First Time France 2 weeks need itinerary advice please

Many of us are totally non-functional on our arrival day due to sleep-deprivation and jetlag. Most are impaired to some degree. If I sat down on a bus I would be asleep within 10 minutes, probably less, so I would not pay for a HO/HO bus for my arrival day. The general recommendation for jetlag recovery is to walk around outdoors, so maybe plan a park and a neighborhood walk?

I would definitely not drive all the way from Annecy to Provence for 2 nights. Nor would I do it for 3 nights. If you drove straight from Annecy to Dijon, it would probably take under 3 hours. Traveling by way of St-Remy subjects you to about 9 hours in the car, and that doesn't include any stops. So you're giving up close to a full day of your vacation in order to have 1 or 2 days in Provence.

Mid-March is potentially mistral season in Provence, so that's another thing to keep in mind.

acraven-thank you! I did not realize it was such a far drive from Annecy to Provence area. I did see about the mistrals though and was wondering about saving Provence for another time. If I added those 2 nights somewhere, what would you suggest?

We need input from other folks on a substitute destination, because I don't travel to Europe in the winter and just don't know how the weather will affect the desirability of different destinations.

I enjoyed Lyon a lot, and it has a number of indoor attractions. As does Paris, of course.

Edited to add: ViaMichelin is a good source for driving times. It doesn't allow for any stops, however, and it assumes you know where you are going and don't drive around forever, looking for a parking place.

I would stay longer in Paris.

What do you guys think about skipping Loire and Provence altogether and do more of a Paris, Champagne, Alsace, Burgundy/Rhone, Annecy/La Clusaz/Alps and TGV back to Paris?

I would stay longer in Paris. We spent 8 nights and I wish we would have stayed longer. So many things to do and see there, and I’m not even much of a museum person...though we did go to a few.

In my opinion, you haven’t allotted enough time to Paris. Though Provence is one of my favorite parts of France, I would skip it on this trip for several reasons: too much travel time, mistral, and possibility of other bad weather. Also, the gardens of Versailles won’t be in top condition in March, so you may want to skip that, too.
Burgundy and the Rhône regions have much to see, in fact, way more than you’ll be able to cover. A couple of highlights are Beaune, Dijon, Lyon, and Vienne. There’s a town on the Rhône, about an hour drive from Lyon, Tain l’Hermitage, that is a wine and chocolate center. The well-known Valrhona chocolate factory is located there. They have a museum and unlimited tasting. There are several wineries close by. You can walk across the river to another town - - name escapes me - - with a nice medieval center.

I would suggest arriving in Paris and immediately take a train to the Loire valley. Walk off your jet lag in that area for your first two days. Then return to Paris for at least 4 days - so much to see. Then rent the car and do the areas that are a priority. Three nights at a location are ideal if transportation is longer than a couple of hours.

Personally I would save southern France for a second trip.

Plumerai, the good news is that you can have a truly memorable trip in 2 weeks. The bad news is that the easiest mistake to make is to cram too much in.

It's very easy to underestimate the costs (in money and time) of changing your location.

in addition:

• It's the off season, which means the small villages will be dead. With few exceptions (a place like Vezeley, which you might consider, will be hopping all year round), you should seek small cities (like Beaune) rather than villages.
• There is no such place as "Burgundy/Rhone." The Rhone passes through many French regions but Burgundy is not one of them. If your Rhone interest has to do with wine, you are probably thinking of Provence.
• The Alps are especially far from Paris, in travel hours.

In your place, I would propose something like this.

1) At least 5 nights in Paris. That is 4 days. See what you can in that time, including a day trip to Versailles if you want. (other possible day trips by train: Chartres, Rouen.)

2) Drive to Vezeley, in northern Burgundy, and spend the night. Stop in the small village of Noyers enroute for an hour or so. Chablis makes a nice lunch stop. There's an option to do part of this by rail, too.

3) Drive to Beaune and spend 2 nights.

4) Drive to La Clusaz and spend at least 2 nights, more depending on how important this destination is to you.

5) Drive to Lyon and return the car. How much time to spend here depends on some of your other choices, and also on your strategy for catching your flight home, but it is a marvelous destination and you will not be able to spend too much time there.

6) The conventional, and probably advisable, course of action is to return to Paris by rail the day before your departure. But if your flight home is in the afternoon you might at least consider taking the TGV directly from Lyon to Charles deGaulle the morning of your flight. This train takes 2 hours and delivers you directly to the airport.

I cheerfully invite others to explain in detail why this is a terrible idea. Maybe it is. However, it worked for us, in the middle of the rail strikes 2 years ago.

The above would be a fabulous trip, but only one of many fabulous possible fabulous trips. So if you prefer other destinations, such as Champagne or the Loire, those are feasible, as long as you don't try to visit them in addition to the above destinations. Visit them instead.

Bon voyage!

Adam-thank you for your thoughtful reply. I know there is no Burgundy/Rhone region:-) From reading and map looking, it appeared that maybe I could condense as it seems the Burgundy region begins at Dijon and runs to about Lyon and it seems the Rhone region of wines anyway starts at Lyon and travels south. Is this accurate?
I realize though that trying to "condense" is probably not the best idea. Iʻve had a hard time figuring out which places are best in March as many sites and travel guides seem to assume travel in primetime spring, summer or early fall. Thank you for specifying travel in March. What about Annecy in March?
What do you think about the suggestion to hop right on a train to somewhere else to work off jetlag/get accommodated and then maybe finish in Paris instead?

While Adams itinerary makes sense for a summer trip, you have to consider the weather and temperature at the time you're traveling.

Have either you or your husband driven in the snow? Are you aware the low temperature in La Clusaz is 19 and the average high is in the 40s.
Highs in the other cities up to 58. Important questions to consider.

I personally would do this. Stay in the cities this time of year, plenty to do, in case of inclement weather, some day trips possible.

Arrive Paris. Travel immediately to Annecy.
1 nite Annecy. Train 3hr43m.

Bus to La Clusaz. 1hr05m.
3 nites

Bus/train La Clusaz-Lyon. 2hr15m.
3 nites Lyon.

Rent car. Lyon-Dijon 2hours. Plenty of wineries between the two. Check opening times.
2 nites Dijon.

Train Dijon-Paris. 1hr49m.
4 nites Paris.

As you can see, it takes time to travel place to place, find and check into lodging and acclimating to your new surroundings.

Thank you Gerri. I appreciate your reply. I have never driven in the snow. My husband has as he lived in Colorado, but its been awhile...I like your ideas about bus rather than driving.
I am aware of the temperatures during that time of the year. In fact, that is what led us to think about some snow time in the alps since the weather will be cold in March and once we mentioned that our daughter was so excited! Again, if it was just my husband and I we would focus as much as we could on wine regions.
What are your thoughts on Annecy?

While I've been to Annecy twice, may & sept., it's a worthwhile stop. Picture a medieval village basically surrounded by water at every turn.
Food is excellent, cafes are everywhere. From pics I've seen, it shimmers in winter. You'll have just a short taste of it as your primary intention is snow. If you want more time here or in La Clusaz eleminate Dijon.

It just hit me that you have a lengthy flight. With that taken into consideration, skip Dijon, add 1 nite to Annecy making it 2 nites. Then add the extra to Paris (5 nites). Lyon-Paris using TGV train 2H05m.

Several people have suggested taking a train to another location and then finish in Paris so as not to break up our time there as well as burn off the jetlag somewhere other than Paris as it seems to be a "wasted day".
I like these ideas, but as we will have been traveling for 17 hours already another trip right away seems a little rough.
Thoughts?
Also, how easy is it to catch a train right from CDG? Keep in mind we only speak basic French (very basic) and have never been there before.
Thanks as always!

What do you think about the suggestion to hop right on a train to
somewhere else to work off jetlag/get accommodated and then maybe
finish in Paris instead?

Sometimes you need to do something like that. I've traveled for as much as 2-1/2 hours on arrival day.

Generally, though it's a bad way to cope with jet lag. If you fall asleep on the train, which you may find irresistible, you can prolong and worsen the jet lag. You certainly won't "work it off."

Ideally you would arrive someplace in the morning and expose yourself to sunlight right away. If it's not too cold walk outside. Push yourself until an early bed time.

Not always possible, but (especially coming from Hawaii) I think you should read up on jet lag and how to manage it, and expect it to take a bite out of your first few days.

how easy is it to catch a train right from CDG?

There is a difficulty, but it is not the language barrier—just ask for help if you need it. Rather:

• If your flight is delayed, you could miss your train
• If you compensate for this by buying a ticket for a later train, you'll probably find yourself sitting around at the airport for a while
• Except for a few destinations, trains from deGaulle are not frequent, so it could be quite a while (Lyon is an exception).

Money can compensate for some of these problems. You can buy a refundable ticket for more money, or if you find exceptionally low fares buy tickets for early and later trains and just throw away the tickets you do not use.

For the above reason, I think you are better off starting in Paris, taking your jet-lag into account (with perhaps an extra day at your first destination to compensate), and deciding if a direct train to deGaulle at the end would work for you.

But if you have an alternative plan, that might be feasible. I don't think you can get much farther than Lyon the first day, however.

I like your original plan on arrival in Paris, just find ways to manage your jet lag. Drink chamomile tea on the plane, so you can sleep, wear a sleep mask, and listen to restful music. When you land, load up on cafe crepe and croissants! It’s Paris! And the whole day is ahead of you! Force yourself to stay awake. Do read up on ways to avoid jet lag, there are homeopathic remedies as well.

I like your original plan of starting in Paris. Yes, you’ll have jetlag. It’s a bigger problem for some travelers than others. My suggestions: avoid caffeinated drinks (and alcohol) on the flight, drink chamomile tea, listen to restful music, wear a sleep mask. Wake up! It’s Paris! The City of Light! Get your cafe creme and croissants. Force yourself to stay awake. The Hop-Op/Hop Off is a great idea or FOXITY after you’ve dropped off your bags. Walk around. Explore. You made it! Your dream trip has begun...

Have to agree, a flight as long as yours may need to be followed by a 1 nite stay in Paris, especially with a child in tow. But keep it to one. The remainder to be spent at the end of your trip in your departure city.

If your flight arrives at 10, you'll probably be out of the airport between 12-13:00. I would probably find a hotel, near the Promenade Plantee. Lots of cafes and "art workshops", an area great to walk off jet lag. Putting you close to the Gare de Lyon station for your trip to Annecy the next day. This will also allow you to book your train tickets as soon as possible to save some $$.

Have you and your family traveled for 2 weeks before? I go on 3 to 4 trips a year, and am pretty active. I find the last few days on any trip I'm dragging. I would suggest sticking with your original plan of starting in Paris when you have the most energy. It's a delightful place to walk around to fight the effects of jet lag. I'd also suggest creating a real schedule of time/distance so you get a better sense of how much time you're on the road and managing transitions. Each packing and unpacking, checking in and checking out, etc. takes up a hunk of time. Consider limiting to 3 places to call home, and find day trips from each "home." From Paris, there are fabulous day trips less than an hour away on the train.

Hi everybody!
We have traveled for 2 weeks and actually much longer. We typically travel to the East & West Coast to visit friends every other year and have spent as long as 5 weeks in the summer traveling. We do usually break things up though and do multi-city flights so as not to have such a long travel time ( stop in California for 1 week, New York for 2 weeks, Washington state for 1 week). We also traveled to Oaxaca, Mexico last Christmas for almost 2 weeks.
That being said this will be the longest travel time weʻve had. We fly from our hometown to L.A. overnight, 2 hour layover, L.A. to Toronto, 6 hour layover, Toronto to Paris CDG overnight. So two nights basically of sleeping on the planes, which for me usually means not sleeping much. To our credit, our daughter is a great traveler and we are all very "go with the flow" and adaptable to making changes. We donʻt get all freaked out on delays, etc. as that is just part of traveling. We are 12 hours ahead of France travel time wise so Iʻm sure our internal clock will be all weird no matter what.
All that being said, there will be tons of excitement!!! Based on responses so far here is where we are at:
Arrive Thurs. 10 am Paris CDG. Take train to Dijon ( B train to Chatelet Les Halles, A or D train to Paris Gare de Lyon, TGV to Dijon Ville- trains run regularly from there in case of delays). Spend the night (Train station close to hotel) Walk around, have a nice dinner and some wine, go to bed at reasonable time.
Try to catch Friday a.m. market in Dijon and soak in as much as can for the day. Rent car and drive to Beaune.
Stay in Beaune Friday, Sat., and Sunday nights. Do some wine tasting, eat, mustard factory, bike tour, other ideas? Also, do places tend to be closed Sunday in Beaune?
On Monday drive to La Clusaz leisurely, maybe stop in Annecy for lunch.
Stay in La Clusaz Monday, Tues., Wed.-this will be mostly relaxing time-no sightseeing just enjoying the snow, a little ice skating, try to ski one of the days.
Leave Thursday and drive almost to Lyon-would like to drop off car before city and then take a taxi or bus or something into the old town. Stay Thursday, Fri., Sat. in Lyon. Ideas for things to do here?
Take train on Sunday to Paris. Stay in Paris Sunday, Mon., Tues., Wed. doing what we can in Paris. Leave Thursday at noon to return home.
Okay! Thoughts on this one? I know its not a ton of time in Paris, but weʻd really like to see more of the Burgundy region and hopefully a little of N. Rhone from Lyon.

Hi Plumerai,

If these are your priorities, and you are OK with the grueling arrival sequence, I have just a few suggestions to make things work a little better.

1) Don't split your time between Dijon and Beaune. Stay in Beaune, period. Consolidate you sleeps. Visit Dijon as a day trip if there are things you want to see there.They are about 20 minutes apart by train.

Note: Unlike many cities, the train station in Dijon is far from the town center. This is one reason why I think Beaune is a better choice, though not the only one.

2) If the weather gods smile on you, renting bikes in Beaune is a swell idea. But please have a plan B that involves a car. I spent a week biking in Burgundy in April, and it was pretty rugged. Would not want to count on the weather in March.

3) Get an early start if you want to have lunch in Annecy.

4) You will have no shortage of things to do in Lyon. And, there is a city card to buy at the TI that must be one of the best deals in Europe. Grab a guidebook, check winter hours, and plan your 3 days.

5) Your aspirations notwithstanding, the only part of the Rhone you will see on this itinerary is the the part that flows through the city. In season there are a couple of fin boat rides that include both the Rhone and the Saone, but I don't know what that options are in March.

6) Work on that French! Beaune in the off season and, I suspect, La Clusaz, are two places where you may encounter people who speak no English.

This is an ambitious itinerary but a creative one that has a lot of texture. I hope it works for you!

Well done ! You and your family will have a fantastic time.

Edit: this article will give you lots of options in Lyon.

https://www.indagare.com/destinations/europe/france/articles/frances-paradise-of-the-senses-lyon

Thanks Adam & Gerri!
Adam-really? I thought I read about the train station being close to city center? Shucks!
I also think Gerriʻs earlier suggestion to spend the first night in Paris by Gare de Lyon is not a bad idea and then take a train out in the morning to Dijon/Beaune.
Will Beaune still be pretty active in March even though it is a smaller town?
After looking at Gerriʻs link to Lyon, it makes me want to stay there longer too!!!! So hard to choose, but I know no matter what I will love it!

The train is a walkable distance to the old center, not more than 15 minutes. I did not mean to overstate the case. But unlike some cities, you do have to walk.

I was in Beaune in early April once and the principal sights were open, and the restaurants and wine bars. I'm not sure about March. A guide book will answer your questions about what is open.

It's a friendly an doable town. I found Dijon by contrast to be kind of sprawling.

Lyon is fabulous.

hey plumeria
sent you a message for your reply. also check out musee des arts forains. has carousels, bicycles and some mechanical games for kids and adults alike. you have to book online, looks like a month ahead of time. keep checking per month, it's in frwench but they do give out english handouts to follow.
aloha