Help w/France Itinerary in mid-late April

Wow, Bordeaux and Nice are pretty far apart.

I’m also not sure it makes a lot of sense to take the train from Paris to Bordeaux just for one night. Two nights in one location gives you a full day to sightsee.

Then by train Rome2Rio is showing it’s 9-10 hours from Bordeaux to Nice but less by plane. That website is not always accurate but still it’s a distance and you’ve not given yourself any time to “see” Bordeaux if there is something of interest to you there.

End of April is pleasant to me in Paris but as you indicate, it’s relative, lol. It was 7F when I went out to shovel 3 inches of snow this AM here in Idaho, lol so almost anything is better than what I’ve got!!

French trains tend to fan out from Paris, so it burns a lot of time to travel across the country from west to east. There's superfast train service from Paris to Bordeaux, but getting from there to the southeast will be costly in terms of time--and probably also money. Bordeaux has a nice historic center, but most foreign tourists seem to go there on the way to the Dordogne, a very interesting area, but one that requires multiple days at a minimum (and longer if you don't have a rental car).

I urge you to hold off on Bordeaux this time. In the context of the rest of the trip, you have a lot of logistically-more-convenient options.

Although you may be fortunate and see high temperatures at and above 70F during an April trip, that will require extraordinary luck. The average high temperature for that month in Nice is only 63.3F; the average in May is only 69.8F. Naturally, it will be far chillier than those temperatures at 8, 9, 10 and 11 AM and after sunset. For a near-guarantee of warm weather in April, you need to go somewhere like southern Spain. Even Rome or Sicily will likely have average high temperatures below 70F in April.

I agree about skipping Bordeaux... The city itself is interesting but many people are not that impressed (personally it is not in my top-10 for France), and winery tours eat up a lot of time that you do not have.
I would just fly from Paris (Orly) to Nice (or take the train, greener but longer), stay in Nice for maybe 6 nights (day trips from Nice are easy) and fly again from Nice to Vienna.

If I'm reading this correctly, your entire time on the ground in Europe is only about two weeks. To see Vienna, Salzburg and Hallstat in 4-5 days seems incredibly rushed, quite the opposite of your stated wish to "enjoy and not rush." Which of those is your top priority?

I also agree with previous comments that Bordeaux is impractical for such a short stay. If Bordeaux is important to you, you could combine it with seaside relaxation on the western coast (Biarritz, for example) instead of the Riviera. Or, eliminate Bordeaux to give yourselves more Riviera time -- but, to answer your weather question, in late April it probably won't be "beach weather" in the Los Angeles sense, just as LA itself is often too chilly for beachgoing at that time of year.

As for train versus rental car, you can travel from Paris to the Riviera quickly by train (ditto for Bordeaux, as others have mentioned), but to get around to the smaller towns it would be useful to have your own car. Otherwise you'll be dependent on bus and train schedules, which I personally find rather stressful.

Thank you so much for all your replies! Very helpful feedback. So, we will scratch Bordeaux and do 2 days in Paris (maybe a day trip to Champagne) then train or flight to the South (will narrow down what places) and then Annecy and then Austria. To answer some questions, we have done most of the touristy stuff in Paris and Vienna and honestly just want to shop, enjoy the cafes, good food and maybe catch a show and just explore at our leisure. We did Vienna last time in 2 days and 4 or 5 days in Paris so we have an idea of where we want to return or explore this time.

Only thing we need to figure out is whether the train or flight makes sense to possibly Nice and them maybe rent a car to explore the nearby town and other places once we figure out where. Another question is - seems like Marseilles doesn't get great reviews and St. Tropez and Cannes are overrated (possibly similar to Beverly Hills here where I really do think it's overrated). Any truth to that based on your experiences?

Excited to doing more research for the French Riviera! Thank you all! Oh, and actually people here do go to the beach practically year-round, 60's isn't bad at all when the sun shines. ;-) Thanks again! :-)

The most efficient transportation to southeastern France from downtown Paris depends on where you want to go. There is no really fast TGV service down to Nice (the fastest train takes 5 hr. 40 min.), so flying isn't a crazy option at all. However, if you want to include in your itinerary a bit of Provence (Aix-en-Provence, Marseilles, Arles, Avignon, or Luberon villages), the train will be faster and a lot more comfortable. Avignon and Marseille are the fastest fo reach, but there are trains to both Arles and Aix taking under 4 hours. Reaching villages will require onward road transportation (see below). The train trip east from any of the large cities in Provence toward Nice will be somewhat slow, because the rail line in that direction doesn't allow TGV-speed service.

I haven't been to St. Tropez, Cannes or Monaco. If you want to observe glitz and boutiques by the sea, a visit to one of those places might be fun, I guess. St. Tropez is one I'd take a pass on unless I had a specific reason for choosing it, because it has no train station; you'd end up needing to include a boat or a bus in your travel plan. It would just be a lot easier to get to Cannes or Monaco.

I didn't like Marseille as much as I expected to. I chose a hotel in a not-great location (near the main rail station) and found the museums quite disappointing. Nonetheless, I enjoyed walking around on both sides of the old harbor.

A car is very helpful in Provence if you want to see the cute villages and small towns. Train service is very efficient between the larger places I mentioned above.

Along the Riviera coast, a car would be a pain. Traffic can back up severely and unpredictably, I was told by a local. The train isn't fast (and you need to be alert for pickpockets), but it is very convenient. Most of the Riviera-area hill villages and towns people want to see are accessible by bus ( a few by train), so whether it's worth it to rent a car depends on what specific places you want to see. Parking a car is likely to be challenging and expensive.

There are direct flights between Nice and Vienna. I have no idea about transportation that would include Annecy.

Thank you all again for the VERY helpful feedback. We did more research and we have decided to either 1) scrap the Riviera altogether and do it properly on our next trip to France for 10-14 days in May/June OR 2) Go to the Riviera and stay in Nice with day trips (sticking to trains/buses) to Villefranche-sur-Mer, Eze (maybe), Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, Monaco and Menton for 6 days. Votes for #1 or #2?

It seems the weather in late April may not make the Riviera worth it. We weren't necessarily planning to be at the beach all day. We are professionals in our early 40's and are more into a wine tours, food tours, some museums and musical concerts, the opera and the ballet (hence Vienna) and occasionally splurging an elegant dinner or night out. (Also, thank you for the tip to fly from Nice to Vienna!) But if the weather was nice and hot, we'd likely spend more time at the beaches.

If we stayed in Paris, we are thinking 1 week there with day trips and maybe even squeeze in Annecy (that place keeps popping up in my research and seems highly recommended) But if Annecy is too much feel free to say so. We definitely don't want to stress and that's another reason for maybe not doing the Riviera this time. But, if you think #2 IS doable, we will make it happen. :-)

Thank you all in advance! Great forum! :-)

The Riviera is 100% worth it in late April. It might not be lounging weather yet, but you can still enjoy time at the beach, it should not be cold. The beaches are not the main asset of the area anyway: it is more of a combination of beautiful seaside landscape, cliffs, lush hills, villages...

As for Annecy, it does not tie in well with the Riviera and with Austria: I would drop it. It is a lot of travel, and April is too early in the year (lake-related activities will not be pleasant).

Ok good to know because at this point I've done so much research, I'd love to visit what you described even if it's just for 5-6 days. Do you think trains/buses to the nearby villages or should we rent a car? We will skip Annecy.

If you pick Nice as a base, you do not need a car on the Riviera. You can easily visit the whole area from Grasse to Menton with trains and buses. Many travellers do not rent a car there.

Now, if you do not mind driving on narrow roads in Europe, a car does give a bit more flexibility: you can see more places in a bit less time, and it lets you see more of the inland areas with hilltop villages like Gourdon, Peille, etc. I have to warn you that some inland roads might seem scary if you are unaccustomed to mountain driving, see for example the road to Peille (streetview link).

If you have 6 days/5 nights in the area, I do not think you need a car the whole time, but renting one for 3 days could be fun if you are up for it! Just be aware of the parking arrangements at your chosen accommodation.