Hello Everyone,
We (my husband and I with our 10 y/o daughter) will arrive in Paris on August 18th (6 am) and depart from Paris (6 pm) on August 26th. This will be our first trip to Europe. We've done lots of internet research but feel overwhelmed. For now, we are thinking Paris, Versailles, Provence and Nice.
Any suggestions with the itinerary are welcome and greatly appreciated!
First thought- it's too much for only 8 nights. Especially since you booked return tickets to Paris instead of multicity tickets. That's OK- it's something common to a lot of first timers.
I'd recommend only 2 locations. Paris and one other location not too far away. Perhaps Normandy or the Loire. Spend 4 or 5 nights in Paris, then 2-3 nights elsewhere, returning to Paris on the morning of your departure (or the night before if rail strikes are still possible). With more days and a multicity ticket out of Nice, you might be able to swing your proposed itinerary.
By the way, is this for THIS August, or next year? If the former, you've left it very late for reservations. And be sure your hotel has AC. Not all do, and you're going to need it.
I also agree that four locations are too much for an eight night itinerary. On our first trip to France, we spent 10 days in Paris and did day trips to Versailles and Giverny. Chartres would also be a nice day trip from Paris. According to Rick Steves, Paris is one of the cities in Europe that needs a week to see properly.
Nice, for example, is well-connected to Paris by air or train. However, you would eat up the better part of two days just traveling back and forth from Paris.
8 nights = 7 days, practically speaking. And you've booked your tickets, which means no open-jaw itinerary.
I think you could squeeze in one overnight destination besides Paris. But I also think that if you plan some day trips you will have a better trip just staying in Paris. Which, fortunately, is an awesome place.
What kinds of things do you like to do? Versailles can be magnificent (or overwhelming) but there are plenty of less high-pressure chateaux near Paris. Does Monet's Garden appeal to you? How about Rouen?
I agree with others, stick to Paris with day trips (like Versailles). You really don't have time for all the moving around you'll have to do to add Provence (where?) and Nice.
The "Explore Europe" link in the upper left of this page will take you to France, and to Paris, with good suggestions for sightseeing priorities and itineraries, especially in Paris. But consider your own and your daughter's interests rather than just following someone else's path. Build in some down time each day for parks, cafes, strolling, people-watching. Take a Seine cruise (I like Vedettes du Pont-Neuf). Take some city bus rides just to see the streets, #69 is a good route that links a lot of sights and scenes.
It will be hot in August so a hotel with air conditioning will be a big help. Hopefully you'll have some choices if it's this August, certainly you will for next year.
If you haven't already, book your hotel. Then look at parks and gardens nearby so you'll have some idea of where to go to relax. There are trip reports and articles which focus on child-friendly itineraries on this website, such as this one: https://www.ricksteves.com/watch-read-listen/read/articles/kids-london-and-paris
My husband and I spent a rather slow-paced 8 night itinerary in Paris in April. Our report might give you some ideas of how much you can see in a day: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/trip-reports/april-in-paris-1e48a51b-4933-490e-9e0d-e8bdf1035b47
I can't stress enough how helpful it will be to involve your daughter in the planning process. Maybe she would enjoy having a camera to capture the sites.
It's very easy to get overwhelmed when planning a visit to Paris, where there's about a month's worth of "must sees." Get a map and try to group them geographically, and focus on the ones that match your interests.
I love Paris, but 9 days in Paris in August might be a bit much for me--heat, crowds. You might consider a train ride to Chartres for a visit and then pick up a rental car to drive to the Loire for a 2-4 of the days. I like Amboise as a home base. Favorite chateaus were Chenoncou, Villandry and Clos-Luce'. We even stayed in a chateau. Not as pricey as one would think. We stayed at Chateau d' Pray just outside Amboise.
