2 months in France

I would plan in week long chunks and base in areas you can use to then explore the area. It is always risky to have all your valuables in a car when touring -- it is wise to have just what you need that day and then not worry about losing everything. We would book an apartment for a week or two in the various areas you want to visit which lets you save a bundle by doing breakfast in and as much other cooking as you would want. And you then have good reason to visit the local markets and shops which is part of the fun. Sounds like a great trip. My husband and I did a 3 mos trip when each of us retired -- we were not covering ground like you are but it was still just marvelous to just live in a different place. My retirement trip was 4 nights in Rome (we don't like Rome but there were several things we had not yet seen there that we wanted to see) then 2 weeks in Montepulciano while touring villages, abbeys and gardens in Tuscany, then a week in Florence (we had spent two months there on his retirement) and then we flew to Paris for two months.

If he's never been there, everything will be new and different. You can take him to your favorite places, to his "dream" places, or to somewhere you both have never heard of. Throw a dart at a map and see where it takes you.

It may be cheaper to lease a car than to rent. If you rent, you'll need to be careful to pick up and drop off the car in the same country if you don't want to cough up a very high extra fee.

Depending on where you go, judicious use of trains may be less costly for some chunks of your itinerary. For 49 euros (unless they've raised the price) you can buy a ticket good on all Germany's non-express trains for a calendar month.

Every year it seems to get harder to find last-minute hotel rooms. With a car you'd have flexibility to head on to the next town, while I (dependent on public transportation) would be in a much bigger pickle. Still, I'd be hitting the internet a day or two ahead of time, at least, to figure out my next lodging place. If you want to stay in the sort of places popular with Europeans in the summer (beach towns, lake towns, villages in popular hiking areas), you may need to plan farther ahead.

So it's really two months in France, Spain, Switzerland, and Germany, in a circle, mostly by car. I wouldn't just "wing it and stop when we want," I'd make a plan that combines the wisdom of Janet and Acraven above. Identify about half a dozen "hubs" where you can rent an apartment or small house with parking, make those arrangements, and then "wing it" from each hub. So, for example, land in Paris, stay there awhile if you want, then rent the car and head to, say, the Dordogne, where you've rented a gite or other accommodation for a week. Spend that week exploring as you like, depending on weather and your interests and energy. Then drive on to the next hub, maybe in Spain. Rinse and repeat.

If you've arranged those accommodations ahead (like, starting now for this spring/summer), this plan gives you flexibility within each area because you know where you'll be sleeping but can choose how to spend your days. If you want to spend awhile in a big city, drop the car -- but keep in mind that it will cost a lot to drop a car in a country where you didn't get it. Flying home from a city other than Paris (Frankfurt?) can also save you time without costing more, as long as you return the last car in the country where you got it.

Last, you must know that the Olympics are in Paris this July. Accommodations will be already booked and/or very expensive, before and during the games. Might be best to get out of there as soon as you can, saving it for another trip, or fly to and from other cities if that's still possible. Unless, of course, you want to include the Olympics in your plans late in the trip. Have fun putting this all together!

You may be better at this but in my long experience road tripping in Europe, I have always had terrible luck getting hotels on the fly and am a genius at finding great apartments and hotels when I plan ahead. If I am not fixed for a night or two, I carry a list of hotels along the way to call the day before or on the road. But once even that didn't work -- we found half a dozen hotels on our list either full or closed for the season -- I thought we were going to have to sleep in the car when we found this really scuzzy looking hotel with a giant sculpture of a mosquito out front and rooms with a poured concrete platform for a bed like in a prison -- with a foam mattress on top. Oddly the restaurant turned out to be very good. On another on the road grab, we ended up in a place where we were the only guests and it was reminiscent of Norman Bate's hotel ---- gave us the creeps.

when I plane and book I get lovely places with views over the river or lovely little cottages in the woods etc. I think for a long period like this identifying apartments or apartment hotels in different regions and basing is best -- but if you want to move more -- at least have tentative places to stay you can book on line a day or two ahead.

Keep in mind that the longer you want to stay in a town, the tougher it is to find a decent, last-minute place. Hotels may have late cancellations, but what are the odds there will be cancellations that create a long, last-minute booking opportunity for you? I find anything longer than 3 nights can be very difficult, and even 3 can be very challenging.

Stacy,
Lucky you! Janettravels44 suggestion to stay in places in chunks of one week is a good one, or 5 days at least. And acraven's idea to lease a car, since you will be there for so long, is another good suggestion. Back in the day (1974!) when we were in our early thirties, we went to Europe for four months. (Lucky us!) We did it on the cheap, with the occasional night spent in the VW Beetle we picked up in Germany. We rarely spent just 1 or 2 nights in a place, unless it was a stop between 2 locations.

Read up on driving hints on this forum, for each country. We loved the freedom our car gave us and found lodging when we arrived in a town or city (often recommended in Frommer's "Europe on Five and Ten Dollars a Day"). Alas, those days are long gone, and I highly recommnend securing your lodging ahead of time. And look for places with available parking. Don't get your car until you leave Paris, and return it before staying there again, if that applies.
Gites de France is a wonderful site to find lodging. We have found places for one night up to 10 days. Just rooms, such as a bed and breakfast, are called chambres d'hote. We have done those, as well as renting a large house for 10 days. Booking.com is good for finding lodging to fit your needs. I found places there and then booked with the hotels, etc. directly. Sometimes I used Booking.com, and sometimes I booked with Gites de France. Put in your filters to save time in searching.
Re itinerary, I know France best, so of course I recommend my favorite places...Brittany, the Dordogne/Lot area, and Provence (and always, Paris!) Look through Rick's or Frommer's books on France to get inspiration and ideas. Perhaps a counter-clockwise trip:
Paris, through Giverny and Rouen to Bayeux, Mont St Michel, and Brittany (2 weeks easily). Next the Loire (3 days) and/or the Dordogne (a week). Then Provence for a week, based in Arles or St. Remy de Provence. Parse out four weeks for France. With four weeks left, I would head to Austria and Germany via Switzerland. As beautiful as it is, I am not as enamored of Switzerland as others are. I don't ski or hike, so just admiring the mountains on my way through is enough for me.
From Switzerland go to Vienna, an underrated city. In 1974 we would sit on the grass in Vogelspark and listen to the band concert there and watch the couples waltz. (If you sat at a table you had to buy a drink.) Vienna has a wonderful art museum with lots of Bruegels (one of my favorites), Schonnbrun Palace, Grinzing, the opera house, Lippizaner horses to see, the lovely ringstrasse, and the best cafe ambience! We spent 5 days there.

Then off to Munich for at least five days. It is a city of fun and exuberance, in my opinion, underestimated by many. From there follow the Romantic Road to Rothenburg and points north, ending in Alsace. By this time you may have 4-7 days left to see Colmar and /or Strassburg and the villages in the wine country there. You can return your leased car where you picked it up, somewhere outside of Paris. A paper Michelin map of France and Germany will show you the big picture better than on online map. I find them indispensible in routing our trips. (Amazon has them, between $13.00 and $20.00, a good investment and souvenir of your trip.) The website viamichelin is helpful for routing from place to place, offering options for your route (e.g. fastest, most scenic, toll costs, etc.)
Dive into this forum when you have a better idea of your route, drilling down on the places that interest you.
What fun you have in store!
Bonne chance et bon voyage! Amusez-vous bien!

Oops! Sorry I left out Spain. With Germany and Switzerland off to the east, Spain seemed more of an outlier. If you really want Spain, I would cut out Germany and Switzerland and concentrate on just France and Spain. Spain is big. Three weeks there you could cover Barcelona, Madrid, Toledo, Sevillla, Cordoba and Granada, but briefly. And you will need to get back to France to drop off your car and fly home. Circling through Switzerland and Germany seem to be more doable, and you wouldn't spend so much time in the car.

Just my thoughts.

Sounds like you will have a wonderful trip when it comes together! I'm excited for you! We're here in France and Basque country for 86 days. I started planning the trip in August 2023. You'll be going at a very busy time of the year, thus competing with many others for the same sites. You need reservations for everything, sad to say, including sites. I would stay away from Paris late June until your 7/21 date. I agree with others about what would your fiance like to see? See Notre Dame another time as there's so much you won't be able to see. Using gites is a good idea in the countryside if you stay for a period of time. Also, prices are really going to be high because of demand in Paris, and maybe outside of Paris during the duration of the games and possibly even before.

I would second trading Germany for Spain -- Spain is full of amazing places -- we spent a week in Seville and in Barcelona and in Madrid with day trip in the area. Don't miss Cordoba and the Mezquita or of course Granada and the Alhambra.

Much of Spain is likely to be miserably hot in the summer. Your odds are not good in Madrid, Toledo, Cordoba, Seville and Granada. Barcelona might be OK if you don't hit a period of high humidity.