip to France for my family w/teens!
Will be arriving/departing from Paris - I'm trying to figure out how to make a loop -Am I trying to do too much in 14 days?
I'm Interested in Champagne Region (Reims, Epernay, Metz)
Then to Chamonix, Lyon, Nice
Also would like to see Carcassonne
Final 4 days in Paris
Would like to see a few castles, museums, hiking, biking and enjoy local wine/champagne!
Figure we can rent a car until we retrurn to Paris
I would love to see some beautiful sites and avoid crowds- Is this possible in June?
Thank you in advance for your help/advice!

Keep in mind, the size of France is nearly the size of Texas. You are proposing to land in Dallas (Paris), Drive to Houston (Champagne), then drive to El Paso (Carcassone), then return to Dallas. You're taking a pretty big swath, with a lot of travel time in between. If you sure you want to see these areas, try an open-jaw ticket into say Marseilles, then travel over to Carcassone, work your way north to Champagne/Paris and fly out of Paris.

I'd recommend dropping Carcassone completely this trip. Paris and the rest of your proposal would be somewhat rushed, but Carcassone is so far out - 550 miles from Metz to Carcassone - that it kills one day on the trip alone.

You can do a day trip by train to the Champagne area. We went to Rheims, visited cathedral and then did a champagne cellar tour (Taitinger).

One of my most favorite road trips was a few years back when I rented a car in Paris and toured the Loire Valley for ~10 days. I stopped by Fontainebleau on the way there, and Chartres (cathedral) and Giverny (Monet's house) on the way back. It is not that far from Paris

I went from East to West along the Loire, every day was castles, small towns, a dungeon, a cave tour, a medieval fair, a vineyard, a garden maze, evening light shows, Swimming in the Loire, more castles, field of sunflowers, a couple of museums, and lots of local food. I used the Michelin Green Guide as my main plan, and supplemented with a few other books. Wherever I ended up is where I slept.

So I could see splitting time between Paris and the Loire. While in Paris, do a trip to Rheims and Versailles. Rent a car (either Paris or after train ride to Loire). Return car to CDG.

Thank you very much for your helpful suggestions.
Yes, I will take your advice and skip Carcassone.
I really like the idea of touring Loire Valley east/west.

For a castle in the making, visit Guédelon on your way from the Champagne to the Loire valley:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7622755059630/