38 days family trip in France...ideas ?

Chamonix Mont Blanc then Provence. Leave Provence for Lyon, ending your trip there for your return trip home.

I would add ~2 nights to Dordogne, which has a lot of spread-out sights.

The remaining 6 nights could be split between Auvergne (Puy-de-Dome, around the extinct volcanoes) and Annecy.

I would encourage you to make sure you plan some "down time" in your itinerary. Your vacation will only be as successful as the "slowest" traveler in your group can handle. Some people can go, go ,go day after day. Others need a day break here or there in order to keep going. You know your family best, but I think anyone will require some rest or "off" days on this long of a trip.

Friends of mine swear by Annecy. My wife and I visited Nice many years ago and enjoyed it. Pretty chill, not bustling.

It won't be hard to spend 6 nights in Normandy. I recommend Etretat overnight, visiting Honfleur on the way for lunch. Of course there's Mont Saint Michel that is a day trip from Normandy. And Giverny is another day trip. I can give a lot of WWII info if you like. Quite a few trips to the Normandy region, and I feel like we've seen almost everything WWII related by now. Don't miss Bayeux cathedral, tapestry, and the Saturday morning farmers market from 8-10 or so.

We keep trying to visit a Calvados distillery in Normandy but have never pulled it off.

Also I hear that a lot shuts down in August when most French vacation. So be extra careful that the thing you want to do are open.

Bill

Also I hear that a lot shuts down in August when most French vacation. So be extra careful that the thing you want to do are open.

August is high season in all of the places listed except Paris and Lyon, so there won't be any problem! Quite the contrary, there could be crowds.

I would rent a drive- it- yourself barge for a week. We rented from Locaboat (although there are other companies and other routes to explore). We picked up the boat in Agen, went down the Garonne Canal to the River Baise. And then back to Agen.

I think it would be an incredible experience for kids the age of yours. It gives you a week without hotels or logistical concerns. You would stock up on food but also plan to eat in little towns along the way. We awoke in the morning with a mist rising from the river — and complete silence, except for the occasional ducks quacking outside because they know boats bring bread.

Our trip had dozens (80?) locks to navigate. The boat went so slowly that the kids could get off and run or bike between locks (most places you can rent bikes with the boat). We did this on the third week of a four week trip and it remains one of our best travel experiences ever.

If you do this, be aware that boat descriptions can be over enthusiastic. A boat that sleeps 4 might have 2 of them on kitchen benches. So look at diagrams carefully and I’d recommend sizing up a bit. You need space for luggage as well as sleeping. Ours was supposed to sleep six and it was just fine for two of us.

Thanks for all those answers !

1) Provence would have been nice but we wont have the time for this trip. We have chosen Brittany over Provence because iot could be less hot in july-auguist (but who knows what summer 2023 will be like in France ?) and many places in Provence only do weekly rental in summer.

2) Dordogne seem nice but last summer was really hot with awfull drought so we dont take chance and allows less time than too much time
3) We always have down time, we are not fast travellers. We travlle yearly with our kids since they are born and it always been 21-35 days trip so theyr are kind of used to that.
4)Thanks for the ideas in Normandy
5) The barge idea is a nice one, but it's not something we would like to do, thanks anyways !

Tilting toward Normandy and Brittany at that time of year is smart. Yes, you might get unlucky with the weather, but it would probably be only a day or two at 30C or higher as opposed to a long period at even higher temperatures elsewhere in France.

Have you thought about heading south from Dordogne to the Basque Country? Bayonne, Saint Jean de Luz, Biarritz? You could also could go in land a bit to get in some of the Pyrenees, Saint Jean Pied de Port.
Maybe 4 nights.

The kids might like visiting the Cathar castles in the Aude. So you could spend a few night in that area before heading up to Lyon.

hey hey mathemilu
we spent 6 days in annecy on the lake. it's a small/medium town with the city center with restaurants, shops, galleries, canals, mountain views, activities and boat rides on the lake. we took a private taxi tour around to the small towns around the lake.
frenchmoments.eu/ annecy old town
we roamed around the walkways along canals, stopped in shops, had lunch outside tables to people watch, the farmers market in the old quarters tuesday, friday and sunday.
annecycitytour.fr
van tour around the area plus a bus/boat tour, and a tour to the gorges du fier and a castle.
campingfrance.com
as was mentioned, the basque country, st jean de luz. itsas-mendi.com
look what's available at a water park and stay in a mobile home. activities for kids, restaurants, laundry, pool, sports. check out the other french basque villages and towns. my BFF is from st jean pied de port with family still there.
couple options to check out. enjoy
aloha

Perhaps Burgundy? Beaune and Dijon and the surrounding vineyards are very nice.

Wow!! That is an epic trip!!! For those last 8 nights, I would recommend Chamonix.. We spent 4 nights there last July (2022) and loved it. Get a lift pass and combine it with your hotel's train pass and you can do awesome hikes up and down the valley. You can also pop into Italy, or pop into Switzerland.. Annecy is nice, but get into the mountains!!