We are planning on taking 7 days or so to drive from Nice (rent car here) to Bayeux (drop car here when done in Normandy).
Considering route to go through Dordogne and Bordeaux, then up through Loire and on to Bayeux.
Is this a comfortable amount of time, presuming we will want 2 to 3 two night stays along the way?
Looks like the drive time is 11 hours+ in total.
Appreciate any suggestions/comments.
Thanks
You may already be using Via Michelin, a good tool for planning road trips. You have to keep in mind that it assumes no stops for any reason, and no serious traffic anywhere. You can enter intermediate destinations, like Sarlat, Bordeaux, and Tours, adding about six hours to the "unadjusted" straight-through travel time it shows for Nice-to-Bayeux.
With a week to drive the distance you obviously have enough time. Breaking down the destinations shows about 8 1/2 hours from Nice to Sarlat, 2 1/2 hours from Sarlat to Bordeaux, 3 1/2 from Bordeaux to Tours, and about 3 from Tours to Bayeux. That first stretch would be a very long drive, but you could break it with an overnight somewhere like Arles or Nimes or (slight detour) Albi, all worthwhile destinations. Two more nights each at Sarlat, Bordeaux, and Tours would be seven nights total. So it's doable.
But maybe not a very enjoyable trip. The Dordogne and Loire are worth more than the one full day you'd be giving them. Each time you change overnight locations you have to pack, check out, drive, check in, and unpack, so those travel days will give you less time for sightseeing than you might think. You could drive past a lot of attractive villages, caves, castles, wineries and such, but you wouldn't have time to stop at many of them. Nice and Bayeux are almost at opposite ends of Texas-size France. Do you really want to tackle them both, by land, in the same trip?
Two nights in the Dordogne would give you just one day after the long drive from Nice. That's a terribly inadequate amount of time for that area. I'd prefer to spend most of the free week in the Dordogne and then perhaps fly from Bordeaux up to Normandy (Rouen? Caen?). Alternatively, you could take the train from Bordeaux to Caen in less than 7 hours.
Does your itinerary already allow for sufficient time in Nice and Normandy? What about Provence, which is easy to combine with the Riviera on a trip like this?
Most people do not deal with the (used to be just one) rental place in Bayeux choosing instead to leave the car in Caen which has many more choices and they are next to the station instead of the out of town gas station in Bayeux. Where will you go after Bayeux?
Thanks to all respondents for your insight. Much appreciated.
This is part of a 21 day trip. Current plan is to spend 4.5 days in Riviera, prior to beginning trip north.
Not crazy about all the driving, so your point about taking a train/flight from Bordeaux to Caen well taken.
Taking train out of Riviera, then rent car further north would help reduce the initial 8.5 hour drive. May add another day to this travel through the countryside.
Current itinerary: Arrive in Paris and spend 5 nights. Train to Nice and stay in smaller nearby town (perhaps Antibes) for 4.5 days. Then trip north, ending in Bayeux. Bayeux for 3.5 days, then train to Paris and flight home.
