Paris and Provence itinerary input

You might think about flying into Paris and out of Marseille, or Nice, turn your car in at airport. This would make more use of your time on the ground. I believe there is a train that stops at Beaune from Paris as an Option. Stop at Lyons. Tour some Wineries. Bon Voyage.

You’re right. I wish we could do that. But the flights in and out of Paris were the cheapest and we do t want to do an internal flight.

You could also consider 3 nights in Paris, train from Paris to Avignon, pick up rental car at TGV station there and then 3 nights in St Remy and then the reverse with the last night back in Paris. That would avoid long drives. Remember also days are shorter and weather likely more variable. But it might depend on what time you arrive and depart Paris at beginning and end what really makes sense.

I think the itinerary is aggressive, especially with driving from Paris. For me personally, I would head straight to Saint Remy on my first day by going to Avignon and picking up the rental car there. Then after Saint Remy, I would drive to Beaune and do a day trip to Cluny from there and then return the car at the end of my time in Beaune and take the train Paris. That seems like the most efficient way IMO to use the days.

So pick up and drop off your car at the Avignon TGV and take the train. You are wasting too much time traveling
With 3 nights in Saint Rémy, you have only 2.5 days. You need more in case a Mistral wind starts blowing one of your days, making sightseeing a bit less pleasant.
With the train and rental car at the Avignon TGV station:
3 nights Paris
4 nights Saint Rémy
1 night Paris
Edit: I like the above from JHK. Take the train directly to Avignon from either the CDG train station or gare de Lyon. First night, sleep in Avignon. Pick up your car the next day. 1 night Avignon
3 nights Saint Rémy
4 nights Paris
This gives you 4 in Provence and 4 in Paris

I like the TGV to Avignon ideas. I’ll see if I can find tickets! Thank you so much.

Thinking a bit more about your itinerary, I think I would stop in Cluny on day 4 after having spent 3 nights (your arrival night on the 1st and two more nights) in Saint Rémy on the way to Beaune and then spend night 4m day 5 and night 5 in Beaune, and take the train early on day 6 to Paris. You will have spent 3 nights (2 days) in Saint Rémy and 2 nights (1 day) in Beaune, and then can spend the final nights in Paris. And if you are only stopping in Beaune or Cluny to break up the long drives to and from Saint Rémy, then I would just skip them and divide my time between Saint Rémy/Provence and Paris.

I would agree that this is an aggressive itinerary for 8 days. I am at the end of spending 3 weeks in Provence and Côte d'Azur. With only a week, I'd skip Paris. Fly into Marseilles or Nice. It will cost more because of fewer or no direct/non-stop flights. You will have to transfer at CDG. I would not recommend the train either, unless you had more time. I stayed in Arles which is easy to navigate. I found St. Remy to be over rated. A better small town is Isle-sur-la-Sorgue. I also was not impressed with Avignon, but it does have the advantage of a more centralized location for exploring Provence. Nice is gorgeous and you don't need a car should you opt to fly in there. 3 hour train time between Avignon and Nice. I stayed at Hotel du Musee in Arles and Hotel du Petit Palais in Nice. Both are recommended by Rick. Neither were disappointing. Keep in mind the weather conditions for November. I think it can get cold, even in the south.