17 days in France itinerary

MD,
Your plan looks well thought out and practical. If your train/bus times are correct, you have mostly lots of time on your travel days to do some sightseeing on arrival at your destination. I would skip Avignon and go straight to Arles, as Avignon doesn't have as much charm as Arles. That solves your problem of trying to do three sights in one day. You will have time on arrival day to see some of Arles. And arrival day in Nice gives you some time in that city as well. Your day 16 has too many day trips for one day, but perhaps you weren't planning on trying to see all four of them. Also, you are correct about day 7. It does sound rough. I wouldn't want to do it, but you sound prepared for the difficulties of that day, and I am guessing you are much younger than my 80 years. The only problems I see are train/bus schedules not being what you need, or there being strikes or trouble on the rail lines.
Go for it! And (in honor of Fat Tuesday) laissez les bons temps rouler!

MD,
By the way, a visit to Giverny and back will take more than just a morning, but you could return early enough that day to do something in Paris. Perhaps a stroll around Luxembourg Gardens ( a flower-filled day!), or along the Seine to check out the bouquinists. And, after dinner, a ride on Vedettes de Pont Neuf to see Paris from the river.

Yes, replace Avignon with Arles. FYI: the train stops at the lower part of Eze, not the beautiful upper part of Eze.
Looks good. Bon voyage.

Hi,

I was in Bayeaux in November, 2023 and took an early train and I'd advise you to do the same.

You'll really want to see the Cathedral, the Tapestry, the WW II Museum and walk the Town. The British cemetery is nice and worth while (though you could absolutely skip the British Cemetery if you're going to the American Cemetery the next day). I don't think you'll be able to get the most out of them if you arrive at 3:30.

I stayed in Avignon about 2016 and was able to see Pont du Gard, Arles and Nimes but not all in one day. That seems a bit too ambitious to me, as I think the only public transport to the Pont is by bus and you're limited by its schedule (I rented a car at the Avignon train station and it was a piece of cake). I think you'd be running around too much but to each is own.
Good luck with whatever you choose

Judy, thanks so much for the reply! I will follow your and Bets advice and choose Arles over Avignon. Day 16 just lists out the possibilities, some people actually do all four in a day as the public transportation works, though obviously you definitely dont spend a lot of time in each location. My plan is to decide once i'm there have flexibility to spend more time or skip a site depending on how the day goes. And you're right that Day 7 is not ideal at all... my thinking is that I'll go through that stressful inconvenience so that the next day will be much much better since I'm already in Amboise. And I appreciate your encouragement using french creole (or is it just french? creole? :) And thanks for the information on Giverny! Your suggestions on what to do when i get back sound lovely!

ok, so now that I decided on Arles rather than Avignon, in Rick Steves itinerary found here (https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/france/itinerary), one of his days starts and ends in Arles and is this:
"Train to Nîmes (30 minutes), then bus to Pont du Gard (50 minutes) to explore the ancient aqueduct, then bus to Avignon (50 minutes) and spend your afternoon/evening there (consider dinner). Return to Arles by train (30 minutes; sleep in Arles)"
Is that doable? Which of the sites should i skip if I can't do all three?

John Adams, thanks for the advice on what train to take to bayeux. I'll take the earlier one so i can fit in all the sites you mentioned. Thanks.

Let me ask, what train tickets do i need to book in advance (i.e. they are cheaper) and what can i wait until later for?

MD,
I am glad my comments are helpful to you. Regarding Rick's recommendation about seeing Pont de Gard, Nimes and Avignon in one day, I think it leaves you too little time for the three places. It seems like you would rush too much at the Point de Gard to appreciate it. (There is a small museum there.) And Nimes has a good amount of Roman history, plus a colisseum that sometines has entertainment (e.g. concerts, plays). It is a nice town to walk around in also. I don't know how long you may need to wait for your buses, but calculate time for going and returning to each place, as well as time to have a nice lunch. Adding Avignon is doable, but IMO not worth the time it takes away from Nimes and Arles and the Pont de Gard. I was disappointed with the Palais des Papes, and after singing one verse of "Sur le Pont d'Avignon" to myself, I was done with the bridge. You and others may feel differently, and if you are an early riser you could probably visit all three and do them justice.

John Adams' suggestions for Bayeux are good ones. I also hope you get the earlier train from Paris, because the tapestry is not to be missed, as well as the cathedral. The town is really nice also. If you get the chance on your DDay tour day, the flag lowering ceremony at the American Cemetery is very moving. You have lots of options for tours. We have always done our own driving, but we are lucky, in that my husband lived in the area after WWII as a boy, and even played among the abandoned German guns and installations (when his Grandmother wasn't looking).
Re trains, I am not much help as we usually rent a car. There are some very knowledgeable people on the forum who could help you there.
I am excited for you and remember how thrilled I was the first time I traveled around France. You will come home with so many wonderful memories! Amusez-vous bien et bon voyage!