We will be making a return visit to France in the fall & have some questions regarding ease of travel between a few areas as well as how much time to allow without over or under scheduling.
After touring Belgium, we plan to rent a car in Lille, drive to Honfleur & spend two nights. Then, a day trip to Giverney & on to Rouen for another two night stay, returning our rental there. We'll take the train to Paris & spend about a week. Loved it & must go back!
After Paris, we'd like to see something of the Alsace region so perhaps three nights based in Colmar with side trips to the surrounding towns.
Now, this is where we are having difficulty knowing how to proceed, both in terms of logistics, ease of getting around (we can take trains & rent a car when more desirable) & how to determine how much time to plan for each area. We'd like to get a good feel & not be too rushed in seeing more of Provence, perhaps staying in Arles for about 3 nights; we'd also like to go to the Dordogne, staying perhaps in Sarlat & seeing some of the prehistoric caves; and, we'd also like to spend a few day in/around Albi.
Looking at a map, it seems more efficient to take a train from Lyon to Sarlat but that would void any time in Provence unless we backtracked. Does it make more sense to to from Colmar down to Arles & then west & north to Sarlat before going south to Albi? I know we can catch a train from Carcassone to Barcelona...which is our last stop on this trip.
So...how to route this trip.....how much time in each area? And, assuming we can travel via train, would we be better off renting a car once we arrive in each of these areas?
Look forward to suggestions! Thanks in advance.