Itinerary for France 2017

Why not fly into Paris and out of Nice (or vice versa), and just rent a car for the middle part? Open jaw are typically not any more expensive than coming into and going out of same city. Save you tons of time you can enjoy seeing sites.

Thanks Celeste but have already purchased round trip tickets in and out of Paris!

You have three types of train option from CDG to St. Pierre des Corps. The trains that don't require seat assignments tend to be cheaper. Advance-purchase tickets also tend to be cheaper, but useless if you miss the train due to a flight delay. Note different stations for these options.

Aeroport Paris-Charles de Gaulle TGV We, 02.11.16 dep 10:16 TGV 5202 Subject to compulsory reservation

St-Pierre-des-Corps We, 02.11.16 arr 11:59

OR

Aeroport Paris-Charles de Gaulle RER We, 02.11.16 dep 10:51 RER84984

Paris St-Michel We, 02.11.16 arr 11:28

Continue by Metro 4 direction Mairie de Montrouge

Paris Montparnasse We, 02.11.16 dep 12:13 TGV 8303 Subject to compulsory reservation

St-Pierre-des-Corps We, 02.11.16 arr 13:22

OR

Aeroport Paris-Charles de Gaulle RER We, 02.11.16 dep 11:36 RER84949

Paris Nord RER We, 02.11.16 arr 12:07

Continue by Metro 5 direction Place d'Italie

Paris Austerlitz We, 02.11.16 dep 12:59 IC 14047 Intercity

St-Pierre-des-Corps We, 02.11.16 arr 14:56

Or, if you have to drive on the same day anyway, then picking up the car at CDG can save some ticket fees (full fare about $75 per person in 2nd class) or worry about advance purchase, but you might not want to drive if you didn't sleep well on the airplane. Staying in Paris first gets around both of these issues.

Why not head to Dijon first up after your arrival in Paris. Drive to the Loire after your time in Burgundy. This would let you drop the car in Nice before a speedy TGV trip back to Paris at the end of your journey.

Laura and David~
Thank you both for your information. I like the idea of heading to Dijon first, but I would have to make a change to one of my accommodations that I don't think will let me change. I will work on it though!! Again, many thanks.

April is so far ahead I don't think you should have any problems to change dates unless the new dates are already booked. Good luck and enjoy your trip (and Dijon!) :)

Thanks Coco for your response on this thread. Just today I was able to complete all the changes I needed, so first stop Dijon!! Thanks again David, for this suggestion. Coco, perhaps you can give me recommendations in Dijon for what to see, restaurants , ect. Many thanks - Jane

Good to hear. One could say then, perhaps, that your Dijon hotel really "cuts the mustard".

David ~ yes, one could say!! Thanks for much appreciated advice. Jane

If you plan to train to Dijon first thing (to avoid driving jet lagged), please (1) check the train schedule and (2) make sure (if you need it) you can get an automatic from Dijon. Last I checked, the services directly from CDG to Dijon via train are not useful and that you would have to get to Gare Lyon first, before getting a decent train to Dijon. The value of having that first stop be St Pierre Des Corps is that very easy direct TGV from CDG to SPDC and the plethora of automatic cars for rent there (if you need it).

-Matt

Matt ~ thanks for the info. That does create a glitch, as I will want to go direct to Dijon. An automatic car is not a problem.

Jane, this will give you a nice taste of many places. But, it is still a LOT of driving. A shame too to go so far to get to the Dordogne and only have 2 days there. I would certainly steal a day from Nice and add it to the Dordogne.

To be honest, I'd probably skip Nice on this trip, especially in April, and spend the days elsewhere. Nice is responsible for a lot of driving, since the roads are slow because of the hills and mountains. And you'd have more time for Burgundy, Dordogne, and Provence. But that's me; I wish you a memorable trip.

I visited with a car for the first time last year. I loved staying in small places and day-tripping by car. I spent 4 nights in Avallon (Burgundy) and 3 in Eguisheim (Alsace). My impressions - every town and village was charming and different. Every one had a TI with brochures for local attractions and maps for wine routes and chateau routes. The people were friendly and patient with my broken French - hardly anyone spoke much English except for the TI's. I loved shopping in the local weekly markets.

I enjoy driving and it was easier to spend an extra hour or two on the road than to change rooms. I could easily have spent another 2 days in each place and still not seen all the highlights. Even with a good detailed (huge) Michelin area map, I would have been completely lost without GPS in larger towns and most roads except the toll roads.

It sounds like you are trying to cover too much ground. I like the idea of dropping Nice.

You can already get an idea here and watch the great TO video there. Just make sure you follow the Owl's Trail (brochure at the TO) to make the most of your visit on a short stay.
As for restaurants, TA list reflects quite well what the Dijonnais and travellers think about them. I wish I could try them all! Have fun and welcome to my beautiful town.

Actually, your outlier is Sarlat. It's 4 hours from Tours to Dijon, 4 hours from Dijon to Provence, 2.5 hours from Provence to Nice. OTOH, it's over 5 hours from Tours to Sarlat and 10 hours from Sarlat to Nice.

So, I'd take the train to Tours, drive to Dijon, drive to wherever you want to go in Provence, drive to Nice, and then fly or take the train back to Paris. Both Provence and Côte d'Azur are wonderful in April. Weather in the Dordogne is grayer and rainier at this time of year. One warning--the train from Nice is six hours because the tracks along the coast are not made for high speed, but it does speed up once it's past Marseille. But you do go city-center to city-center with the train.

Thank you, Chani, Coco, and Bets for your wealth of information. I know my itinerary is pretty aggressive, but I want to see so much of France! I will continue to "tweek" the itinerary and always open to all of you who can give such great advice.

Use viamichelin.com to get an idea of driving times and costs. It's a great tool for planning. For instance you can compare the time/cost taking the toll roads or the "back roads."