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Paris to French Riviera - 2 weeks

My husband and I are starting to plan a two week trip through France. He is primarily interested in train travel so I’m trying to get an idea for what is reasonable within two weeks. Tentatively thinking we start in Paris and end down South in the French Riviera region. I’m seeing two potential routes but would love any input to see if we are biting off more than we can chew. We don’t want to constantly be on the go.. a couple days per stop would be ideal.

Idea 1:
Paris 3-5 nights
Strasbourg/Colmar 2-3 nights
Chamonix 2-3 nights
Provence/Marseille/St Tropez or Nice 3-5 nights

Idea 1 thoughts: Looks like a long day through Lyon from Colmar to Chamonix. Are these slow trains vs fast trains.

Idea 2:
Paris 3-4 nights
Strasbourg/Colmar 2-3 nights
Lucerne 2-3 nights
Chamonix 2-3 nights
Provence/Marseille/St Tropez or Nice 3-4 nights

Idea 2 thoughts: is it worth going through Switzerland to add Lucerne on? Is 2 nights too little?

I am open to any input.. I am not sure if what I’ve proposed is too much for two weeks. Also open to suggestions of favorite places on these routes and suggestions to stay longer/shorter depending on the stop.

Thank you!

Posted by
7019 posts

The best route from Colmar to Chamonix passes through Switzerland anyway.
However, it does not pass through Lucerne. Lucerne is a slight detour. Right on one of the main routes, you have Montreux. Barely off another route, you have Interlaken. I would pick either of these as a stopover.

Chamonix to Nice is best done with a flight from Geneva (take a shuttle to Geneva airport).
Chamonix to Marseille is long... Nice works better timewise.

You could consider skipping Chamonix altogether and having your mountain experiences in Switzerland, to save some travel time.