Thoughts on itinerary please!
 

Good afternoon,

I am planning a delayed honeymoon (6 months later) for myself and my husband for August of this year. I know, I know, I'm really pushing it. :-) Please provide your thoughts on the general plan listed below and the proposed mode of transportation. I'm thinking of a departure date of August 11th or around that time.

Thanks in advance,
Juliet

Day 1 - arrive early a.m. into Paris; check in to Five Hotel (any thoughts on this hotel? I would like to be in the 5e arrondissement.) Hop off, hop off bus tour.
Day 2 - 4 Leisure in Paris with Versailles day trip
Day 5 - Depart Paris via train to Rouen to see cathedral or to Caen, pick up car and overnight at Mont-St-Michel to see illumination
Day 6 – Morning to run around Mont-St-Michel before crowds. Depart for Loire Valley via car. (Tours as base?)
Day 7 - View chateaux of the Loire (Chambord, Chenonceux, Villandry, Azay-le-Rideau)
Day 8 - Depart loire, leave car and head for Lyon via train
Day 9 - Lyon leisure
Day 10 - Depart Lyon for Carcassonne and overnight
Day 11 - Carcassonne at leisure
Day 12 - Depart Carcassone for Nice via train, hop off, hop off bus tour of Nice
Day 13 - Nice at leisure
Day 14 - Day tour of the riviera (includes Cannes and Monaco)
Day 15 - Depart for home

Sorry, I forgot to add that I can add a few mores days if you would recommend it. Also, I can skip Lyon if you think another city or area would be more ideal. I choose Lyon because it's en route and seems to be the place for foodies. :-)

Someone else will have to comment on driving and train times, but for me this is too much real estate to cover in 2 weeks. At a minimum, I'd want more than one full day in the Loire Valley.

Holy itinerary Batman!

Way too may locations, with not near enough time in any of them. For example, Paris should be the highlight of a trip to France...but with jetlag on first day and going to Versailles on second..how much time will you get to enjoy it?


I'd cut back locations and increase # of days in each.

Thanks you two for your response. I figured the timing was too little for too much. Would you recommend I cut out Carcasonne/Lyon and add an extra day to Paris and an extra day to the Loire? Also, as a first trip, do you think I should leave out a metropolitan city liek Lyon and go for an older city like Carcasonne? Oh the last minute planning.

I would do one of two things.
Leave out Paris and add the time to the rest of the trip.
Or, trim the rest and allow more time for Paris.

Of course if all you want is a photograph or two, you will be fine. But if you want to visit Paris in depth, you need more time.

Perhaps places like the famous art museums don't interest you. If so, then one day would be enough to gaze at the Eiffel Tower, the Arc of Triumph, and look at the flying buttresses of Notre Dame.

I have been there 4 times, 4 to 5 days each, and I still have unfilled slots on my dance card.

YES - do cut out Carcassonne. We went out of our way to visit there and came away disappointed (very disappointed).

YES - omit Lyon.

Conceive the trip in the form of two (max 3) locations. Either...
Paris + Loire OR Paris + Riviera OR Paris+ Loire + Riviera.

Thanks for all the responses so far. I have tweaked the itinerary as below. I think I just needed the confirmation that it’s okay to not do it all. I would keep it to three locations but Mont-St-Michel is a must for us so I thought I would do it en route somewhere versus a day trip.

Day 1 - arrive early a.m. into Paris; check in to Five Hotel (any thoughts on this hotel? I would like to be in the 5e arrondissement.) Hop off, hop off bus tour.
Day 2 - 4 Leisure in Paris with Seine cruise at night
(will get 3 day tourist transit pass for travel)
Day 5 - Versailles day trip
Day 6 - Depart Paris via train to Caen, pick up car and overnight at Mont-St-Michel to see illumination
Day 7 – Morning to run around Mont-St-Michel before crowds. Depart for Loire Valley via car. (Tours as base?)
Day 8-9 - View chateaux of the Loire (Chambord, Chenonceux, Villandry, Azay-le-Rideau)
Day 10 - Depart Loire, leave car and head for Nice via train
Day 11-12 – Nice at leisure, hop off, hop off bus tour
Day 13 - Day tour of the riviera (includes Cannes and Monaco)
Day 14 - Depart for home

I should mention that we are not big museum buffs and will be doing the obvious tourist things (i.e. Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Arc de Triomphe, etc.). Also, I still have some days to play with that I can add if you would recommend it.

Much better.

I'd add days to the end segment. Although the Riviera is not my favorite part of France, I think you can improve on that agenda.

Some questiosn to be answered...

Since August is holiday month in France, wondering what traffic would be like?

What is the distance between St Michel and Loire?

Can Cannes and Monaco be done in one day? I've been to both, with traffic, parking and touring around I would have thought one day each...Or take train to Monaco?

I think your itinerary is getting better. I might flip Paris to the end, that way you "wind down" in the city, not rushing back to get back for plane.

Lyon is nice and would have been worth 2-3days.

Hello Michel_Paris,

I too was wondering about traffic but my husband's relatives always travel to France in August and had no complaints as long as we avoid Paris they said.

ViaMichelin gives the route distance as 290km form Mont-St-Michel to Tours.

The Riviera tour is a pre-packaged one that says they do Cannes and Monaco. I also found it questionable but thought it would be the easiest way for us to catcha glimpse of the coast while we're there. It's offered through Flight Centre for $169 CAD and lasts 9.5 hours.

I was also wondering about ending with Paris. I wouldn't return to Paris but plan to fly out of Nice.

I'm still thinking of Lyon but it gives me the excuse I need to return. :-)