Itinerary

Yes, this is very reasonable. I have done it twice, both times taking the tgv from cdg yo Tours, then renting a car from there.

Rouen is in Normandy, though not where most people go. It sounds like a good plan to me. Will you be renting a car for your Normandy and Provence parts of the trip? It is a very long drive from Normandy to Provence. You would need to break up your drive somewhere between them.

Rouen or Bayeux have charm , are on the rail line, and provide access to Normandy, assuming you then rent a car.

Otherwise, how about Chartres?

The bit about going straight from Normandy to Provence--to save Paris for last--makes for a long travel day, but it's worth it if that is what you want to do. However, you could have a very fine trip, with lest logistical pretzeling, if you went east instead of west.

You can be in Lyon in 2 hours from Paris. From there it is easy to get to Provence. You could visit Burgundy on the way back to Paris.

But if you want to see Normandy, of course that is what you should do.

Have a lovely trip.

I enjoyed Rouen a lot. The city was hit very hard during World War II but has done a masterful job of rebuilding its historic district. It also has several good museums, plus there's the Joan of Arc connection.

Thanks to all for the responses. Was thinking that Rouen would be a closer and easy and more inexpensive place to sleep. We would then pick up a car and go to Honfleur, possibly for just one night, then drive the coast, maybe see a D-Day beach or two and head to Dinan for a couple nights, and explore the edge of Brittany before driving to Rennes to drop the car and train to Paris. May go ahead and do the Paris part then, then train south to Provence and rent another car. Whew! My new questions: is that a reasonable way to see Normandy/Brittany? Would it be better just to go to Honfleur to sleep off the jet lag (since we want to go there anyway) and skip Rouen, then rent a car as we leave there? And lastly: we will have 2 weeks in Provence. We like the idea of having one place to base ourselves. Where would be the best base for us (we want to explore Rick’s “2 week Trip by Car” suggestions, but maybe stay in just one spot. Sorry for such a long and wordy post! Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

The short answer is St Remy. But of course it depends. I have made a drive time matrix for Provence that I found helpful when making this decision. I can email it to you if you like.

Thanks Matt

Thanks Matt, St Remy sounds like a good place to base. Still wondering if we should split the time. RS likes Vaison-la-Romaine. What are thoughts about splitting the time to a week in each one? Or how about a Cassis base to explore the south?

Wow, 2 weeks in Provence! I didn't get that from your initial description. Yes, I think it makes sense to pick a second venue for week 2. A week in the valley, a week in the hills. Weigh that against whatever you would do in Cassis for week 2. It is not handy to the conventional sights, but you might find some gems.

A week around vaison would be really boring, in my opinion. You might want to consider driving to the Dordogne for week two and reduce Provence tome to one week. I've done this (Brittany to Dordogne to Provence). I'm happy to answer any questions you might have.