2 week France roadtrip May 2024, suggestions, without normandy, paris, french riviera, alsace

Are you flying in and out of Paris? What about the Dordogne?

Mary Pat is right. The Dordogne would be perfect!

There is Michelin map: The Most Beautiful Villages of France, buy one and just go from town to town, they are all amazing. J

I would assume Paris at this point. Dordogne sounds good. I was thinking of heading southwest from Paris to the Loire valley, to Bordeaux, stopping to visit a smaller cognac distillery or two, then swinging east along the coast and up through Provence to the alps and back to Paris if my geography is right.

Brittany and Pays Basque are two of our favorites regions in France.

I don’t believe we have been to Brittany. We went as far West as mont saint michel in the past.

I hope you're not renting a car on the day of arrival after a trans-Atlantic flight where you got little or no sleep on the flight over. Make sure you're first destination is easy to reach by train. The fewer connections the better. The Loirre Valley is a good starting point. Brittany is in the opposite direction of the Loirre and is much more of a hassle to get to.

I was thinking of heading southwest from Paris to the Loire valley, to Bordeaux, stopping to visit a smaller cognac distillery or two, then swinging east along the coast and up through Provence to the alps and back to Paris if my geography is right.

Your geography is right, but that's more of a three-week road trip if you want to do it right. I would not attempt a loop in two weeks, and I would pick a side: southwest or southeast. Personally, I love Provence in May, but the southwest is great as well... Not very helpful, I know!

In 2 weeks, southeast option, you could do the following:

• start your trip in Aix or Avignon (if you can fly to Marseille, great, otherwise take the train)
• Once you're ready to drive, take 4-6 days to explore Provence, either from a single central base (e.g. St Rémy, Lourmarin, Isle sur la Sorgue...) or splitting it with a more northerly stay (towards Vaison)
• work your way towards the Lyon area; the Vercors is an interesting mountainous area to stop for 1-2 days along the way; even if you do not hike the scenic drives are gorgeous. Pont en Royans is a very pretty village.
• Lyon is a good 2-day stop. Or you could stay in lovely Pérouges or Crémieu and bypass Lyon altogether.
• Then up towards Burgundy for 3-4 days (Beaune, Autun, etc)
• drop car in Dijon or drive back to Paris for a final day.

I found an article "20 of the most beautiful villages in France" posted online by theguardian.com on 13 April 2019. It has extensive information about each one with panoramic photos. One of the 20 listed was Estaing in Languedoc which was a pleasant surprise for me as I do Genealogy and my Husband's ancestors came from there.

We enjoyed the Jura area, which we paired with visiting a relative in Geneva. Among the high points of our trip (easier by car), were Pérouges, Besançon, the path of Gustave Courbet, including (the place, not the paintings) La Source de La Loue, a Michelin 3-star built and run by a woman, Restaurant Pic. We didn't have time for Lyon, alas. I think we went on to Avignon and Pont du Garde.

The problem with "The Most Beautiful Villages of France," is that many of the featured villages, while beautiful, are so small as to not have markets, or shops to find bread, cheese, etc. And cafés or restaurants are sometimes many villages away. One reason they are still so beautiful is their tiny size and lack of any commercial development. But they're great to drive through, and if you buy your provisions in a slightly larger town, you may find nice picnic spots.

Thanks for your replies. A lot to think about!

We did a similar trip (but for 3 weeks) I have modified it to fit your schedule

Fly to Marseilles, arrive on Friday, pick up rental car and drive to Aix en Provence. 1 night
1 night in l’isle sur la Sorgue to enjoy Sunday market
2 nights in St Remy de Provence
1 night in Carcassone
1 night in Albi
2 nights in Sarlat Le Caneda
3 nights in Bordeaux
3 nights in Loire Valley
Fly back from Paris

We actually returned our rental car in Sarlat and took train to Bordeaux and then to St Pierre de Corps where we picked up another rental for our time in the Loire Valley.

Have a great trip !

Wonderful! I will investigate this route!