Sorry, I meant to fly into Nice or Marseille and then fly out of Paris, or vice versa.

I did not mean to do RT to one of those cities. The idea is to head one direction only and not have to back track to arrival city simply to fly home.

We spent 3 days in Marseille and while it was nice, I don't think you want to base yourself there.

If you are interested, click on my name, and find some of the trip reports I did for our trips to France, which include Paris and the south.

As others have said, use trains between major cities and public transit while in the cities. You might want to do a day or two trip where having a rental car might be nice. You did figure gas at the French price per litre, didn't you? IT is obscenely expensive and even with manual transmission and diesel, it is a big budget item.

NO! Stay in Paris.

"I have heard it is fine to stay outside of Paris a little and take the train in for sight seeing and general stuff???"

Where on earth did you hear that? Ignore anything else that source says!

Like others have said, if your wife hasn't been to Paris, I would spend at least five days there. Also, Nice and Normandy are not very close. I agree with StCirq, if it was me and I was set on the Côte d'Azur and Normandy, I would fly into Nice and then take the train to Paris, spend a few days in Paris, then drive to Normandy before dropping off the car at CDG. If you go more places than that, you will just exhaust yourself and it won't be relaxing at all.

I went to Normandy last year and intended to visit the D-Day beaches, but didn't make it because we got sick of driving and wanted to slow down and relax. We stayed in Rouen, which is a cool place to visit, but not a place I would recommend staying. We loved the Pays d'Auge, in hindsight we wish we had stayed there the whole time. To see the D-Day beaches, I believe the best place to stay is Bayeaux.

Righto! I can just see the amazing grin on your wife's face when you tell her "Happy Birthday, Honey! Guess what? We're going to....Neuilly!!!!"

She "wants to dip her toes in the sand" Perhaps Antibes or St-Tropez for a sandy beach instead of Nice and it's pebbles.
However, I love Nice..

To swim/dip toes = Villefranche sur Mer

I know cruise ships come in the anchor, but perhaps on a day when there are no ships in port?

http://www.rivieraexperience.com/abo...lefranche.html

As far as the Cote D'Azur, I wouldn't choose Villefranche Sur Mer; stay in Nice. The restaurants weren't as good in Villefranche as in other French cities we have visited, possibly because they are catering to a cruise ship crowd. Also, there is a lot more to see and do in Nice.

Food for thought: In the Cote D'Azur, which is heavily populated and visited, the beaches are different from those your wife has visited. As noted above, they are more "pebbly" and tend to be smaller but quite crowded. My husband is a huge beach person, but in France he prefers a place in the Luberon with a pool and a view of countryside and finds that more relaxing.

I echo the sentiments of others who suggest that Paris, Normandy (Bayeux), and Provence are more than enough for the trip. I would divide the 12 nights with 4 or 5 in Paris, 5 or 6 in Provence(Luberon) and 2 in Bayeux.

No, stay in Paris!

I meant to do a day trip to Villefranche from Nice. It is a short train ride and a lovely spot for a dip in the sea and a nice lunch.

We have spent a good deal of time in The Luberon, and love it there. The OP seems to want to be by the shore.

Fly into Nice.
Do the region by train.
Train to Avignon
Rent a car at the TGV station there.
Do Provence
Drive to Loire region.
Do Loire
Return car
Train to Paris.
Fly home from CDG

We stayed in Bayeux for the D-Day beaches. Took the train from Paris to Caen where you can rent and return a car easier than Bayeux. Book now. You can save some money by looking at apartments/studios in Paris for five nights. We had a sweet one in the 2nd for under a 100 euros a night.

No - staying outside Paris is a terrible idea. You should stay in the center so you can walk or Metro to see a lot of sights.

As for beaches - be aware that you need to select carefully. Many beaches in europe are pebbles or stones - not sand - so if you want a great beach experience either pick the town carefully - or stay in one of the top resorts that creates their own beach.

I suggest Deauville, in Normandy, for the beach requirement. The weather in june is a lottery though.

Nice indeed has a pebble beach. From Antibes and further to the west the beaches are sandy.
The one at Plage de la Garoupe is very nice - and in June not too busy. It's in Cap d'Antibes, in a bay with views towards Nice and the mountains. There's a walk around the Cap that you can do (easy walk with some narrow steps, beautiful views). That takes about 45 minutes. Then lunch at Plage Keller, at Plage de la Garoupe.

Cannes is also good if you want a day on the beach; book chairs at one of the beaches (Vega Luna is good), and book lunch as well there. Then some shopping on the Croisette and sightseeing in the old town, with dinner later.

I know the general viewpoint is no car on the Cote d'Azur, but we always drive. Visiting smaller villages is much easier with a car. Just make sure you can park your car at your hotel.

Then return the car before taking the train to Paris.

Just an idea:

2-3 days in Paris :
You can visit the must visit sites such as Versailles, le Louvre, the tour Eiffel, Notre Dame and the bateaux-Mouches. Besides, some quite moment by walk along the river seine. If you 2 likes walking, there is a walking-tour in Paris.

3-4 days West of France
- Tours/ Chateaux de la Loire
- Normandy
- Le Mont Saint Michel
- Deauville - a luxury seaside, famous of it's seafood. the beach is very nice where you can swim

Deauville back to Paris for 1 day.

2 days South West/ centre
- Dijon
- Reims

1 days
Lyon


3-4 days Cote d'Azur
- Nime
- Marceil
- Canne
- Monaco
- Nice

WOW! So many great ideas. I am making a list in Evernote for ideas and planning. I am going to try and plan ahead as much as possible. Thank you all so much for being kind enough to offer your thoughts and travel tips.

All hotels are booked in Bayeux for next June. You might have to stay elsewhere. Your wife would love Le Mont Saint Michel.

Sorry, but wingfavolte's suggestions are daft. Nîmes isn't anywhere near the Côte d Azur; Dijon and Reims aren't in the Southwest; you can't possibly do the Loire Valley, Normandy, le MSM, and Deauville in 3-4 days (and Deauville's nice, but hardly a venue for a first-time France visitor); Monaco is barely worth a look-see; and 2-3 days in Paris, as we've all said, really isn't enough, particularly with a trip to Versailles, which can eat up an entire day, thrown in.