itinerary review for connoisseurs of France

Sounds like a neat trip. If you want a break from driving for an afternoon, we rented bicycles in Amboise and rode out to the Chateau at Chenonceau.

Just east of St. Emilion is Saint-André-de-Cubzac, the birthplace of Jacques Cousteau, and where his grave is located - we made a visit there. We also picked up a (relatively) inexpensive bottle of new St. Emilion wine in 2003 and brought it home to age, and enjoyed it last fall. It was a good investment and brought back many memories.

I presume that's a typo, and you're staying in Arles - Aries is a Zodiac sign :-). Be sure to get ice cream at Soleileis - run by Dutch ice cream experts who moved to Arles. They have interesting flavors, including a unique liquorice.

Smaller, slower roads often present pleasant surprises - scenery and wonderful villages - but Autoroutes get you there faster, although come with plenty of tolls. Be prepared to be tailgated in parts of Provence and don't let speeding locals intimidate you.

I haven't been to all those places, but this looks like a pretty civilized way to experience most parts of France in four weeks. You have only three one-night stands (other than the night before flying home), which is good for the distance you're covering. If you're using Via Michelin for travel times, you may find that it takes longer than they estimate. The autoroutes are great for covering distances fast, and it looks like you'll be varying them with back roads to get to some of your destinations. Hopefully you'll have time to poke around and explore on those driving days.

Beynac is a good choice for the Dordogne, we stayed at Le Petit Versailles and liked it a lot. I'd suggest spending the night in Carcassonne within the walls of the old city if you can, to enjoy it without the daytime crowds. We made the mistake of not doing that, but our friends liked the Best Western in the old city.

My wife and I would consider this too much of a "zoom" trip, we'd rather focus on particular areas for more time. But you know your timetable and time horizon best. I hope you don't think of this as your only trip to France. "Assume you will return" is good advice for enjoying a city, country, or continent, even if it turns out that you don't.

Cal,
I assume, and hope, that you will not have the car in Paris?

This is just a logistical thought issue. You listed miles, as we US residents often do. The car you rent will not have miles on the speedometer or the odometer. Get used to thinking in kilometers.

I highly recommend that you visit Gemut.com for a wealth of knowledge on renting a car in Europe and on driving there. Be sure to thoroughly read their downloadable and free What you should know about renting a car in Europe in 2015. Be particularly aware of speeding in France. My husband got 2 tickets for it. Fortunately, France is very efficient at sending you the citation after they get your info from the car rental agency. And you can pay online with a credit card.

We did a driving trip of similar length in France in 2012. We didn't go quite so many places after we left Paris (8 nights), but we're slower travelers than most. We absolutely loved driving in France. I can PM you the link to my blog which has lots of pictures taken from the passenger side of the car on that trip if you want.

For lodgings, especially in smaller towns, you might take a look at Logis Hotels. We stayed in 3 on our trip. All were reasonably priced, very nice and had great food. They are often owned or at least affiliated with a decent chef.

The website has changed since I last looked at it. It appears that the easiest way to use it is to search by the town you have listed, then refine the search with some of the filters and/or by zooming in on the map. Filtering options include number of fireplaces (quality of room), number of pots (quality of food), price, services and facilities and "you want" which mostly lists things not easy to categorize under services and facilities. Please note that when you start typing in your town, a drop down box will appear with towns with similar names. Make sure you select the right town in France from the list.

I did an experiment with Eguisheim, France and found the Auberge Alsacienne as the first listing. The sort default is by distance from your search area, but you can change the sort. I didn't choose any dates, but rather checked the "I don't have specific dates in mind" box. I also didn't choose any filters, but this place has 3 fireplaces and 3 pots and looks absolutely charming.

Have fun with your planning.

We have driven almost every where you have chosen, and you have picked some of our favorite spots. It looks good on paper, but decide on what you like to see, do and eat in each area because this is a lot of driving and you may not have enough time to see what you want. You never know what small town may pop up you may want to explore while you are driving. It all looks good for me until you get to Lyon.You may consider this: Instead of staying 3 nights in Chamonix, I would home base in Annecy and take a day trip to Chamonix. This is a sky town and not too much going on in the town. Mont Blanc is a must see. Now if you are into hiking, it would be fine.From there go to Beaune then the Alsace area. Skip driving into Paris,it is a very long drive, take the high speed TGV directly to the airport in 2 hours. The easiest place to get on the TGV is Colmar since it is very close to Eguisheim. Depending on when you make your flight there would be no need to stay at an airport hotel. You can also catch a high speed train out of Beaune/Dijon to CDG.
This year we are headed to Lyon, then a week in Beynac followed by 3 nights in our favorite B&B in France la Argentier du Roy in Loche/Loire Valley.
Get a Garmin Novi, you can pre-program your destinations, sites etc. on your computer and download it into the Garmin before you go. I also like to have a Michelin map highlighted. These 2 things can save a marriage on a long drive:)
i think half the fun of traveling is planning the trip!
L

Take your own GPS. Practice with it at home. Turn off the "tollways" feature when you want to take a slower more scenic route. Make sure you get a diesel rental car, better milage and seem to have more power. Don't assume the diesel pump is green like at home, it is NOT. I'd splurge for a midsize rental. If you don't like the rental swap it out in the next available location. Looks likea great trip!

Merci - to all of you who added your comments. We really appreciate your generousity.