First visit

Will you be traveling by car, train or a combination?
My initial reaction to this itinerary is that it's way too much.

Rental car--my husband loves to drive. Here are our thoughts on travel time:
Geneva to Annecy (<1 hr) – 3 ni
Annecy to Provence (4 hrs) – 4-5 ni
Provence to Dordogne 6+ hrs) – 4-5 ni
Dordogne to Loire Valley (5 hrs) - 2 ni
Loire to Mont St Michel (4 hrs) – 1 ni
MSM to Normandy (1.5 hrs) – 2 ni
Bayeux to Paris (3+ hr) - 5 ni

Your sentiment has been expressed by others but I feel the number of nights are decent compared to the drive times.

The good news about having a car is that you can stay anywhere, so I would say do a broad search on AirBnB (or a gites site) for a place that suits your needs, especially parking. I stayed in Sarlat for two weeks (way too long!) and had a car for a few days while I was there. Parking was a problem (I got a ticket). I know you said you're not that into castles, but my 12yoa son and I liked Beynac the best of all the castles we saw in 15 countries. The whole Dordogne valley was really a highlight. We were also there in September. Perfect time for it.
The Forum is riddled with Arles vs Avignon as a base. I stayed in Avignon, outside the walls, no car, and day tripped to Arles. I enjoyed Avignon, but that's a place where a car could be a challenge (not an insurmountable one). I can see how Avignon is easily done as a day trip because it's quite compact.

I think your itinerary is good. It would not be too much for me, especially for a first trip to France. We found the driving in France to be quite easy, though once you get to the small towns it is more challenging. Make sure the places you stay have parking.

In Provence, we stayed in Arles, which we loved. It's much nicer than Avignon, IMHO. St. Remy would be wonderful, but we didn't have a car when we were in Provence, so we had to rule it out. In the Dordogne Valley, we stayed in Sarlat, which we also loved. Some of the smaller villages are equally lovely, but have fewer options for dining. In Normandy, we stayed in Bayeux, which is ideal. I can't advise you on the Loire Valley as we were only there one night and stayed in Chignon; we were not interested in visiting the chateaux.

Nettie,
With a car I think your plans are fine. I do wish to add that drive times may be a bit longer. The drive-time sites (viamichelin, Google, etc.) underestimate the time to travel because they don't factor in stops for gas/food/comfort, even traffic backups, and they usually figure times on the autoroutes. If you want to enjoy nature and the smaller towns, look for routes on the D roads and give yourself more time between stops. We almost always drive, and prefer to go more slowly on the smaller roads, and have some of our best memories from what we encountered along the way.

Arles or St.Remy are far nicer than Avignon, IMO. I prefer St. Remy, but only by a little. Either would be good. Since you have a car you have many options. Your extra day could be well-spent in either the Dordogne area or Provence....like choosing between your two favorite chocolates. I wouldn't stay in Sarlat. In 2023 we stayed in a gite near Vitrac and La Roque Gageac. The drive to Sarlat took about 15 minutes, and other towns and villages were close enough to drive for dinner. Or you may opt to stay in a town more to the eastern part of the Dordogne Valley. Most sights are easy to get to throughout the area.

Amboise seems to be the preferred town to stay in the Rick Steves world, but there are others you might consider. Two nights in the Loire valley will give you one full day, which is plenty of time to visit two chateaux.

Mont St Michel...I have never stayed on the island, but many love that. It is worth seeing, but you could stay in Pontorson and go see it early in the day or later in the evening if you find it too expensive to stay on the island. If you see the island in the am, I would drive to Bayeaux that afternoon to have time to see the tapestry and cathedral that same day, then next day see the D Day sights. We drove ourselves and visited Omaha Beach, two of the museums there, and attended the flag lowering ceremony at the American Cemetery. We took our lunch with us and moved ar our own pace. Unlike many on the forum, we didn't feel the desire or need to see all the beaches, etc. It depends on your preferences.

Definitely review your drive times and other things that impact your change of locations (e.g. checking out of lodgings, finding the new ones and checking in) to plan what you can and cannot do on travel days. You have lots of decisions to make. Bonne chance et bon voyage!

I think your trip sounds perfectly doable. We have recently done the drive from Vélines (in the Dordogne) to Avignon and it took about 6.5 hrs with a potty stop on the autoroute. I will only caution you to watch your speed. There are speed cameras everywhere and you will get a ticket, even if you are 5km over the limit. And with a car, you will be able to stop and explore anything that looks of interest to you along your drives. Enjoy your trip!

Regarding seeing the tapestry in Bayeau it is scheduled to close in 2025 for about a year I think for renovations. Have read the date is possibly September so before you head to Bayeau be sure to check out the dates if that is why you are too going there.

I highly recommend a full-day D-Day tour if you have an interest in the topic, assuming you are not experts on the subject of the invasion. One of the small-group (van) tours will whisk you from place to place and let you see a great deal more than you could manage on your own. You won't see everything, so many people like to have at least an extra day to go to places not covered--or not covered comprehensively--on the one-day tours. One of those places is the invasion museum located in Bayeux, but many of the others are much more accessible for those with rental cars.

Bayeux is a very good base. It has not only the proximity to the D-Day sites (and therefore is the starting point for most of the tours) and the tapestry, but also the beautiful cathedral, the handsome historic center spared wartime destruction and the aforementioned invasion museum.

Three nights in Annecy is too much time, in my opinion. Consider an afternoon there; possibly with an overnight stay before moving on. I'd recommend several days in Lyon. There are a lot of sights to see there.

Excellent advice, everyone, thanks very much!

Just because its your first visit to France and you are driving- don't forget to get an International Driver's Permit from your local AAA office before leaving home. To save the absolute hassle of driving in Paris, you might consider dropping your car in Caen and taking the train to Paris.

I recommend staying in Sarlat for at least a few days. The town itself is beautiful, and there are a lot of amazing sights nearby. when we stayed there with a car, we stayed at a B&B on the outskirts of town, the parking was easy, and we just had a short walk into downtown.

We visited Amboise (did not stay there), but found it to be a lovely village. And there are many chateaux nearby. Again, check on the parking that is available wherever you stay.

Bayeux/Normandy - I would recommend a stay of more than 2 days. Bayeux is a charming town, with lots of good restaurants, an outdoor market, a cathedral, and of course the tapestry (if it is open), and the DDay beaches and cemetery are well worth a visit. There is also a castle in Falaise where William the Conqueror was born, which is worth a visit.

Have never stayed overnight at MontSt. Michel, but beware that it is very crowded during the day, so wandering around there in the evening might be worth it. Peter