Itinerary help for July 2019

My vote would be Lyon! Closer to Paris and you'll have absolutely zero problem eating vegetarian. Beautiful city on a river. Find a tour of the murals that have been painted on many buildings. Take a tour of the historical old city. Check out the markets. And world renown city for food. I was not impressed with Aix.

Bordeaux is 3 1/4 hours from Paris by high-speed train. https://www.raileurope.com/train-tickets/journeys/article/paris-bordeaux
Or, being July, you could head for the alps and cooler temperatures. Annecy is beyond Lyon and higher up.

Personally I had a bad experience in Lyon. As a solo female, I was stalked by a young man on a bicycle who kept telling me (in French) what he would like to do with me. I couldn't get away from him, being on foot while he had his bicycle. Unfortunately that tainted my impression of the city although I realize it could happen anywhere, and others have posted great things about Lyon.

I wouldn't rent a car to travel alone because I find it more enjoyable to interact with other travelers on the train.

I don't think Annecy is high enough for the altitude to have a significant impact on the temperature. I was there in June 2017 and it was miserably hot. Lyon was better because it has lots of indoor sightseeing opportunities.

Normandy was mostly overcast and pleasant in July. I highly recommend it to mid-summer travelers.

Thanks for the input thus far. Is Normandy possible without a car? That's why it wasn't on my list. I think Lyon looks pretty good though - what do you guys think - 2 nights, 3 nights? Epltd - I am so sorry you experienced that. That sounds terrible.

About Normandy-

I would guess there are about two days worth of sites to see in Bayeux (tapestry, museum, cathedral, self-guided walking tour) and you can train from there to Caen to another WWII museum. If you're interested in D-Day, the guided van tours are well worth it. You might even take a day bus tour to Mont Saint Michel from the Churchill Hotel, but I've heard that's a sub-optimal way to experience MSM.

I think Normandy for just a very few days, especially without a car, will leave a lot of nice places unvisited, but I had no car there and was able to get to the following places over the course of about a week from the indicated bases:

Rouen (city sights)
Bayeux: D-Day tour as well as city sights
Caen: city sights (few), Honfleur, Deauville, Cabourg, Falaise (just for a museum)

I did something similar in eastern Brittany, staying in St. Malo and Rennes. I did not attempt Mont-St.-Michel.

The more time you're willing to spend outside Paris, the more I might suggest Normandy rather than Lyon. They are both great destinations. You'll have less total time in transit if you go to Lyon, but Paris + Normandy will give you more variety.

Okay, I've done some more research and picked up Rick Steves' France book - I think I am onboard with adding Normandy and saving Lyon for another trip that would include the South of France. I just don't want to rent a car -- I understand that is ideal for Normandy, but I don't feel like I need to see everything and I find driving in small villages/unfamiliar areas stressful. This is a solo trip, so I can save that for another visit when I have someone with me who doesn't mind dealing with all of that. I also don't feel compelled to visit Mont St. Michel on this trip.

Here is an itinerary, wondered if I could ask for some feedback on it. Thanks so much everyone for your ideas.

July 2- arrive Paris CDG, take RER into town, spend night in Paris (I get into CDG at 2:30pm if all goes well, but don't want to deal with trying to get into Paris, go to another train station and spend another hour or two on a train especially since who knows what happens if flights are delayed).
July 3- take train to Rouen in the AM (1 hour train), see sights in Rouen, spend night in Rouen
July 4 - train to Bayeux (2.5 hours train), see town sites, overnight in Bayeux
July 5 - see D-Day beaches / WWII sights by van tour, spend night in Bayeux
July 6 - train to Paris from Bayeux (2 hours train) in the AM, spend night in Paris
July 7, 8, 9 - time in Paris
July 10 - fly home

I think that's fine, but I believe you're somewhat underestimating the travel time from Bayeux to Paris.

acraven- according to raileurope.com there is a direct intercity train from Bayeux to Paris that is 2 hours and 15 minutes. It runs a few times per day. There are other routes that involve a change and they take 3 hours. Either way, I think its acceptable. Thanks!

My recommendation is to take the direct train whenever possible, even if you have to wait another 30 mins or so, with or without luggage. If I am with the luggage, I most definitely want to avoid transferring. Without luggage on a day trip likewise but I take other factors into consideration too.

I see the shorter trains now; don't know why I didn't notice them before (I did look before making that comment). I agree that a direct rail connection is best, especially in France during July. My suitcase is about 23", and I cannot lift it into overhead racks. Once the July vacation season kicked in last year, I had a lot of trouble finding a place for my bag on the lower racks and ended up sitting on flip-down seats in the doorways of several French trains so I could move the bag to the right side of the car at each station. It was annoying to have to do that, but the whole country seemed to be on the move. If you board at Bayeux, I assume you'll be able to settle in and relax all the way to Paris.