Please critique this France Itinerary
 

My mom, aunt and I are traveling June 12-June 26. (they're young, so no age worries!! :)
We have all been to Paris several times and Aunt has visited France multiple times as well. This will be my mom's and my first trip to the French countryside; we're very excited! My aunt just emailed me this itinerary. It seems pretty "busy" to me.. but that could be okay. Let me know what you think! I'm open to ANY and ALL suggestions!

W. 6/13- arrive CDG, train to Chartres. Pick up car. Overnight Tours.
*Tour Chartes
Th 6/14- Explore Villandry, Chambord, Chaumont, Cheverny, Beauregard, Chenonceaux. Overnight Tours.
F 6/15- More chatteaux, drive to Bourges to see windows, then on to Vezelay. Overnight Vezelay.
S 6/16- Tanlay, Ancy-le-Franc, Noyers-sur-Sereir, Semur-en-Auxios. Overnight Vezelay
Sun 6/17- more Burgundy exploration, Fontenay Abbey. Overnight Beaune.
M 6/18- Drive South, Tournus, Perouges, Vienne, and maybe Hauterives. Overnight Orange.
T 6/19- Pont du Gard, Nimes, on to Arles. Overnight Arles.
W 6/20- Arles, Les Baux, Les Antiques, on to Avignon. Overnight Avignon.
Th 6/21- Avignon, Abbaye de Senanque, Gordes. Overnight Gordes.
F 6/22- Village des Bories, Roussillon, Apt, Bonnieux. Overnight Aix
S 6/23- Aix
Sun 6/24- Train to Paris
M 6/25- Paris
T 6/26- Fly home

Y I K E S!!![-( Scratch that itinerary PRONTO! Ten overnights in 14 days (summer no less) is absolutely NUTS!

Too much driving, packing, unpacking, villages, etc...it is all going to be a blur in no time.

First off, pick 3 home bases MAX and day trip from there. France isn't going anywhere, so don't try to do it all. Bad idea.

Start again.

Okay, honestly... that was my first thought as well... way too much moving around! Aunt does the itinerary and I research lodging. (Mom's just along for the ride ;))
Any thoughts as to what we should scratch? Keep?

HI TX...'Busy' is right. The time in France will be spent packing and repacking. If this is a 'sample of everything' tour and you plan to return to those you like, then it does that. Otherwise, slow down, pick the best.
Linger, at least a little, to get the feel of the places you visit and to get to know the people who you meet.

Way too much. Aix, Avingion and Nimes etc are all within an hour or so of each other. Why not just stay in one place for 3 days.

Thanks Jay! That's the kind os suggestion I am looking for! This is the first time I've let someone else do the itinerary planning, so I need to pass along some suggestions. My aunt "knows" France much better than I. I'd like to narrow it down to 5-6 overnights.... you are all right, 10 is way to many in such a short amount of time.
Any other suggestions??

Hi TX,

I suggest that you go to www.mappy.com and plot these routes.

My rule of thumb is that you shouldn't be on the road more than 4 hr if you want to see anything.

((I))

TX, or GA;

Before you decide what you need to cut out, you should probably map out all of the desired sights and then see if you can comfortably position yourself somewhere to see them all by making day trips from a nearby base.

It may be that you can see them all and keep your bases down to 4-5 ( I haven't really looked at your geography - I'm not a France expert)

That kind of exercise will also help you explain to Auntie why you need to drop a location. It sounds like you will need to try and "prove" things to your Aunt.

OMG, this is impossible - not just busy, but literally impossible!

Just for starters, I think three châteaux in the Loire is more than enough for one day.

Days 6/14 and 6/18 are absolutely not feasible uner any circustances.

The rest are totally crazy but possibly achievable.

None of it sounds like fun.

I agree with StCirq, not more than three Chateaux in a day. I really feel sorry for you if you do try to do this.

TXgalin GA-- you are asking for our suggestions, tell me yours first.

TX, for what it's worth, we rented a villa about 10km south of Avignon two and half years ago and day-tripped to Aix, Les Baux, Gordes, Orange, La Sorge (sp?), Bonnieux, Sanblat, St. Remy, Arles, of course Avignon, and several other villages whose names I cannot recall. Everyone else is right - take time to enjoy the uniqueness of the towns and people without the blurr. Good luck and have a fantastique journey!

I'll say two chateaux per day. Unless you picnic, lunch will probably take a couple of hours, and you have to take into consideration the drive between chateaux. So one in the morning and one in the afternoon.

Thank you all SO much for your suggestions! You are alll so very right. This itinerary needs to be reworked with 5-6 overnights. Anyone care to suggest 5 towns we should stay in? What needs to be left off? I realize I need to crack open my guide books... but you all give such good advice! This is the region we want to visit, without a doubt. Any possible itineraries out there?

I believe we are still going to take the train to Chartres and begin there. Would it be a good place to spend our first night? Kind of like a launch pad for the Loire?
I also noticed Dijon was left off...

Like I said, we are very open to any suggestions. TIA!

I'm busily working on my summer France trip, too! I can see, right away, a way to "squeeze" at least two more days in the south if you fly open-jaw. Is there a super-price-break reason for the Paris round trip from the US? (You could still compare this to the price of three train tickets back from the South to factor in.) What if you flew back from Marseilles? As well, I wonder about eliminating some of the chateaux, unless those are a real interest for somebody in your trio. I liked the Rick Steves information about what each is like, reasonable times to get there and tour, etc. I wonder, too, about taking a couple days to not be in the car at all and just relax and wander. From my research, bike and even canoe rentals are easy options in many of your Provence destinations- since you are all active travelers, that could be a really fun "break" while also a chance to enjoy the gorgeous countryside from a different vantage point. Lucky you! I can't wait, either!

Very busy itinerary and one thought is to try other countries in the area. There really are some very nice locales and locals besides Paris. Anyway, I know you will like it.

Okay, after talking with my aunt, I realized that when she listed activities, those are mearly suggestions. Of course, we cannot fit them all in.
Is 12 days a decent amount of time to visit the chatteaux (maybe 3-4), a bit of Burgundy, and a bit of Provence? Like I said in a previous post, I'd like to limit our overnights to 5-6 MAX. I have no doubt that I'll be back in the region again with my husband.

Also, I'm looking for suggestions for when we should go when we leave CDG. We would like to end our trip in Paris. Chartres seems like a good first night stop. I don't think it would be possible to get to Tours. That would make for SUCH a busy day. So where would YOU go first?
Thanks!!

Oops sglass... I meant to respond to you. Thanks for your thoughts! Tickets have been purchased through FF miles. So CDG it is!

Hi TX,

I did a trip to the Loire valley, then looped back to Paris via Chartres and Giverny. I would think that Monet's gardens in June would be quite nice. Viamichelin shows it to be 100Km from CDG to Vernon (Giverny). Chartres is 119Km from Vernon.

Another interesting place might be Auvers sur Oise if Van Gogh is of interest to you. It is 37 Km from CDG.

Thanks for your thoughts! Monet's garden would be beautiful!! Would you mind sharing your itinerary? (Or just the cities you overnighted in?)

I would love to visit the Dordogne region, but that will be another trip with hubby.