Hi all,

I am planning a two-week trip to France with my partner this May. I have been once, many, many years ago, and he has never been, so we are very excited about this. We fly in and out of Paris and will spend five or six nights there initially and then one at the end in order to get to our flight the last day. The tentative itinerary we have come up with following Paris is: either Chamonix or Annecy for two nights to see the Alps, then Avignon for two nights, ending in Nice for three nights (with the idea that we would explore Nice but also use it as a base to see other towns and sights in the area). Does this sound too ambitious? I know getting to and from Chamonix especially would eat up a lot of time. Any and all comments and suggestions welcome. We like art and history and also are pretty active for our ages (late 60s) so looking forward to some moderate hikes.

Thanks!

As many experienced travelers here will tell you, changing location eats up an entire day, what with packing, checking out, getting to transport, getting to the next destination, getting to the lodging, checking in, and eating a meal or two. If you are using a car, parking becomes a time user. Spending two days to "see the Alps" is probably not worth the effort. Save that for your future trip to Switzerland or Italy.

I suggest taking the train to Avignon, then another train to Nice, where, depending on what you want to see in the area, renting a car there. The Nice area does have very effective public transport, however.

Have fun!

Just very quick. Instead of breaking up your time in Paris (assuming you land in the morning or early afternoon and not in the evening) consider taking the train that day down to Avignon. Its less than 3 hours by train. Do that area and wherever else you decide to go and then finish up with 5 or 6 or 7 consecutive nights in Paris. eliminating an extra travel day/hotel stay. And I agree with AJPeabody that squeezing a lightning excursion to see the alps would be awfully rushed.

Annecy is over touristed and a madhouse in my experience. You do not see much of the Alps from there either.
As others have said take the train to on your arrival day. You won't need a car in Avignon itself.

Yes, take the TGV to Avignon, then Nice and back to Paris for the last part of your vacation. There’s a TGV station at CDG itself and if the timings work you won’t need to go into town. Pre-Covid we chose this option, even though the train was a little later than we wanted. Going into Paris really didn’t make sense.

Note that TGV tickets have dynamic pricing, buying them as soon as the booking opens gets you the cheapest fares. Closer to the date is more expensive. I believe you can buy the tickets 90 days before travel, you should check on the SNCF website.

Paris/France is my favorite destination, have a fabulous vacation!

Edit: I see OP is traveling in May, you need to book lodging and trains asap!

I'm not as averse to relocating with frequency as many travelers, but I agree that limiting your time to Avignon, Nice, and Paris makes sense because three nights (two days) is really not enough for Nice, IMO -- there's a LOT to see in an around Nice, things you can easily see by public trnansportation.

And yes, if you mean THIS May, start reserving lodging and trains!

For an aline experience, Chamonix is better than Annecy.

I don't care much for Annecy or Chamonix. Or the French Alps in general. Especially since you like art and history, there is none in the Alps. I also don't care much for Avignon. I mean, Avignon sounds nice, but I find it a bit dull. I also think that Nice, by itself is not that nice, though the Cote d'Azur is indeed a sensational area..

There's a lot of tremendous art in the Cote d'Azur. Both Modern and Contemporary. Check out the Cocteau museum in the fort in Menton (Cocteau also designed the municipal wedding chapel). Fondation Maeght in St Paul de Vence, and go to Biot for the Fernand Leger museum. Given your interest, I would spend my time in the Cote d'Azur, though having a car and staying in a village makes it so much more accessible.

I don't know about Annecy or Chamonix, but I do know that there is a LOT of art to be seen in the Alps, and a lot of history, too.

Could you elaborate?

Hi, replying here (is that the correct way to do it, not sure), to say thanks to all for your advice and suggestions. I think most probably we will stick to our original plan of Paris-Avignon-Nice-Paris. The excursion to Annecy or Chamonix I can see would be rather rushed. Thanks also for the advice to book accommodations and trains post-haste. I do have accommodations in the above cities--and just started booking the trains. Will let you know how it all goes!

I don't want to hijack this thread, so just some qucik examples: Wonderful art museums in (among other places) Lucerne, Basel, Zurich, Lausanne, Firibourg, Bern, Winterthur, Solothun, Lugano… Frescos in Mustair, Lavin, Ardez…. Public art just about everywhere. A marvelous museum of prehistory near Neuchatel (the Latneium), historic castles in Bellinzona, Tarasp, Thun, Gruyeres, and elsewhere, the archeology museum in Geneva, the outdoor museum in Brienz....

Yes, that's the way ... and thanks for letting us know!

Just one more thought: You could just fly into Nice, do your thing, then TVG up to Paris, enjoy the city and fly home from there. We looked into this but ultimately decided to immerse ourselves in Paris this trip. I don't believe flights were any more expensive to do it that way.

Great idea! Either direction, it would avoid backtracking.

Thanks for the suggestion, but we already have our flights in and out of Paris. We looked into changing them to fly home from Nice, but the times weren’t convenient. I appreciate everyone’s suggestions to start the vacation in the south, taking the TGV to Avignon as soon as we get into Paris and then making our way to Paris at the end, but we kind of like the idea of doing it the other way, having what might be a more relaxed few days on the Mediterranean at the end of the vacation, and we don’t mind backtracking. Also, I’ve already arranged the accommodations with that in mind.

As I suspected. Your itinerary is suitable for you. Have a great trip. If you want ideas for things to do and see, feel free to ask for further advice.

I do have another question! Another possibility for us for the three or four nights in Provence, other than Avignon, would be Aix. I also have a hotel booked there tentatively. Any thoughts on relative appeal of each?

Thanks

IMO:

Aix -- lovely for strolling, some wonderful art museums, charming.
Avignon -- of great historic interest, some wonderful art from the days when it was a papal residence, some engaging street art.

You might take a look at my trip report. It's long, but you can watch for city names of interest.
A stellar month in southeastern France

And even more helpful than my TR: A guidebook or two. Given your interests in art and architecture, I'd suggest Fodor's, the Michelin Green, or Rough Guide. (Note that Rick Steves guidebooks are generally quite poor when it comes to art.)

Much is up to one's personal taste.
Mine/ours would be:
Avignon seemed substantially focused on the Avignon papacy to us. The rest of the town (other than Pope's palace) seemed, "oh, by the way" or "since you're here for that, consider this other"
Aix seemed to have a more diverse culture to it. Its back streets held more interest for us.