I'm presumptuous enough to offer a rearranged route that could be more efficient.

Fly trans-Atlantic to Marseille to start. This likely will require a plane transfer but will still be quicker than working through Paris. The Provence/Marseille airport is between Marseille and Aix-en-Provence.

I like Marseille well enough to spend a couple of days, then move on by bus or local train to Aix-en-Provence (or Avignon).

North by fast train to Lyon. Then on to finish in Paris.

Using a multi-destination search function you should be able to set up the full air itinerary on a single ticket and it won't cost much more than a simple round trip including the expense of returning to your arrival city. The time saved will be substantial.

Thank you for so many great ideas and other suggestions.

I think I should have stressed more clearly that we aren't looking to cram in as much as possible in as short a time as possible. This isn't our first road trip in France, nor will it be our last. "Efficiency" isn't a goal for us. I am definitely going to look at shortening our time in Annecy to allow us to drive to the coast and stay a couple nights somewhere near Nice, but other than that we aren't interested in "stopping over for a night" just about anywhere.

During the days we are booked for more than just a few days at Aix-en-Provence and Arles and Amboise, we will use those homes (they are not hotel rooms) as bases for long and leisurely drives on back roads to see the countryside and villages in the surrounding area. The one thing we have learned about ourselves and European travel - is that we don't enjoy moving from one hotel to the next. We much prefer settling in a bit - shopping in local markets and preparing some of our own meals. Relaxing in the evenings. Taking walks and getting to know a neighborhood.

We stayed in Annecy and did a day trip to Chamonix. It was a nice day trip. We also did a boat tour of the lake and enjoyed ourselves. One thing we did on our drive to Aix was stop in a very small town for lunch. It was my favorite meal of the entire trip. https://www.lebistrotdelaplace.fr/ It’s in Clelles.

Have a great time.

FYI, our Aix visit starts at the end of post #3:
https://www.fodors.com/community/eur...ndwich-446896/

This is a great way to travel, and it has given me so much pleasure over the years.

BTW, I wasn't suggesting you add hotel stays to your trip or extra destinations. Le Puy is stunning, and when you drive form Arles to Amboise, you can choose a route that takes you right by there.. Very few people have Le Puy on their itinerary because it is out of the way for them. But not for you! Hence why everyone has heard of Annecy but nobody goes to Le Puy. What I am suggesting to you is to swap the locations. Le Puy/Polignac and Auvergne for the Savoie. Even though this will not be your last driving vacation, honestly it might be the last time you will be going to pass right through one of the top sites, not only of France, but one of the most unique landscapes of Europe. The side trip to Annecy and Chamonix in this case is actually out of your way.

Thank you for this advice. Le Puy looks wonderful, and yes, aren't we fortunate it will be on our route. What I am thinking now, is to shorten our time in Amboise by a couple days, which will allow us to stop over in Le Puy on our way there. Certainly looks like a great way to break up what was going to be a long driving day. I think two days in Le Puy would work for us, as I am already beginning to think we have given too much time to Amboise. Do you think two days is about right?

Do you have a favorite place to stay in or near Le Puy? It looks as if being in the village would be nice for evening walks and restaurants, but we will have a car, so parking might be an issue. I am thinking a hotel, rather than an apartment rental for just the two days. Any suggestions you are willing to share would be much appreciated - thank you!

(In addition, we will likely shorten our time in Annecy and head to the coast for a day or two on our *backtracking* way to Aix)

Two days in Le Puy is fine. Just make sure that those days are not Sunday or Monday when many things are closed. Wed & Sat are their market days. We visited le Puy about 15 years ago, and we are gong to stay there for 2 weeks in a gite in 2023.

Stu Dudley

Looks like we will arrive on a Friday and leave Sunday morning. Thanks for the info.

On Saturdays, in addition to the morning farmer's market, the also have a flea market.

Stu Dudley

Fine tuning this itinerary - Sept/Oct - initially we were really set on staying in Annecy, but now I am rethinking the itinerary, as Antibes sounds pretty wonderful.

Landing at CDG mid-morning, taking the train to Lyon, where we will spend three nights. Our plan was to rent a car on the last day in Lyon and drive to Annecy for three nights, before continuing on to the airbnb we have in Aix for a week.

Now I am considering taking the train from Lyon to Antibes, staying three nights and renting the car while we are there. There is an airbnb in Antibes that looks great with a pick-up from the train station. We can rent a car at the train station in Antibes for the rest of our trip which will include Aix, Arles, Le Puy, and Amboise. (Dropping the car off in Tours before we take the rain to Paris for our final six days)

Anyone weigh in on whether one plan is better than the other?

Antibes is quite nice. But you are from California and have probably seen/visited better coastlines (IMO) in Laguna Beach, Corona Del Mar, Hwy 1/Big Sur, Pt Lobos, Carmel, Pacific Grove, San Mateo county coast, Marin/Sonoma/Mendacino coasts, etc. No medieval villages, however. Perhaps visit Antibes instead of Nice from Aix. It will be easier to get in & out of Antibes than Nice.

I've lived less than 1/2 hour or directly on the California coast for all of my 74 years. But I've vacationed on the Cote d'Azur for 21 weeks.

To give you some diversity, I would stick with Annecy with a drive in the Alps & Mt Blanc, See my attached Alps itinerary (above) for descriptions of the drives we've enjoyed around Annecy.

Stu Dudley

I spent a week at a theatre festival in le Grand Bornand in the Savoie. It was awesome. But none of the touring we did was all that special, whether it was to Chamonix, Cirque de Fer a Cheval, Annecy, Col d'Aravis , or points between. I flat out prefer the Rockies and the Sierra Nevadas, and because there are few traditional villages, it lacks the charm of Europe. Save your Alps experience for Switzerland, Italy, or Austria. And if Chamonix gets socked in with clouds on your day there, then it's a truly questionable experience.