Paris, Alsace, Burgundy and Provence in 2 weeks - thoughts?
 

Having been warned about the difficulties of travelling France by train from East to West and vice versa, I have roughly put together an itinerary that I believe should show me a great deal of France in the time that I have that works along the train routes.

What I wanted to ask is whether or not I should adjust the tentative time spent in each location (i.e. in favour of spending more time elsewhere) and whether perhaps there are other places I should visit in substitution of those places on my list at present.

I am currently thinking for June 2023 (this is really far in advance, I know - I am horribly scared of flying so the more I plan this trip the more excitement will build which will hopefully accumulate enough to get me onto that plane!):
- 4 days in Paris including a day trip to Mont St Michel via guided tour
- 3 days in Strasbourg with a day trip via guided tour to Colmar, Riquewihr and Eguisheim
- 2 days in Dijon with a day in Beaune
- 2 days in Lyon
- 3 days in Avignon with a day trip to Aix en Provence

Things to bear in mind:
1) I am a fast traveller - I don't dawdle when I travel and without actually rushing at monuments and attractions (by my standards), I see a lot in any given day
2) I will be relying on buses, trains and planes as I do not drive so everywhere on my list or other places that may be included in substitution for others must be easily accessible via public transport
3) I have been to Paris previously so can spend one less day there in lieu of somewhere else if recommended
4) I am a huge history nerd - the Middle Ages (and then some) is my jam

With that all taken into account, should I adjust my itinerary in any way re time spent in places or by considering alternate locations?

I don't like Avignon all that much.

Welcome to Fodors. Just a comment re how little time you will have most places -- for what you have laid out is more than 2 weeks. To get 4 days in a city requires 5 nights, 2 days = 3 nights, etc. So including the 2+ days for transatlantic travel what you have laid out would actually fill 21 days/nights. If you are talking an actual two week/14 day trip what you could really manage is more like:

Day 1 depart USA
Day 2 arrive Paris/3 nights/2.5 days
Day 5 travel to Strasbourg/2 nights/1.5 days
Day 7 travel to Dijon/2 nights/1.5 days
Day 9 travel to Lyon/2 night/1.5 days
Day 11 travel to Avignon/2 nights/1.5 days
Day 13 travel to Paris stay 1 night
Day 14 fly Home from CDG

Leaving you very little time for any day trips. You'll probably have to reduce the number of stops, or add several days to the trip.

I will be flying from Australia and I have excluded my travel to and from Europe from the timeline - the itinerary I prepared is for the two weeks I plan to spend in France before moving on to Spain.

East west isn't a real problem. Not going on a line that is generally in and out of Paris is a problem. Just my opinion, what do others think?

yeah I saw that going back through Paris was an option but didn’t want to travel back and forth especially on the limited time frame I have

If you are into history then I'd try to include somewhere like Auxerre/Chablis or one of the Bastides https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bastide there are a lot about but perhaps Cahors

Like janisj stated - that's a 21 night trip.

If you do a day-trip from Avignon to Aix - the transportation will consume more time than you would like, and when you get to Aix you'll see much of the same thing you saw in Avignon. Same (somewhat) between Dijon/Beaune and Strasbourg/Colmar. Skip all the day trips if you want to accomplish most of the stuff on your 14 day schedule.

Also beware that almost all non-food places in Strasbourg, Dijon, Avignon, and Aix will be closed on Sunday & Monday morning. Churches & Museums will be open - but the "picturesque" French shop windows will be "lights off" and shutters & steel bars may be covering the windows. We use Sundays & Mondays to visit the beautiful French countryside.

Getting to Riquewihr and Eguisheim will also consume more "peak time" than you will like. And once you get there - the villages are quite small.

Below is from my 35 page Provence & Cote d'Azur itinerary.Something to be aware of when visiting the cities, towns, & villages of Provence

In many towns & villages, shops are closed on Sunday & Monday. Some shops open on Monday afternoon. We never plan to visit a town (for shopping) on a Sunday or Monday unless we know in advance that the stores will be open. Most non-food stores in Aix, Nimes, and Avignon are closed all day Sunday, and Monday morning. While in Aix in late June ’17, I did a “survey” of 27 shops that had opening & closing days & times posted on their storefronts, and were not on the Cours Mirabeau (lots of chain stores there). Of these 27 shops, 7 were open all day Monday, 8 were closed all day Monday, and 11 were open Monday afternoon only. Only 1 shop was open on Sunday. In Avignon, of the 17 shops I surveyed, 7 were closed all day Monday, and 10 were open Monday afternoon only. None were open on Sunday. Shops in very “touristy” towns like St Paul, St Tropez, and Gordes are always open. We were recently in St Remy on a Sunday. My wife visited 11 shops that interested her (she likes housewares – no clothes or souvenirs). Two other shops looked interesting from the outside, but were closed on Sunday. Of these 11 shops, 5 were closed all day on Monday, 2 were only open Monday afternoon (around 2:30), and 4 were open all day Monday. The very touristy shops that are prevalent in almost every tourist destination village in Provence (Olivades, Souleiado, Terre de Provence), are usually open on Sunday & Monday.



http://about-france.com/holidays-sundays.htm



Most shops & sites close for lunch – usually from 12:30 to 2:00, or 3:00, or 3:30, or 4:00. If you really want to “shop” a town, do so in the morning as soon as the stores open (usually at 10:00). If you roll in at 2:30, the shops might be closed for another hour. I’ve had numerous people tell me how disappointed they were when they drove to a town to shop, only to find almost all the shops closed – something that doesn’t happen in the US.



When stores are closed on a Sunday/Monday or for lunch, they will often pull down ugly aluminum louvered shutters over their beautiful storefronts – so you can’t even window shop. In some towns, these louvered shutters might be covered with graffiti, and the town will look like a war zone. Also, as you drive through a town around lunch time, it might seem deserted, unfriendly, & very uninviting. They’re actually closed for lunch and all the pretty storefronts will seem like abandoned buildings. These closings make it much harder to pack as much into a day as you might expect. Stores stay open late (around 8:00 or so), but most vacationers usually stop their sightseeing by then and are settling into their hotels or getting ready for dinner.

Stu Dudley

Fine -- even omitting the long haul flight from Oz and long haul home (since you are traveling on to Spain) is still close to a 3 week trip. You have not accounted for travel / transit time so this is what you'd actually have:

Day 1 Arrive Paris 4 nights/3.5 days
Day 5 travel to Strasbourg/2 nights/1.5 days
Day 7 travel to Dijon/2 nights/1.5 days
Day 9 travel to Lyon/2 night/1.5 days
Day 11 travel to Avignon/3 nights/2.5 days
Day 14 travel to Spain

Still don't see enough time for the day trips.