Suggestions for what to see/do/stay in Carcassesonne/Nimes and other suggestions

Perhaps those who live in France can comment, but France in February, even Paris, doesn't sound too appealing. Your trip is spread throughout France. The places you have named are nice to visit, but some places like the Dordogne is better enjoyed in nicer weather. I would recommend at least 6 nights in Paris as there is so much to see and do.

Maybe others can suggest locations near Paris that would be enjoyable and involve a lot less travel.

You’ll get better answers if you tell us what your interests are. That being said, I’m going to jump in with my observations. 5 locations in 12 nights is, in my opinion, way too many. Each change will eat up the better part of a day.

If castles intrigue you, there are many in the Dordogne. No need to go to the Loire valley to see some. Also, gardens are a big part of the attraction of many Loire chateaux, but February isn’t a great time for viewing them.

One main attraction of the Dordogne is prehistoric sites. You can do some research to see if visiting such would appeal to you. They have different ways for getting entrance, often advance reservations. There are also many charming medieval villages to see.

You should consider getting to Bordeaux immediately after arrival in Paris. Train? Plane? A car is very useful for getting around the Dordorgne.
I’m not a fan of of Carcasonne, so my advice would be to eliminate it. Return the car in Bordeaux, and take the train to Paris. Putting Paris at the end of your trip will put you where you need to be for your departing flight.

BJT
Are you driving between destinations or taking the train? Where in the Dordogne region do you plan to stay? I would research how you are going to get by train to where you lodgings are. You could spend a lot of the day getting from place to place by train, as they are not frequent, except perhaps at Brive la Gallarde. For towns/villages to stay, there are lots of options. Within the Dordogne area, getting from town to town and sight to sight are not feasible by bus or train. Assuming you have a car, the drive from Amboise to the Dordogne Valley is not terribly quick. You would lose most of that day in the Dordogne to getting there. That leaves you with one full day there. The Dordogne region is not tiny. Yes, driving through the whole Loire Valley can be done in one day, but visiting the Dordogne doesn't work that way. The roads are smaller, windier (not horribly so, but not straight either), and there are many, many villages and sights to visit, somewhat spread out.

To do even the minimum of things there you should have four full days. Villages, markets, prehistoric caves, river kayaking or canoeing, medieval castles (not chateaux, like the Loire), partaking of the wonderful foodstuffs there (truffles, pate, walnuts, mushrooms, honey, to name a few), seeing some of the "Plus Beaux Villages de France".........all these things are what the Dordogne region is known for.

Carcassone is wonderful, and you could leave the Dordogne early and drive there and get there in time to visit the castle and just stay one night. Or head to Nimes and stay there 2 nights. That gives you about a day and a half to see the Roman sights there and go to see the Pont de Gard. If there are any performances happening at the Roman arena, you could attend that as well. Carcassone and Nimes? To visit both, I think you will be too rushed and will spend too much time in the car. Check out the site Viamichelin.com. You can enter your start and ending towns to get some driving options. The times suggested do not factor in food/gas/comfort stops, and I would add time to what they suggest. You would need the name of the town in the Dordogne where you will stay. IMO, I would decide on that soon. Don't underestimate distances and time between locations.

To be honest, you have allocated 12 nights to four locations, and you will spend what I feel would be too much time traveling between them. Paris, the Loire Valley, the Dordogne, or Paris, the Loire Valley, and Nimes and Carcassone. The last two don't need as much time as the Dordogne region. Think about choosing just three locations and try a different itinerary.

Best of luck on your trip!

Thank you everyone for the thoughtful comments. I was worried we're trying to do too much and don't want to spend all day in a car.

Forgot to mention we love castles, chateaus, and wonder if the prehistoric caves are worth it since you can't go into the caves but only a replica?

Forgot to mention we love castles, chateaus, and wonder if the prehistoric caves are worth it since you can't go into the caves but only a replica?

If that is the case just do Amboise 2 nights and the rest in Paris. Sign up for a tour in Amboise of chateaus and you'll have no need for a car. You can always go to Reims from Paris as a quick trip from Paris to do something different.

Fly to Marseille and go to Nîmes. Rent a car. On a day when the winds aren’t blowing make a day trip to Carcassonne, another to Uzes, the Pont du Gard, and Arles. Check weather reports to avoid the winds that hit Carcassonne that time of year. Move into the Rhone Valley to visit Orange, and Vaison-La-Romaine, all with Roman ruins. Turn the car in and take the high-speed train from Avignon or Valence to Paris. Again in the Rhone Valley you will run into uncomfortable, cold winds, called le Mistral, on some days, so check the weather. There are castles scattered everywhere.
This isn’t a good time to be in the Loire Valley or Dordogne. Stay south except Paris.

If you’re flying in and out of Paris sleep in Paris at the end of your stay.
You need a car to visit the Dordogne so you can stop in Oradour-sur-Glane and the Cro-Magnon Caves on the way there. You also want to visit during the summer when you can canoe through the fairy tale villages La Roque-Gageac and Beynac. Taking a train from Amboise to Sarlat-la-Canéda takes all day meaning you’ll lose a day sight-seeing and involves multiple transfers which is never fun when hauling luggage. In other words, Sarlat is not the highlight of the Dordogne so why go.
Carcasonne is even more of an outlier than the Dordogne department. You’ll lose a day traveling there and multiple connections are required. If it’s not convenient why go.
Instead, sleep in the Loire Valley for three nights and spend one night in Amboise and two nights in Blois. From Charles de Gaulle airport (CDG) take a train to Amboise (3h) that involves a connection. The next day take a bus from Amboise to Château de Chenonceau (45m) and back. Get your luggage and take a direct train from Amboise to Blois (30m).
The next day take a bus from Blois to Château de Chambord (45m). Sleep in Blois for two nights and the next day take a train from the Blois-Chambord station to the Avignon Tgv station that will take a full day with one transfer.
Sleep in Avignon for four nights. Good day trips from the Avignon city station (not the Tgv station) by direct train are: Pont-du-Gard, Arles and Orange.
There are direct trains from Avignon Tgv station to Paris taking 2h 45m. Paris deserves a minimum of five nights.

BJT – I missed the part where you said you will rent a car if needed. However, I don’t know if Feb is the month you want to drive in FR. FR is equivalent to the same latitude as CA.

Just a note on Dordogne caves. Some are reproductions, most notably Lascaux. Most are the real thing. It’s easy to find out which are which using the internet.

Forget the Dordogne in February. 95% of what is possible to do and see is closed or impossible to do. A car is essential and you should stay there at least 4 or 5 days in another period of the year to visit a small part of the region.

In February, even if it is not very frequent, you could also have some snow in Dordogne:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40Q61dNUhIo

If this happens, don't expect to see snow plows clearing the small roads. Stay by the fireplace and wait for better days :))

Just two quick tips:

• in Carcassonne, stay in the walled Cité and not in the new village below;
• near Nimes, definitely see the Pont du Gard.

wonder if the prehistoric caves are worth it since you can't go into
the caves but only a replica?

Many (most) of the caves are not replicas, and even though Lascaux is a replica, it is incredible. I never felt like I was looking at a replica while within, and the museum exhibition space outside of the replica cave is very well done.

If you decide to stay in Carcasonne, stay within the walled old city.

I stayed at the Best Western. (Before people start screaming "I don't stay in chain hotels," this is not a chain. This is a very old buildling converted into a hotel. It's a Best Western because they want to use the BW reservation system and agree to BW standards.)

During the day, Carcasonne (the old town) is very busy and crowded. But at night, it changed. I took a walk one night and the only thing I saw was my shadow. The tacky tourist shops were closed and the city reverted back to what it once was.

Some people prefer to be around others all the time. I liked the solitude.

I meant Carcassonne the old town was crowded during the day. I corrected my post.

I spent no time in the new part of Carcassone. I was there to see the Cite.