Help with France itinerary

You’ll be in FR 13 nights? I would focus on Paris and Provence. To learn more, buy Rick Steve’s FR guidebook 20th edition: https://store.ricksteves.com/shop/p/france-guidebook. You could easily spend five nights in Paris and never be bored. While in Provence would you be willing to rent a car? I recommendend sleeping in two places since there will be five of you. The less you move around the better the trip.

Better informed people than myself can advise you., but I would advise against a loop. Visiting one or two regions , I think would be much more enjoyable. We are headed for our third trip this fall and it is Lyon, Paris and Provence, 21 days between the 3 locations. For your first trip the Loire Valley might be memorable. You do not mention interests, history, art, food, hiking(walking)?

We would rent a car, but do you think renting a car for five of us, plus luggage is feasible? And our interests are everything mentioned, but probably less heavy on the museum side. Versailles is a must and we're planning on devoting one day there.

Hub and Spoke works better than a loop IMHO because you can settle in one place for several nights vs. the hassle of daily accommodation changes. You've nearly a year to plan, so grab some guidebooks and figure out what cities you can explore for a couple of days!

Definitely rent a car! We've found small SUVs with automatic transmissions to be readily available to book. But don't get it until you are leaving Paris for the rest of your travels around France. Pack lightly, and look for vrbos or aribnbs with laundry facilities.

Also, with adult children, I would include them in planning. Once you settle on where you will be staying, ask them to choose (or blind draw) what are must-sees and must-dos in the location they've picked and have them develop the itinerary.

You won’t need a car while in Paris or when taking day trips from there. You can take a direct (no transfer) train from Paris to Avignon and sleep there and use public transportation from there too: https://www.sncf-connect.com/en-en/ However, if you want to see a bit more of Provence a car for day trips would come in handy. I would still take trains when hauling luggage.

Figure about half the time in Paris, then half the time in one smaller city or town that's a hub for one region. Spend some time with guidebooks to pick that region, go there by train, then either rent a car or use trains and/or buses to get around it. Provence would be a good idea. So would Normandy, Burgundy, the Loire, or Dordogne -- the ones I've visited, and of course there are others.

Apartments would be a good idea for a group of five adults, with room to spread out, keep different hours, make some meals if you want, do laundry if so equipped. Otherwise hotels.

Your second hub city might have air or train service direct to CDG, which could save you time at the end of your trip. But don't try to drive or take a train from elsewhere on the day of a flight, even an afternoon departure, too many things could go wrong. Or, as janettravels advises in this forum, flip the sequence and make your "second" city your first destination, finishing in Paris where the airport is close.

Planning a trip is half the fun, take your time and get everyone involved in it.

Amazing advice, thank you! I like the idea of getting from point A to B via train, and then using a car for day trips - without luggage. And yes, it's time to read some books.

In planning stage of my trip too and like the hub and spoke model. You can have two or max three hubs in this length of time. Depending on your interest you can think about a train from Paris to the second hub, e.g., Avignon in Provence, Nice in the Riviera, or Colmar (Alsace), etc. For me, planning and anticipation is half the fun as you are learning about the histrory, geography, culture, cuisine.

When we and our daughters were similar ages as your family we landed at CDG and spent 1 night in Giverny in a B&B, 5 in Normandy in a cottage, and 9 in Paris in an apartment. We all loved it. With 13 nights I’d suggest 5 or 6 in Normandy or other area of interest with a car. Then get rid of the car and spend the rest in Paris. There is plenty to do in Paris and Versailles is an easy day trip by train.

Adding: We have since visited Provence and Nice and either of those or another area such as the Dordogne or Alsace might fit your family’s interests, as others have suggested.

My first visit to France was in June of 2017 and the itinerary went like this:

Paris - 3 nights
* We saw all the usual sights, spent a day in Versailles, my husband proposed at the top of the Eiffel Tower on our first night there, and we visited with friends in Chartres. A phenomenal start to an epic vacation!

Reims - 2 nights
* Private Dom Perignon tasting tour, two other champagne houses, evening light show at the cathedral

Beaune - 1 night
* A little sightseeing and a lot of wine

Lyon - 1 night
* A little sightseeing and an epic meal at Paul Bocuse

Avignon - 3 nights
* Kayaking under the Pont du Gard, driving the hill towns of Provence

Nice - 3 nights
* Beach, Monaco, relax, gelato

We flew into Paris, took trains everywhere, rented a car for just a day in Provence, and flew from Nice to Amsterdam for the last 4 nights of our trip.

As you can see, you can easily hop from place to place and still have a wonderful vacation.

Happy to provide more information if desired!

Awesome advice, I appreciate it! I am intrigued by Colmar and thinking we could head there after spending a day in Reims. Wondering if we could store luggage at the train station in Reims while we go exploring, or should we stay overnight in Reims? The oldest child wants to go somewhere that feels different from Paris, so I'm thinking that Colmar would fit the bill...and maybe day trips from Colmar via car? Baden Baden, Staten, or Basel? It also looks like there are several places in France to see that are close to Colmar, like Kayserberg or Riquewihr. Any advice on Reims and Colmar?

• Staufen, not Staten

I loved Colmar. It’s a very attractive and walkable town with a much different flavor than Paris. The architecture and food have a heavy German influence. There are lots of cute wine villages you can get to easily by bus snd in a few cases train, do you don’t need to rent a car. It’s also a quick snd easy trip to Strasbourg. We didn’t get there, but people speak highly of it.

I will say I would pick Normandy over Alsace, but you can’t go wrong with either.

The fabulous cathedral in Reims aside, I find Colmar considerably more visually appealing. It's Iikely to feel more touristy, though. Quite a few posters have found that a significant negative factor.