Paris-Lyon-French Riviera

Honestly, the only place I think of to avoid with a toddler is Eze.

I think the places to avoid will be obvious. You wouldn't take your toddler to the Resistance Museum in Lyon, would you? Etc.

I do think of Lyon as being a fund and family-friendly place--it's a good choice. Check out the Tete d'Or park--it has a zoo.

And, I admire your itinerary. Have a blast!

Are you sure you want to drive from Lyon to Nice? It's a long way. I would consider taking a train or even flying, esp. With a little one.

Thanks!

Would you avoid Eze because of the climb? We read there is a bus that drops off further up, so you don't need to climb as much. Is this still not a good option?

We are not sure that we want to drive from Lyon to Nice, but we thought if we did, we could stop and explore along the way. We would be in no rush to arrive, so if something looked interesting we could stop for a bit. Would you not suggest this?

Most of the interesting stuff on the fast, direct route from Lyon to Nice is off the main highway. There are many interesting cities and towns along the way, in Provence and the southern Rhone.. There is also a route through the mountains, that many people also enjoy. It might be a lot to handle in the car all in one shot, which I think is the concern.

I'm not certain what the concern with toddlers and Eze is. The main parking lot is just below the last bit of climb up through the village. Yes, you will need to take care with the cliffs and there is a bit of climbing, but it's not like you are taking the path from down near the sea (and rail line).

Planning a trip for next summer with our young daughter and have taken her to Europe a couple of times.
I would say it slows you down overall a good deal but otherwise there is not really much you cannot do.
In Paris having a stroller proved a unknown benefit at the Lourve, people with strollers in their party are treated the same as handicapped ; no line and VIP escort right into and onto the elevator to the museum. Just stroll right up to the glass pyramid.
I was in shock in a very good way!!!

We took her to Paris last year, she was 3.5 at the time (added a day at Disneyland Paris as a treat for her) . Maybe too young at 2.5 for that though it is a nice easy train ride from Paris and glad we did it.
My daughter absolutely loved watch the Eiffel Tower sparkle at night ; happens for 5 minutes or so every hour on the hour from dark until Midnight. She still talks about it to this day.

Anyway going back to Paris next summer just for a quick stop and plan is to do the Riviera and Provence after that.

While I understand from personal experience how a car can be a big plus with a 2,5 year old in tow

Depending on where you are staying on the Riviera you may be better off with a car, traffic is bad, parking is tough, expensive and with the train along the coast you can reach most every town via the train and in some cases ferries.
April may be better than summer when we are going.

I think your best option is to take the TGV train from Paris to Nice, many departures and takes less than 6 hours I believe which is faster than you could drive it, that is the high speed train. I think it would be as quick as flying when you add time to get yourself to the airport, security, etc... plus the train gets you to downtown Nice not 20 minutes away that the airport would. From the train station you can also reach the other towns.

I looked into flying, renting a car at either Dijon or Lyon, etc... as well. By the way I heard renting and driving out of Dijon's train station is far easier than Lyon but have no actual experience doing it.

Eze I am curious why that is not good for a toddler?? it is definitely a town I want to check out though probably will not stay overnight in (not many hotels and we may want to be closer to the beach ; not staying long enough in the region to have more than 1 base personally)

I am thinking we will not rent the car until leaving the Riviera but have not figured out where to rent one yet???
Not sure if we are staying in Villa Franche or elsewhere yet, I plan on driving to Moustiers after the Riviera though and need a car for that area.

@mreynolds--Thank you for these details. We took our son to Italy when he was 7 months, and everything was great. I just want to make sure to consider his needs more now as he's bigger, more active, and can participate in more of the trip. We will definitely take our stroller to the Louvre! I am reconsidering the car. I'm going to talk to my husband about it. It might be easier just to rely on trains and not haul a car seat, deal with parking, etc. We definitely plan to spend a day in Eze. There was a comment above not recommending it for toddlers (I assume due to the climb and cliffs, but I'm not sure). I think our little guy will be okay, and we've heard from too many people that it's a must see. Again, thanks, and enjoy your trip.