I though we had this figured out but I guess not. We have 5-6 people in our group so we are trying to catch stuff everyone wants to see. Just might not be possible. lol
We will be there for 12 days. Arriving on a Sunday morning. Obviously Paris is a must. Others are Omaha Beach area, Mont Saint-Michel, Versailles, Lorie Valley and parts south of Paris if possible. The Lavender fields, Avignon etc
Any ideas would be great.
It depends- do you have your own vehicle?
Paris to Omaha is a 3.5 hour drive ---> so it is possible to get there from Paris go straight to the beach, look around for a couple hours then head to Mt.St. Micheau a 1.5 hour drive (if you have your own car). You'd want to stay near Mt.St Micheau, then see it the next morning. To get to Michel to Loire is a good 3 hour drive--- so again feasible if you have your own car to do this---> but you'd want to just get there, then stay for several days as there are around 50 castles/palaces in that area.
Versaille is a day trip from Paris- so totally feasible.
Avignon is much further south- I'm sure a train runs there (prob would want to do an overnight?), or of course you could drive 8 hours from Loire to get there.
If you had to cut something I'd say cut Omaha and Avignon.
I’d stick to Paris and northern France for this.trip.
With about 5-6 days for Paris+Versailles and 6-7 other days for D-Day beaches, Mont Saint Michel, Loire Valley (much easier to rent two cars in Caen and drive around, if you are so inclined), you have a well-paced itinerary.
Adding Avignon is ill-advised in that timeframe, unless you drop D-Day and Mont Saint Michel altogether. And even then: lavender fields are in full bloom from about mid-June to mid-July, and it can shift by a week or two from one year to the next, so it is tricky to plan around that.
When are you going on this trip?
If I were you and the planner, I would set up this trip like a tour. Arrive in Paris and see all of Paris, whatever you think those number of days are needed. I would suggest a minimum of 5-7 days. With one of those days to Versailles. Then decide on west of Paris or south of Paris. I wouldn't try to see both, it will be a lot more travel and wasted time moving about packing-unpacking. Keep in mind, there are many day trips you can make from Paris. Chartres, Reims, Loire Valley chateaus from the city of Tours, etc.
If you decide to go west. I would suggest basing in Bayeaux. From there you can schedule tours of Normandy WWII and a day tour to Mont Michel. In Bayeaux don't miss the Bayeaux Tapestry. It is a great region to visit.
If you want to travel south, you can base in Avignon. Take the TGV in about 2:45 and explore the region from there. Many nice day trip cities to see such as Arles, Nimes, Pont du Gard, etc. You can TGV back to Paris the day before returning to the US.
Another alternative is Lyon and Annecy. Lyon is a great city in France and not as far as Avignon and Annecy is a beautiful city on Lake Annecy at the foot of the Alps which is a great representation of a French Village, IMO. These two are a great combination as well.
Good luck with your planning. Enjoy France!!!
Also, keep in mind the time of year. If it is late fall or winter, Normandy won't be very enjoyable. If it is summer, south will be hotter. The lavender fields you speak of are at their peak during the months of mid June and mid July.
I forgot to add that we will be going in June 2023. We are open to renting car or train or both. I tired to explain to my wife that we are just going to have to go back another time. Darn lol
I agree with another comment to punt Avignon on this trip. That area is worth its own visit, minimum of a week. You don't have time for it this go, but maybe next time...
Do a "hit and run / drive by" of MSM when you base in Normandy for the D-Day beaches (in other words, do not plan to spend a night there - it isn't worth it). Bayeux is a good idea as a base, but if you have vehicle(s), parking in town can be an issue. We stayed near the beach at a motor court motel in Arromanches-les-Bains and loved the ease of parking, getting around, and you can walk down to the beach area for evening meals, good selection of restaurants.
With this much lead time and that many people consider engaging a good travel agent. Yes, planning can be fun, but as the planner in our group I know how difficult it can be. This is where travel agents really earn their keep.
I think we are going to just make two different plans. If one couple ends up going then we will do Paris and Normandy. If they don't go it will be Paris and Provence. 12 days for either one of those should be pretty good I think.
12 days is perfect for Paris + Western Provence (=area between Avignon and Aix). It becomes tight if you want to add Nice, but still feasible at a stretch.
If one couple ends up going then we will do Paris and Normandy. If they don't go it will be Paris and Provence. 12 days for either one of those should be pretty good I think.
That is exactly how we did it on 2 different trips; Just under 2 weeks split between Paris and a base In Avignon, and same amount of time for a Paris / Normandy trip. If you had a 3rd week, adding Provence to Normandy could work.
We took the train from Paris to Caen, rented a car for Normandy. We returned the car, train back to Paris, leisurely lunch, out to CDG where we spent the night before our flight home the next morning. For Avignon, we took the TGV from central Paris, relied on minibus tours for exploring the region, and returned directly to CDG via TGV the afternoon before our flight home the next day. In both cases, we stayed in a CDG hotel in the airport proper, stress free...
My advice would be to FINISH in Paris and not start there. The worst itinerary has people rushing back to home base for the flight home. Use that first miserable jet lag day of arrival to get to your furthest points (either south or Normandy -- don't try to do Provence, Loire, Normandy and Paris in a 12 night 11 day trip.
Than finish in Paris and fly home. With 11 full days you have time for 5-7 days in Paris (7 if you will add things like Giverny and Versailles t Paris) and time for another region. Less is more.
My other advice would be to not try to do everything together. Sometimes it is inevitable -- e.g. visiting the beaches -- but 6 people and their quirks and delays will drive you crazy if you spend every moment coordinating. Spend some time in smaller groups and get together for dinner. That way everyone gets to see what they want and the group can do what everyone wants. We do this even when we traveled as a family of 4. We still like each other.
