Last Minute Trip to France - does it make sense?

Never too late. If you have any questions, a lot of people can help.

My only suggestion would be to find out the projected dates of this year’s grape harvest, if for nothing more than a heads up. It’s an exciting time to be in Alsace and southern Burgundy, but
you’ll run into more slow tractors on the local road and some tasting rooms could be closed as personnel are working on the harvest. A couple of wine experts on this website might know the dates.

1st half of October starts to quiet down, so not too late at all for accomodation. Look at sites like booking.com to get a good view of availability.
Not driving straight off the plane is a good call; I would advise you to take the train from CDG to Reims upon arrival, and rent a car there once you're ready to leave Reims. On the way back to CDG, I'd recommend staying at the airport for a early flight, and within 1-1.5-hour drive in any case.

Hi, If you haven't already, create an account on SNCF. As it happens I got a promotional email when reading your post.
quick search 03/09 was 1st class from E 58 - E62, but from Paris Gare de l'Est to Strasbourg, 1'55".
some second class are E16 but these are always very limited and may not suit, eg 16:10 to 18:33 but no 1st class.

Also the SNCF mobile app lets you go paper free.

try en.oui.sncf

I'ts never too late..

regards

Depending on where in the "east" of Canada you depart from, it could be possible to fly into Strasbourg without going through Paris. It will probably require changing planes at a gateway European airport but that's easier than changing to a train. My choice for searches is matrix.itasoftware.com which is run by Google for airlines and does not sell tickets. I think, without scientific proof, that it offers more alternatives than Google Flights. Using a multi-destination flight search function, you can arrange an efficient itinerary to other cities too, always watching how much time is available to change planes.
Your more general question answers itself: It is never too late, but prices rise and range of choices -- flights, hotels, even restaurants -- goes down. Act quickly and you should be fine.

We did that loop, train from Paris to Colmar, then picked up a rental car in Colmar. A car makes visiting Alsace much more fun. In Colmar we stayed at a quirky, well priced BnB in the old town area. It is a working winery. The rate included a great breakfast. Domaine Martin Jund. We loved staying in the small village of Eguisheim. There we also stayed at a working winery. www.hameau-eguisheim.com/en It is a beautiful, spotless, fresh BnB with a fantastic breakfast. From Alsace we drove to Burgundy

Hello from Wisconsin,
I would pick up a car on the last day of your first stop. Car rentals can be amazingly inexpensive. Autoeurope is a great place to check. And a call to them can help you plan. Europecar is also a good place to check. Maybe I am just lucky but my car rentals have been well below $20/day. That is without insurance which I handle by having my credit card provide the insurance.

To refresh you on credit card coverage. #1. you have to use the same card to reserve and pick up the car. #2. You have to refuse coverage offered by the rental agency.

Near to Dijon is Avalon and Vezelay. Avalon in lightly visited, while Vezelay has been a site to visit starting with the crusades. Lyon is the food capital of France.

enjoy a great time to be traveling in France.
wayne iNWI

Definitely not too late to plan and enjoy for an October visit to France! You have received lots of good advice already.

Depending the time you have in France you can put together with the Champagne region, Alsace and Burgundy a fantastic itinerary. Weather can still be pretty good the first half of October and in France autumn holidays will be in the second half of October so little problems finding a place to stay. B&B’s are good value for the money, I have used for many years Gîtes de France and never had a bad experience. Search for Chambres d’hôtes (gîtes are holiday homes) in the place/region you want to stay. https://www.gites-de-france.com/en

There is enough time to look for villages, towns that will interest you before arriving in France. Worth in Alsace are not only visiting the numerous villages with half-timbered houses, but also Haut-Koenigsbourg and the abbey of Mont Sainte-Odile for the panoramic view over the Rhine Valley. In Mulhouse there is a huge Bugatti museum and the railway museum there is worth visiting too.

Thank you for all the helpful comments, this sounds even better to us knowing that harvest may still be going on. We were in Portugal for the harvest a few years ago and enjoyed it, hard to pinpoint exactly what it was but hopefully the same in France. Our departure airport is St. John's, Newfoundland and the flights I looked at connected through Montreal. Now we are off to try and piece this together!

go for it! I have not done much independent travel in the areas you are looking at, except for Reims and Epernay. I spent 2 extra nights in Reims before the Rick Steves Best of Eastern France tour, they were glorious days. I spent one day doing wine tasting in Epernay and Hautvilliers. Hautvilliers was a highlight. I took a train to Epernay from Reims, then a taxi from the train station to Hautvilliers, less than 15 Euros; I did get the taxi's business card as I left the cab for the drive back. At the Tourist info, where I was dropped off, they had great advice for what was open on the Saturday and within walking distance. I visited 1 tasting room and 1 small family winery (with tasting) at the edge of town. The tasting room was a 5Euro charge, well worth it. The small winery was no charge and I did buy a half bottle. I brought a small picnic lunch in my daybag and ate it at the picnic grounds (on the tourist info map) overlooking miles of vineyards. Best lunch ever! I visited Dom Perignon's church and took a zillion photos of the very creative signs that are on many buildings; if you do a google search, you will see the cool artsy signage. I took the cab back to Epernay, the Tourist Info called them for me, and I did a couple of tastings there. I lucked into the tour at Moet & Chandon, but it is best to book a tour there. Then I trained back to Reims.

Have a great trip.

June

Consider open-jaw into Paris and out of Frankfurt. It's at least as easy to get from Strasbourg to Frankfurt as to Paris. There's a shuttle bus to the airport or a train to Frankfurt and a quick change and short ride to the airport.

Paris > Reims > Strasbourg by train, pick up and drop off a car in Strasbourg for Alsace.