Another itinerary allocation question for the forum

I think the itinerary is fine as is but my personal choice would be Arles instead of Avignon. Do Avignon as a day trip. Perhaps 1 night in Beaune and add the night to Paris.

I'd subtract one day from Bayeux and add one to Lyon, having lived in Lyon and near Bayeux.
There's a lot more to see and do in Lyon than in Bayeux.

Good point about using Arles as our 3-day base rather than Avignon. The hotel we will stay at in Arles is the Le Calendal and it reads like a fun place. Our hotel alternative in Avignon read like a proper, well-appointed, (maybe a little stuffy) more costly choice.
Anyway, Arles is the Provence decision.

Sammy,
It's hard for us to drop a day in Bayeux because it's our first stop after crossing 9 time zones from Calif. We need a cushion day or so at that location.

The way this is working out... we will probably have a choice of splitting 5 nights between Beaune and Lyon. How would the forum group do that? My thinking was Beaune 3 and Lyon 2 because of the wine-related opportunities in Burgundy. Now, I'm leaning a little towards Lyon for 3 nights.

PS- Think we will drop Dordogne altogether. We don't love caves and are not canoers.
Thanks for the good thoughts.

If you can only allow 2 nights (and in this case I do not see how you could allow more time), drop Dordogne. It is much more than caves and canoes, and it deserves at least 4-5 nights to make the long road journey worthwhile.
That way, you can add a night to Arles/Avignon (you'll like having 3 full days, I promise) and a night to Lyon.

Also, in terms of trip order: if driving, I would go to Beaune from Amboise, then either:

• To Lyon, dropping off the car immediately, and moving on to Arles where a car-free visit is feasible

• To Arles if you'd rather have a car to visit Provence (it is helpful, can't deny it, but the drive from Beaune to Arles is annoying), then drop off the car in Avignon TGV and take train to Lyon.

Then take train to Paris.

And please do not drive off to Bayeux right after landing at CDG from California. That drive is too long to be safe with a jetlagged brain. Take a train to Caen and rent car there...as long as it's not a Sunday. If it's a Sunday, then rent a car in CDG, but considering staying in/near Giverny for the night, or Les Andelys if you've been to Giverny before.

About caves in the Dordogne. At least for me, it's not so much the caves as the cave paintings. If I want to visit a cave, I certainly don't have to go to France to do so, but cave paintings are a different matter. Yes, the Dordogne needs more than 2 nights to do it justice. We spent 4 nights in Sarlat, and I would have loved more. But we got to see Lascaux IV and Font de Gaume. And we also visited Beynac Castle. The market on Saturday in Sarlat was also fun.

I agree with balso--that 2 nights in Sarlat is too short for a good visit to the area and it involves a good bit of transportation time. I'd drop that area from this trip and allocate the time to one of your other stops. Lyon deserves more than 2 nights, and Provence, more than 3.

Do the Dordogne another time, maybe in combination with the French and Spanish Basque Country or other places in western France.

You could easily add time to any of your destinations and have a great trip
as they’re near the centers of some fantastic French regions: Avignon in Provence, Sarlat in the Dordogne, Amboise in the Loire. With a car, just one of these would be a place to stay for three weeks.

You can get everywhere on your itinerary by train. And with several even on TGV routes ( Paris-St. Pierre des Corps-Amboise; Paris-Beaune, Lyon, Avignon) you can relax taking the trains everywhere.

Lyon is France’s chef central where oenophiles can taste their vineyard discoveries in some amazing restaurants. Lyon is an epicurean experience in a remarkable city where I would add time.

This is an itinerary that is very heavy on logistics and light on being there. I'd hate to be driving from one end of the country to the other with little time along the way or in any region. Everyone gets to plan the trip they want but this would be a nightmare to me. I'd organize around a series of bases and choose 3 regions for a trip like this so you are not spending so much time checking in and out of hotels and on transport from one place to another.

I personally prefer the Dordogne to Provence but to each his own on selection of areas to focus.

I agree with everything Balso said, although I have no opinion on Lyon, having never been there. I loved Sarlat, but two nights is not enough. I loved Beaune and would add another night there, taking it from Sarlat or perhaps Paris (since you’ve take easy been there). I agree with your sense that you should not eliminate a night from Bayeux. Aside from the issue you raised about jet lag, there is a ton to do there. The WWII sites are amazing, there is medieval history there, and the countryside is beautiful.

I hope you have a wonderful trip. I’ve never been anywhere in France I didn’t love.

Thanks for the helpful input, which resulted in changes to our schedule. Here is the updated plan:

Arrive CDG and drive or train to Bayeux. Each location is listed with the number of (hotel nights).
Bayeux (3) Jet-lagging for sure.
Mont St Michel (1)
Amboise (3)
Arles (4)
Lyon (2)
Beaune (3)
Paris (4)

Changes from the original are using Arles as Provence home base rather than Avignon;
Dropping Dordogne;
Adding one day each to Arles and Beaune.

I promise to provide feedback after the trip.

Wondering minds want to know, how was your trip?
I hope it was wonderful, and would appreciate your feedback!

Priscilla,
Thanks for your follow up reminder.
We really appreciated all the input from the forum and did make several changes to our trip after receiving your collective input.
The original itinerary was:
Bayeaux (3) Jet-lagging for sure.
Mont St Michel (1)
Amboise (3)
Sarlat-la-Caneda (2)
Avignon (3)
Lyon (2)
Beaune (2)
Paris (4).

Our slightly revised actual trip was, (with a few comments added):
Bayeaux (3) (Jet-lagged as expected. We are not WW II buffs, but thought 1/2 day of D-Day was well worth the time.)
Mont St Michel (1) (Tough, but rewarding walk in the rain to the top of the abbey; largest omelet I've ever eaten.)
Amboise (3) (Chateaux, Leonardo da Vinci and lots of sauvignon blanc.
Arles (4) (Van Gogh, Roman antiquity, wine and a good feeling of Italy)
Lyon (2) (Impressive, historical, cultural and gastronomic city. Great for walking in our area.)
Beaune (3) (Burgundy wine everywhere, historical hospital, the region is literally a good restaurant wine list)
Paris (4) (Reliably excellent, mainly revised museums; Giverney very good.)

We thought our allocation of nights was about right. We booked 1/2 day-type tours in Bayeaux, Amboise, Arles and Beaune. Had many great walking days, saw many museums, mainly ate outside in sidewalk cafes, drank more wine than expected and got along just fine with our lack of French language by smiling. All of these stops were new to us except Paris. We had high expectations for all and those expectations were met. If I had to pick a place that surprised on the upside, it was Lyon where a third night would have been better.

With best wishes to all on this forum.