Beaune to Nice

I enjoyed Nice, but to me much of its value is as a base to see some of the lovely surrounding towns and villages. Your schedule doesn't really allow time to do that, so I'd skip Nice. I haven't driven in Europe and travel much more slowly than you do, so I don't know whether eliminating Nice will be sufficient. The usually-optimistic Viamichelin.com indicates that Sarlat-le-Canada is about a 7-hour drive from CDG airport without any stops in the Loire Valley.

Thank you for your reply. Thinking about driving to Nice or somewhere in French Rivier and stop there. Just fly back to Paris on 9/18 for my return trip on September 19. I wanted to see all of France but I would like to relax a little before returning home. The driving is a bit much for me being alone. Might give one last stop in Chamonix heading to Nice from Beaune.

There are quite good train and bus links from Nice along the Riviera, though you must be sure you are looking at the September schedule rather than the high-season (July-August) schedule. That's probably mostly a bus issue. The tourist office on the plaza in front of the Nice Ville train station is very helpful. It can provide maps/brochures on a lot of the surroundimg towns so you don't have to worry about arriving somewhere when tne local office may be closed.

If you really want to enjoy France, you need to drop the Dordogne and ditch the car. The drive from Beaune to Arles or even Nice is just autoroute, trucks, and little scenery. I've done the drive many times, including yesterday from just south of where you are starting to just past Monaco. Thé Rhône Valley not only had wind alerts on the autoroute, but also a ton of smog. The train is high-speed from Lyon to Marseille, so scenery goes by fast, but Marseille to Nice along the coast is lovely. And yes, do fly back. Otherwise all you are seeing is a windshield, toll plazas, and a road.

I haven't seen how the RS tour is set out on paper, but an itinerary like this seems made for an organized tour where someone else drives and you have a guide. What you have laid out is cruise ship speed but you have to be both crew and passenger.

As others have posted, that's a huge amount of driving. And as @Bets wrote, the Autoroute down from Beaune is not that thrilling. It's more thrilling to get off the roads and explore the towns (and eat) in the Lyon, the Upper Rhone, the Luberon, Cote d'Azur etc.

The route from Arles through to Sarlat is a little better, but you still miss so much in a rush to get to your next destination (if you do, you must stop at Carcassonne. It will make a great stop on the way up to Toulouse).

The route from Beaune to Chamonix is a bit more interesting than the A7 but it is a big diversion from your route. The lifts are wonderful, if the weather is cooperative. The danger with an overnight is that the morning is the prime viewing time, and it can be hit or miss in September. (I used to live in Lausanne)

If you do decide to go to Nice, it is perfectly fine to ditch your car. You can take a train or bus all along the Cote d'Azur, as stated. Flying to the airport is the most time efficient, if you have a flight out the next morning, unless you want a last night in Paris. The TGV back takes 5 hrs 40.

You can slice it either way. There's plenty to see along a tighter driving route. Keep the destinations you're most excited about and then cut the destinations that are furthest away from those. A rental car is quite helpful around the Dordogne and Loire Valley but not really needed along the French Riviera. Nice and Arles could serve as bases for a two-week future trip.

This is tough. You really do have too much on your plate though! And while anything is possible, as a practical matter i think that Beaune, and your time constraints, makes the Dordogne too difficult. Plus, you seem to really like the idea of Nice.

But you probably don't need a car for Nice. So maybe drive from Beaune to Arles, spend a few days, ditch the car, and take the train to Nice. That's a nice trip with enough time to recover from all that driving.

If you can arrange to fly to Nice when you first land in Pars, you can work things backwards and save a day.

Alternatively, if you skip Beaune you can take the TGV to Bordeaux or Angouleme, rent a car, toodle around the Dordoge, and then drive/rail back.

Which would be brilliant. But I don't think it works with Beaune in the mix.

I already have two nights I'm Beaune. Leaving from Reims in about an hour. What I am thinking now is ditching the car in Beaune and taking the train to Nice and stay in Nice until the day before my flight flying Nice to Paris on the 18th. Paris to New York on the 19th. Everyone posting was very helpful and right that my itinerary was too aggressive. I hope there is a Eurocar representation in Beaune to return the car.

You'll probably have to return the car in Dijon, at the train station. There's plenty to enjoy the coast, even without a car.

Well I still have the car. Mostly because I can't get in touch with Europcar. I was bike riding today and past an office that was closed because it's Sunday. There is a train that goes direct to Nice tomorrow afternoon. I can walk to train station if I can go return car before. There are only 3 seats on Tara train tomorrow at 150 euros. I'm also considering driving to Provence and then to Nice. My next hotel reservation is from September 14 to the 18th. I have a flight on the 18 to Paris (CDG) from Nice and a flight back to NY from CDG on morning of 19 th. So I am open until the 14th after tonight. I would love to head over to Chamonix but a little nervous. If anyone knows if the drive from Beaune to Chamonix then to Nice over the next 3 days would be enjoyable or to Avignon then to Nice. Or just get rid of car and wait for 16:45 train tomorrow arriving Nice after 22:00?

The forecast for Chamonix does not look good for the next several days, even for September. The upper reaches are clear so far but the valley is cold and socked]1 in. The web page gives excellent local condition information so that you know in advance before you travel.

Personally I'd head to Avignon and Provence (Arles, the Luberon, Pont du Gard, etc) until you have to be in Nice on the 14th.

Agree with Gooster. If it's difficult to return the car, you could drive to Avignon or Arles, see some things in Provence and then take the train on over to Nice from the 14th.

Thank you all. Does anyone have any opinions about Vaison la Romaine!