Five days in the Loire Valley is at least two days too much. The castles are great, but it's one of the least scenic areas of France.

I would spend two days in Epernay, two in the Loire, two in Dijon, then move on to Provence.

Thanks so much for all the advice, greatly appreciated!

The plan now is as follows:

2 nights Epernay
5 nights Burgundy
5 nights Provence
8 nights Paris with day trip to Loire valley

Will it make sense to take the train to Epernay, and to rent a car there, do the trip to Burgundy and Provence, leave the car in say Avignon and return with train to Paris?

We would like to stay in a central picturesque village in Burgundy as well as in Provence and do day trips.

Where would you recommend?

Now, your itinerary looks perfect. And, yes, rent a car in Epernay (you avoid the hassle of driving out of Paris) and return it at the TGV station in Avignon. The TGV to Paris will be much faster than driving. You will probably spend the last night in an airport hotel.

In Bourgogne, you may start with hotel search. I do not know your price range, but for 3- to 4-star hotels, this website is a good source:

http://www.chateauxhotels.co.uk/

If you are willing to splurge, this will be good site:

www.relaischateaux.com

For cheaper accomodation, try this one:

www.logishotels.com

We often stayed in this decent 3-star castle, very charming, excellent food, lovely grounds, nice pool, close to Gevrey-Chambertin (but not in a village, rather in the countryside):

www.chateau-saulon.com

For Provence, you may use the same sources. Also think about renting a vacation home.

St. Remy is not a village but a small town and very charming. Les Baux would be a village, but few accomodations and $$$.

Having spent 2 weeks in Burgundy, 2 weeks in Beaujolais, & 16 weeks in Provence, I would subtract a day from Burgundy & add it to Provence.

Beaune is an excellent location for southern Burgundy, and Vezelay is fine for northern Burgundy. Of the two, I would pick Beaune & visit Auxerre, Ch Tanlay, and Vezelay on the way from Epernay to Beaune - perhaps skipping Vezelay if you run out of time.

Stu Dudley

Thanx Echnaton and StuDudley for excellent advice, really appreciate it