Provence, Strasbourg, Paris early September
 

My husband and I are traveling to France for the first time and have 15.5 days on the ground arriving at 2:30 pm in Nice on Wednesday, Aug. 30 and depart from CDG in Paris on a Thursday morning. I'm not sure where to stay for the first few nights. We want to visit Nice, Monaco, hike the coastal footpath in Cap D'Antibes, go to a beach near St. Tropez for half a day, stop in Aix-En-Provence, spend a few days in Lyon and the Rhone Valley before going to Strasbourg, Versailles and Paris. For the first part of the trip, along the coast, should we stay in Nice to visit Nice 1 day, Monaco half a day and Antibes? We would need a car at some point but will most likely use the train from Lyon to Strasbourg. I'd appreciate suggestions on what towns to stay in and how to travel and when to move/change sleeping locations.
Many thanks

<<. We want to visit Nice, Monaco, hike the coastal footpath in Cap D'Antibes, go to a beach near St. Tropez for half a day, stop in Aix-En-Provence, spend a few days in Lyon and the Rhone Valley before going to Strasbourg, Versailles and Paris. >>

That's quite a bit to handle in two weeks. Very rushed by my standards. I'm not sure why you're asking for what towns to stay in, as you've already named more than I could fit in in 2 weeks.

You don't need a car on the Côte d'Azur and you certainly don't need one in Paris or Lyon. So where would the car fit in?

No car needed in Nice area for sure -trains trundle up and down the coast constantly -buses go to the famous hill towns.

Sounds like you will not be in any place long enough to appreciate a car- and inter-city trains are great -TGVs blow along at up to about 190 mph-book your TGV trains very early for nifty discounts at www.voyages-sncf.com-for lots on trains check www.seat61.com (awesome info on discounted tickets); www.budgeteuropetravel.com and www.ricksteves.com.

Avignon would make a sweet few-day stop to use a car to visit many neat sites in a small readius - like Pont du Gard, Les Baux, Arles, etc.

You have 2 weeks. Your "wishes" will consume 4 weeks if you want to experience much more than a "drive by".

- Land in Nice. Stay there for 4 nights. Explore nice for `1 1/2 days, Visit Antibes by train, Menton by bus along with Villa Ephrussi de Rothchild.

-St Tropez is not a "day trip" from elsewhere - especially not in early Sept. One stays in St Tropez for 2-3 nights & you do day trips elsewhere from there (there are many). You don't have time for St Tropez - so skip it.

- Pick up a car & spend 4 nights in Provence. Perhaps St Remy or the Luberon.

- Return the car at the Avignon TGV station & take the TGV to Paris. No time for Lyon. Spend your remaining time in Paris.

Quality, not quantity.

Stu Dudley

- Pick up a car & spend 4 nights in Provence. Perhaps St Remy or the Luberon.>

With limited time take the train Nice to Avignon TGV - rent car and if you really want to go to Lyon drive up the Rhone Valley and return car there or spend time in Avignon area and return car at Avignon TGV station.

Thank you for your replies. StCirq, We would need a car for the scenic drive between Cannes and St. Raphael and to get to St. Tropez, I'd think. Then, to be able to stop whenever we want in route to Aix-En-Provence and Lyon. PalenQ, Avignon and the Pont du Gard was also on my list and thanks for the train information. StuDudley, first, thank you for emailing your Provence info earlier. And, alas, our travel style is a rushed "drive by". We tend to change hotels frequently, hit the top rated sites, take tons of photos (to help us remember what we visited) and move on towards the next "must see" location. My husband thinks St. Tropez beaches are a must see and wants to dip his toes in the sand and ocean there briefly.(Monaco is another of his must see spots). We hope to return and explore areas we like more properly when we retire. I think Lyon, Strasbourg and Paris will get most of our time on this trip. The coastal areas in the first part of our trip will be hurried. So, should we try to get a car in Antibes or perhaps Cannes and return it in Lyon? I am unsure of trying to "move" as we go along our route or try to pick a few places to stay and day trip back and forth.

. I think Lyon, Strasbourg and Paris will get most of our time on this trip.>

Well skip Nice and area - no time - could go to Lyon -rent car and drive thru Burgundy to Alsace and Strasbourg.

Drive the Burgundy Wine Road from Macon via Beaune to Dijon and then onto Strasbourg -return car there.

Can also drive the Alsace Wine Road - Colmar is a smaller town gem- close to Strasbourg.

Sorry, can't help. Your travel style is too different from mine to be of any help. It's your first trip to France and you just want to dip your toes in a couple of the most touristed areas. Duly noted but why even bother asking for help from people who live here? Photos are great. We all have them,even those of us who live here. But being in the moment and living the experience is so much better than a photo. You might want to consider slowing down.

Ditto St Cirq. Your pace was the same as ours was 40 years ago - before we gained experience & learned to slow down & "smell the roses".

Stu Dudley

Less can indeed be more -more or less - that said first-time traveler wants to see as much as possible - that said Lyon, Strasbourg and Paris are fine for 15.5 days but no time for much else - your trip is all over the map, especially if doing Nice too.

Just start in Lyon - maybe drive to Strasbourg and Alscae and return car and blast into Paris by bullet TGV train.

I think you are trying to do too much and are better off cutting out southern France and concentrate on Lyon, Strasbourg and Paris for your two weeks. As an alternate cut out Lyon and Strasbourg and do the Cote and parts of Provence and Paris.

Yes I think Riviera and Provence would be better than big cities like Lyon and Strasbourg.

We have visited numerous European countries, all around France, at our furious pace and it seems to work for us. I have also gotten tons of helpful information on this site to plan those trips. I appreciate the help, suggestions and answers to my questions from locals and other travelers that post here. I have, however decided to slow down just a bit by dropping Strasbourg to spend more time in the areas we visit before going to Paris.

Can anyone compare the coastal path hikes at St. Jean Cap Ferrat vs the one in Cap D'Antibes? I am planning to take the 2hr hike in Antibes. Are the hikes and views similar enough to skip SJCF?

I haven't done that and don't think your plan is impossible except for Strasbourg. Which you said you planned to drop, and that is what I was going to suggest, so we think alike. It just doesn't fit into this trip logistically, and while I enjoyed Strasbourg, I think the Cote d'Azur is more special and memorable, and you have several things you wish to do there, also. Strasbourg doesn't work with flying out of Paris, either. You can also fit Strasbourg easily into another trip with Paris/Belgium/Amsterdam or London, etc., northern places.

So for 15 days, I'd probably do something like 8-9 days Cote d'Azur, 2 days Lyon, and 4-5 days Paris, as fits your desires.

So for 15 days, I'd probably do something like 8-9 days Cote d'Azur, 2 days Lyon, and 4-5 days Paris, as fits your desires.>

I'd tweek that by doing 4-5 days in Nice area and 4-5 days in Avignon area - maybe renting a car there. Could drive to Lyon via Chateauneuf-le-Pape wine area.

It's an interesting way to travel and if it works for you, that's great.

I wonder if there is a board where people like to do this? Or perhaps you could post here for people who like "Fast Travel" and get some ideas. It would be interesting.

IMO, so many towns in any continent or country look alike unless I slow down to appreciate what is unique about them. We like to go to odd little places for weird things. It may be a work of an artist we like or a building.

My point is that everyone has a travel style that works for them. And if you're happy dipping toes into a sea and moving on before they have a chance to dry, bravo.

Have a wonderful whirlwind trip. It reminds me of a song by an old band Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks. There was a line, "As we rushed around the world to see what we could see, I saw you and you saw me mostly..."

"The trip to Spain was so insane, we could hardly watch the bull..."

oh boy, now I'm starting to sing gotta go

"planning to take the 2hr hike in Antibes"

....if you RAN on the path, it might take less time....and you could wear a GoPro camera on your helmet, so you could take photos and videos as you ran....maybe squeeze in another town or two....

LSky > I don't know the song you refer to but the lyrics are thought provoking and thanks for the well wishes. PalenQ, mjs and Christina > thanks for your thoughts and suggestions. Lyon may get squeezed out, but I like the idea of wine tasting in Chateauneuf-le-Pape so we may need to keep the car past Avignon. This is what I have so far:
1/2 day: Nice
Full day: Nice
Day 3: pick up a car to visit Eze, Monaco and stay in Antibes
Day 4: Hiking at Cap d Antibes and Cap Dramont. Drive the scenic Corniche de l'Esterel. Sleep in St. Maxime
Day 5: 1/2 day at Pampelonne Beach past St. Tropez, late afternoon in Aix, Sleep in Aix.
Day 6: Aix, Hiking in Roussillon, visit Gordes, Avignon
Day 7: Avignon
Day 8: Pont du Gard, Uzes walk through Wed Market, La Roque-sur-Ceze and the Cascades du Sautadet
Day 9: Chateaneuf du-Pape, Orange, Lyon
Day 10: Lyon
Day 11-14 Paris
Day 15 Versailles
Day 16 Fly home

I'm not sure about the evening of day 8 and forward. The travel time, when/where to drop the car and use the train. Maybe using a driver/guide for parts of the trip. Maybe saving Lyon for another trip.