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Driving Paris to Nice - Itinerary opinions please

Posted by on

Hi,
My husband and I are planning our first trip to France this July. We like to drive and explore independently with private city guides where appropriate. Here is our first draft itinerary... Please let me know your thoughts, Is this a reasonable amount of time at each stop? too little or too much? Is each stop worth our time? Anything missing? What would you change. Also would love any input on the not to miss stuff along the route as well as in each location, Starting to look at hotels so any input on a favorite or something really special would be appreciated,. Thanks so much for your help.

Early morning Arrival into Paris - stay 4 full days and 4 Nights

Rent Car and leave early on 5th day and drive to Strasbourg - stay 2 nights

Drive to Colmar -stay 2 nights (Should we do both Strasbourg and Colmar or just stay in one of them for 3-4 nights?)

Drive to Annecy stay 3 nights - Want to do Chamonix during this time as well (should we stay in Chamonix or can we do it during the time in Annecy?

Drive to Aix en Provence - stay 2 nights

Drive along the coast to Nice - Stay 4 nights

Depart from Nice mid morning flight

Posted by
6390 posts

Do you plan to make any stops between Paris and Strasbourg? If not, take the train to Strasbourg and rent the car when you leave Strasbourg. That would save you a bit of time.

Posted by
6390 posts

Yes, maybe I should have been a bit more specific. Paris to Strasbourg is 1:46 by train, compared to 5-6 hours of driving.

Posted by
20 posts

Thank you! Great idea. What are your thoughts about staying in both Colmar and Strasbourg? Also, what about the 3 nights in Annecy? Too much?

Posted by
739 posts

I also like getting in a car and just seeing what is around the corner.
I have Driven from Nice to St Trope along the coast, that is a great drive. My father and I had a little BMW with a stick, it was a blast. We stopped in some town no one has heard of that has about 6 comical buildings and bought some bread and meat and cheese and what have you then we continued up the road a bit and stopped in a park with an amazing overlook and had lunch. Trully amazing

Posted by
20094 posts

In fact, you don't really need a car until you get to Annecy. Parking a car in Strasbourg would be pretty much a nightmare. Might be handy for a day in Colmar.

Posted by
27120 posts

Yeah, lots of folks like to visit some of the little wine villages outside Colmar, and that's more efficiently done with a car.

Annecy is a gorgeous town in a gorgeous setting. Everybody with a passport knows it, and many of them may be in town the same day(s) you are. Be aware, too, that Annecy can get extremely hot in the summer; I was lucky enough to hit one of those days. The boat trip on the lake was nice, but there wasn't enough other stuff to do to keep me entertained in the heat, and I was very, very glad to leave. Many others love Annecy. I can't comment on day-tripping to Chamonix

Posted by
11159 posts

we stayed in Strasbourg a few days then went to one of charming wine villages, Riquewehr , for a few nights. We went see Colmar and were much happier with the choices bf or the stays we had made.

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