Reality Check for mid to late october plan in France - Too rushed?

Personally, I’d drop Versailles. Can you arrive in Montpellier on October 16th? That will give you an extra day there (I loved walking around the little streets, exploring the shops and having a libation at the plaza) plus give you a buffer in case of airline snafus.

I am exhausted reading the proposed itinerary; I cant imagine attending a wedding on the day of arrival on an overnight flight. If you are you trying to visit Nimes, St Remy, Gordes and Roussilon on October 19th I assume that you will rent a car for these days and leave and return to Avignon. Do you realize that just the driving alone assuming no traffic to get to each of the places and return to Avignon on October 18th is around 3.5 hours? This works if you are just planning to drive through the towns but otherwise, I think your Provence days are over scheduled. I would drop Menerbes. Maybe do Nimes, Pont du Gard and Les Baux on the the same day and the other three places on the other day. I'd do only two but three could be doable. I actually think that October is a good time to visit Provence; it is not completely off season for tourism. In fact many people suggest that September and October are ideal in Provence because it is not as crowded as the summer and the weather is still pretty good. If you do not want to have to get a car, using Nice as a base is probably better for you. Don't forget to account for transit time between your destinations and lines. I don't think that you can get everything done that you have scheduled for Paris on October 22nd.

Whoa! Most people have some type of jet lag after an overnight flight. Your itineraries look to have you hitting the ground running with no recovery time. I would take a deep breath and try to realistically think about how much you can do in one day and still enjoy what you’re seeing…..unless your style is to rush from one place to the next, which is fine. I wish you well.

I would not plan on going to the wedding the same day you arrive. What if you get delayed? Also, by evening of the day of arrival, I am ready to crash. I would not want to go to a wedding.

I was in Cote d'azur and Provence mid-October last year. It was definitely not off-season for tourism although crowds were not a problem. The weather was mostly warm afternoons with cooler evening and mornings. Public transportation is easy, cheap, and good in Nice and to Antibes etc. If you choose Avignon over Nice, then you would need a car to see all or most of places you list in just 2 days and as others have noted, you wouldn't have time to see much in each place.

Not sure what you mean by "booking tour bus from Aviator." Maybe bus tours from Viator (?) a third party tour reseller. If you are looking for organized day tours in Provence, I would suggest looking at offerings directly from local tour operators. I did a small group van tour of Luberon villages with A La Francaise.

I agree with everything the previous posters have recommended and cautioned about. I think your itinerary is aggressively overscheduled. And arriving from an overseas flight on the day of the wedding is, pardon the bluntness, a rookie mistake. It leaves no room for flight delays or cancellations , delayed luggage, and above all, the effects of jet lag, which can become a really problem by afternoon. If at all possible, arrive the day or evening before the wedding.

Whether you spend time in Provence or the Cote d'Azur is up to you. October is only shoulder, not off season. A rental car would make seeing the smaller Provencal towns easier. You would need to obtain an IDP before leaving home if your DL is from a US state.

Come a day earlier. You're less likely to fall asleep or leave the wedding with one night under your belt. A friend who flies to the US from Montpellier 3-4 times a year just came back. She woke at 4 am and then slept until 1 pm. It's not always smooth sailing.

Go to Provence rather than the Côte d'Azur. Avignon is a 1 hour local train ride, whereas getting over to Nice is a five-hour haul. I've done both from Montpellier many times.

How much you'll actually be able to see in 2 days, you'll learn on the ground. If you have guided tours out of Avignon, they'll take care of where you go and the logistics. Same reality check for Paris. I wouldn't bother with Versailles either with such little time unless you are fascinated with palaces and Louis XIV.

There will be plenty of tourists because October 17th is the beginning of the fall school-break period.

Gold star for spelling Montpellier correctly. Even people who are looking to move to Montpellier spell it like the Vermont city.

The big question starts right from day one, if you ask me, I'm really anxious about how this wedding is going to pan out and whether I'll even be able to get through it without falling asleep. Is it going to be a traditional marathon, the civil ceremony, the church, a dinner that drags on for at least two or three hours, and then partying all night with dancing and a band or an orchestra?

Are we even expected to be there?

I have a feeling that, as early as Sunday, major changes will need to be made to this packed schedule.

And as Elizabeth pointed out, the autumn school holidays start on October 17th for two weeks, it's not going to be "off-season" down in the south of France at all, especially if the weather turns out nice.

Very true JoLui. A typical French wedding will be dancing until dawn. My husband and I usually leave wedding celebrations about 2 am here in France and the dancing is still going on. The wedding should be the highlight of your trip, not something you struggle to get through or leave at 10 pm. And there could be a dinner the day before for out-of-town guests.

Have you thought of ENDING you travels with the wedding? Arrive Paris, train to Avignon, local train to Montpellier. Arrive Saturday the 10th and go home on Sunday the 18th. If you book on Air France, you should be able to get the morning or afternoon flight from Montpellier to Charles DeGaulle Airport and change to your overseas flight, all on one ticket. Straight from the dance floor to the Montpellier airport with a piece of wedding cake in your carryon. You can sleep in the plane.

Please reconsider and try to the day before. You will be well served to arrive the day before the wedding and make sure you only have carry-on luggage.

So many things can happen to delay your arrival and you don’t want to chance it. It’s also a good idea not to have any plans at all for arrival day this gives you a chance to unpack, walk around, and have a leisurely dinner and an early bed time. Plus, if it’s a wedding, you can socialize with all the people there for it in a more relaxed setting.

I like the plan that has the wedding at the end of your trip. Otherwise, I would want to be there 2 days before the wedding. Flight cancellations are pretty common these days.

Ditto a lot of the other previous posters - I would not chance arriving the same day as the wedding. I would be too worried about flight delays, being tired, etc. I went to a wedding here at home in DC the day after arriving home from a two-week European vacation and I was tired and could feel it in my body. I would really recommend arriving the day before the wedding just to account for any travel bumps in the road, have time to leisurely walk around the next morning, and be rested for the wedding.

The rest of the trip sounds really rushed to me, but that is not my travel style, but it could be yours. On the 21st, if you are going to have the late afternoon/evening in Paris, I would do a Seine River cruise then and go to the Eiffel Tower then. Frees up time on the 22nd.