Nice to Paris to Bruges in 8 days?

Hi,
It's a fast paced trip but it can work. I'd adjust option 1 as follows
- you can only do one day trip from Nice. Antibes is the best, from your list, then you can continue to Cannes if you feel you're "done" but I'd just go back to Nice. You can skip Monaco.
- since you're so short on time, flying Nice to Paris is faster. You save about two hours total.
- one night in Bruges is enough. You can leave Paris on Sunday morning.
That way you have 3.5 days in Paris - any less is hectic.

I thought about flying to Paris but heard the train ride would be pretty and we would get to see some of the countryside? Is that not the case? Also the hassle of the airport and waiting seems boring, id rather just get on a train and ride but maybe I’m not understanding what the train is all about. This is also our first trip to Europe so again, I realize it’s ambitious.

Train vs plane isn't a huge difference time wise, about two hours saving (Nice and Paris-Orly airports are close to their respective city centers, and there's no point getting to Nice airport more than 1.30-1.45 hrs early). The train takes over six hours, which I find long, but the first 2.5 hours to Marseille are quite scenic, especially right after Cannes on the left. Then, once you zoom by at 180 mph beyond Marseille, it's a blur, but still pretty. So yes, if you prefer the train, no problem! It is arguably more relaxing, and definitely better for the environment.

I'd like to know what continent you're coming from, and what month of the year you're going to the French Riviera. Have you been to Paris before? I presume you are flying home from BRU.

If it's your first time in Paris, you don't have enough time planned there. I admit that I have not been to Nice, but I have spent two months total in France, so I feel free to venture that unless you have a specific interest (I mean, Picasso, auto racing, movie making ... ) you are over prioritizing a place very distant from your other stops. All this transferring is (to me) a drag. You are over-rating the value of train travel (which I love) and under-valuing your own time on a very rushed schedule. If you have a business meeting in Brussels, this will not be your last trip to Europe.

Having been on "the spouse program" in Antwerp myself multiple times, you may wish to consider that your companion will be able (or even, desperate, to escape banal Brussels ... ) to daytrip to a big list of sweet cities each day of your work. If one day will not be full with work, you could even go to Bruges on a non-weekend day, and escape some of the desperate crowd-crush. (Of you could settle for Gent or Leuven, which are half as far away from Brussels.) Note that all the trains you need inside Belgium run up to seven times an hour and don't need advance purchase.

We are coming from the states, my husband and I are in our 30s. This is our first time in Europe and we chose France because it looks beautiful and it is somewhat close to where we need to end the trip. I may have the opportunity to come back but I don’t know when. If I’m being 100% honest, we aren’t really museum or artsy people. I’m more interested in good food, relaxing and beautiful scenery and just seeing the cities. When in Nice we want to see the ocean and spend a little time on the beach. My husband is actually heading back on Tuesday after we get to Brussels. I will stay till Friday. We have two small children so we can’t be away any longer. We wanted to enjoy both a beach town and a city, doing things we wouldn’t normally get to do while traveling with our children. And Bruges just looks really unique.

The countryside view from the train is not all that great. And there is nothing to see or do in Cannes; if you like beautiful views from a hill top town overlooking the sea you should go to Eze instead.

Also, forgot to answer the “when” question. We are going in mid-late September.

We need a veteran to tell us if the Cote d'Azur starts to slow down in September? When we took a cruise from Rome to Barcelona in October, some of the beach towns we stopped in had half the "summer" businesses closed. (In fairness, I'm talking about islands, which are more seasonal. And the water is cold.) Look at Internet "climate" reports for Nice in September, also.

Do you come from a landlocked, or a coastal US state? The US has some mighty nice beaches. I'm not being snooty, but I need more than sand and sea to come to Europe and sit on a towel. For example, the beaches in Sitges and Ostende are exceptionally wide. The beach in St. Malo is wide and also to be viewed from a city wall's ramparts. Our beachfront room in Dinard (FR) had a magnificient view of St. Malo, but the beach was about 30' deep.

Please do not think I am saying your idea is bad. I am only urging you not to make "Domestic U.S. assumptions" about a place you haven't been! And I love European train travel. But it's not like jumping on an interstate in a Lincoln Navigator and driving 2 hours to the Mall of America. (I've been to Bruges twice, on daytrips from Antwerp, where I've spent six weeks. I've been to Brussels at least four times on daytrips from Antwerp. I've probably slept in Paris a total of a month, on 8 stops or trips. And I've taken the Thalys from Antwerp to Paris.)

We are from the Chicago area. We have seen many beaches in the US, the Caribbean and Mexico. I have a friend who has been to several cities in Europe and some coastal areas and raves about the French Riviera. That is not the only reason we have chose this itinerary, we have looked at a lot of videos and images of the beach options and love how Nice and Antibes look. I did look at possibly doing Paris, the Brittany or Normandy area (Dinard possibly) and then Bruges. But, I am concerned it won't be beach weather in September near Dinard. Not that we plan to spend that much time on the beach or really swim in the ocean, maybe a little but that isn't really the plan either. I like the idea of just walking on beautiful beaches and/or eating/drinking and looking at the views. I also am worried about transportation and how to get around if we do Dinard/Brittany/Normandy/etc. In Nice it looks fairly easy to take the train to the coastal towns and then either jump on a train or fly to Paris. Neither of us is crazy about driving to get to the Normandy/Brittany area. So then do we stay in Paris the entire trip and do day trips with a tour company? Or is it fairly easy to drive?
I don't really know, it is a bit overwhelming.

I am sorry, I was not urging you to change to Dinard. I was only describing a "special" view that's different from Jones Beach in NY State! Despite Picasso having stayed there, Dinard is the French town with the highest United Kingdom real estate ownership percentage, despite having exactly the same awful climate those owners have at home! I do not recommend the Normandy tourist beaches as a run-out from Paris. The public transportation is not good enough. I suspect that half the restaurants in Dinard will be closed by the end of September. What you just wrote about transportation on the south coast is very accurate. I just think you are under-valuing your scarce vacation time, on the train. Checking out of a hotel, getting on the train, getting to the new hotel in a strange new city, checking in, amount to an entire lost day (Nice-Paris) of vacation, at a time when daylight hours are getting shorter.

You have made a compelling and responsible case for visiting Nice. I believe it will take well over four hours on three trains (plus inter-seat public transit latency ... ) to get from Paris to Bruges. (could be two trains if you go through Antwerp, but I think there are fewer of those.) Is that okay with you? (I understand the business meeting is in Brussels. Otherwise I would have said see Brussels and then go to Bruges.) Because I can have an annoying text persona, I want to repeat, that a route you are firmly comfortable with could indeed be the best for you.

No problem, I appreciate the advice and feedback, especially on the train. That is the part I am unsure about. We originally were going to just do Nice and Paris, 4 nights in each. Maybe we will cut Bruges and just follow our original plan!

Hello! I have not been to any of the other places you have mentioned, but did go to Paris last year. We spent 8 nights there and it still didn’t feel like enough time to be in that beautiful city. And I’m not a museum person, yet still found many things to do. Walking along the river surrounded by magnificent buildings, stopping at the crepes stands, a concert at Saint Chapelle, photo shoot so we would come back with awesome photos, yummy food tour, views from the Eiffel Tower and of the Eiffel Tower, the “dark side of Paris” walking tour, river cruise at night to see the city lit up and the ET sparkle, etc. It’s a fantastic place. Be sure to give yourself time there. Have a wonderful trip!!!

In reference to an incorrect statement above: Paris to Bruges is just two trains with an easy change at Bruxelles Midi. Quick journey, less than three hours.