France 21 Day Itinerary Input

Just fyi, hotel prices are very, very high in Paris in September and early October, due to fashion weeks and many conventions going on then. Your plan to chase the warmer weather is good, but in this case I would put all of your Paris time at the end. Paris will likely be less crowded and perhaps cheaper re lodging. Glad to see you are counting nights. Be sure to factor in the time it will take to move from one location to another. A train may take two hours, but checking out of hotels, getting to the station, and after the trip, getting to your new lodging and checking in will likely add two hours to the actual train time on those days. Suss out the train schedules in making your plans to get the most of your visits to each place.
Oops! I see you plan on departing from Nice, so my Paris suggestion is moot, unless you want to change your departure plans. Just be prepared for higher hotel prices in Sept., and when you find a place you like, book it fairly quickly (and get a good cancellation option). Competition for rooms in Paris in Sept. will be stiff.

Oh yes, re times in different places, I would give two nights each to Normandy and Brittany, but with a WWII interest, 3 nights at the Normandy beaches area gives you 2 full days, so your plans fit. Did you plan on seeing other areas of Normandy? It is over 11,500 sq. mi. and has a big variety of things to see, such as Honfleur and Rouen and the Route Des Abbayes. Brittany is quite large (over 10,500 sq. mi.), so just one night there will give you part of arrival day and part of departure day in Brittany...and which city there? Perhaps you might drop Brittany unless you have one particular thing you are planning for there. 3 nights in the Loire Valley are good (2 full days). Reading that you don't want to have a tightly packed visit, and taking into account the time it will take to change locations (are you driving or taking trains?) I would sadly drop the Dordogne. Distances are greater than most Americans realize. In the Dordogne a car is really necessary to get around. Dropping the Dordogne you could add another night to Provence and another to Nice, and give the other to Paris for a day trip from there. The 4th night (and its day) taken from the Dordogne would account for travel from the Loire to somewhere in Provence, your longest travel day. Nice is a good choice for the Riviera as it has good bus and train access to other places along the coast, plus lots of museums. Provence is another large region with many sections, so you will probably need to check some fora and websites to narrow down where in Provence you would stay. A car rental here is good to visit the many charming towns. If you plan on a car for the whole trip, we like the Michelin maps for each area. Viamichelin.com is a good website for seeing routes between places. Just add extra time for gas/food/comfort stops as they aren't figured in to their times. (Likewise Google maps)
Just some thoughts.......

Talgal,
In my thinking about details, I forgot to say congratulations on your trip! France is wonderful. and you will have a great time! Amusez-vous bien!

Are you renting a car or using trains? That will make a big difference in suggestions about timing and destinations. My general feedback is that France is big and travel distances and times are big.

The idea of going north to south to keep up with warmer weather isn't really necessary at that time of year, and the previous poster's observations about Paris is late September are valuable.

Judy and Anita,
Thank you for your replies. A few responses:

Yes, we plan to rent a car where it makes sense. Love the trains, but will consider cost, efficiency, and access. I’m so glad you mentioned the Paris fashion events. I didn’t catch that in my preliminary research. We can evaluate a later start or reversing our itinerary to avoid the crowds and elevated pricing. We plan to see a variety of things in and around Normandy, I mentioned my husband’s military interest as explanation for a 3 night stay in the area. Thank you for the tip about distances and resources to evaluate drive time. I still need to look at interior transportation which could result in itinerary changes. I like the suggestions to reconsider Brittany and Dordogne. Perhaps I’ll add 1 night in Honfleur enroute to Normandy and would love to have more time to allocate to the southern cities.

Thank you!

Are you going to fly home from Nice? IF you have to go back to Paris, I'd divide your Paris nights and put several at the end.

I'd also encourage you to consider how many days you'll be on the ground - 2 nights = 1 full day. 4 nights = just 3 days.

I like 3 nights in the Normandy area as that just gives you 2 full days on the ground there. There is so much to see!

I love Brittany and have been on 2 different tours that spent multiple nights in Brittany and just scratched the surface. To me 1 night is not enough...it does not even give you a full day. I'd be inclined to put Brittany on another trip where you can spend several days there. What sight were you hoping to see in Brittany? Because you'd only have an afternoon and possibly part of a morning at most.

I've not been to the Riviera/Nice so not sure if 2 nights in enough. Again that only gives you 1 full day to tour there.

Where were you thinking of staying in Provence? I've stayed multiple nights in both Arles and Aix-en-Provence which both have different feels. There is a lot to see from either area as well as in between the 2!

Five nights in Paris just gives you 4 full days. To me you might be able to do 1 day trip but not 2 as there is SO much to see there. I AM a museum/church gal so am easily entertained in Paris even though I am not really a big-city gal. I do go every year and even with 3 weeks there I still have things on my to-do list that I have not gotten to, hahaha.

I do encourage you to start thinking of clothing for your trip. I do recommend waterPROOF jackets for you and your husband. I've been to Normandy a number of times and have always had at least one rainy/windy day there.

What a wonderful time you will have! You can tell I love France!

OMG! You’ve given me so much to think about. Every trip I plan I feel like there isn’t enough time. It’s so difficult to eliminate locations, but I suppose it’s better to reduce the number of locations in order to enhance the experience in the areas we visit. What if we just dispense with the whole RS itinerary and concentrate on northern France (Paris and nearby, Normandy, Brittany, and Loire Valley)?

“What if we just dispense with the whole RS itinerary and concentrate on northern France (Paris and nearby, Normandy, Brittany, and Loire Valley)?”

You’d have plenty to keep you busy!

I’ve not driven myself, always on tours (Rick Steves, Road Scholar and Seymour Travels) covering Northern France. Here one suggestion of many ways to divide your time depending on what sounds interesting to you :

Nights 1-5 - Paris (more nights if you have specific day trips you want to do)
6-8 Bayeux
9 Are you interested in Mont Saint-Michel?
10-12 - Dinan
13-16 Vannes (Do you have an interest in Megalithic sites?)
17-19 Amboise or Tours
20 - Paris
21 - Depart

You could also go directly to Bayeux on arrival and put your nights in Paris at the end of

I like your latest list of destinations. There's a variety of sites but all in the same basic area.

Personally, I look at arrival day as sort of a "Let's get to our first big destination and relax" kind of day, Assuming your trans-Atlantic flight arrives at de Gaulle Airport in the morning, I would not stay in Paris because you probably can't check into your hotel room until later in the day and I don't really enjoy sight-seeing on arrival day. So, pick a destination outside of Paris (Chartres, Rouen, etc.?) and figure out transportation. Trains, FLIX bus, etc., are all possibilities. My husband and I have driven multiple times from the airport but figuring out public transportation may be a better option. You will be tired and probably sleep-deprived after your flight so driving that first day is challenging if you're not familiar with the roads, the standard transmission car, road signs, etc. Spend 2 nights in that first destination and spend the second day sightseeing there.

The morning of the 3rd day drive onto Normandy. Bayeaux is a good destination for 3-4 nights because it is convenient to the D-Day beaches, cemeteries, etc. It's big enough to have a variety of restaurants and hotels, but small enough that driving in and out of the town is easy.

From there, move onto to Dinan. Stay 3-5 days, depending on how many day trips you want to make. I enjoyed St. Malo.

Next select one of the many towns in the Loire Valley and stay 3-5 days. It is tempting to visit many of the beautiful chateaux. I suggest finding a variety of destinations in the Loire Valley, such as the very old castle of Chinon, Fontevraud Abbaye, Chenonceau, etc. I suggest staying in one of the nearby towns.

Finally, get rid of the rental car and take the train into Paris. There is always lots of discussion on the forum about the "best" area of Paris. Most of the neighborhoods are safe and as long as you're near a metro stop, it's convenient to Paris tourist destinations. It's helpful to read about public transit in advance so you understand how to pay, etc.

Anita and Pam,
I’m seeing we can see a lot with a much more relaxed pace and less transit time if we don’t spread out the itinerary so much. I really appreciate your input. More research on my part will certainly help us pinpoint the destinations, but I think the more centralized spots will be better. Thank you!