Travel in France

In Chartres, wander around after dark. Many buildings and bridges have pictures projected on them. Very cool to see.

Aix is very pleasant. Avignon is more central to the sights of Provence, but Aix is closer to the Rivera.

Consider some time in Strasbourg-- Colmar-- Route de Vin Alsace

You are biteing off a lot. We've driven about 30,000 miles in France at an average of 150 miles a day. Don't you want to spend most of your time sightseeing rather than racing around a place as big as Texas?

I think to meet your plans you will have to use the very expensive high speed, high stress toll roads, but the real France is on the side roads.

Driving in and into and out of EU cites is very time consuming. I think the average speed is -10 mph. Think about staying in the countryside or in nearby small towns. Consult the Michelin Red Guide to find such places. Focus on red bird hotels.

Skip Lyon. Been there 4 times, which was 6 times too many.

From Amsterdam to France, consider going thru the Mosel Valley, one of the best drives in EU.

I can't see any justfication for 6 days in the Loire Valley (Chartre/Ambois). The interesting route from the Loire to Provence is across the Massif Central, not via Lyon.

Perhaps Vaison la Romaine for your ? Days. Lovely town with Roman ruins. Many wineries around the area. Stay up at Le Bellfroi hotel, I have system there twice on Rick’s tours. Heavenly.

Presumably Paris isn't on your list because you've spent time there, or don't like really big cities -- ? And presumably you're returning to Amsterdam at the end to save the cost of dropping the car in a different country -- ? You might consider taking a train into France, even Paris (Thalys is 3+ hours) to get the car there, or nearby, then fly home from there.

Rouen and Bayeux add up to eight nights in Normandy, which is a long time compared to the time you have in Provence, for example. But you're wisely giving each city and region enough time to appreciate it, and avoiding one-night stands except for the drive from Antibes to Reims. I'd suggest someplace in Burgundy, like Beaune, for one of those nights.

Thanks for all your replies. We are making good progress with our hotel stays. However, does anyone have a suggestion for a hotel in Avignon or even a smaller town nearby.

We were very happy with the Hotel Colbert in 2014 - wow that will be 5 years ago this spring. Great location, large room, decent breakfast. The proprietors weren't all that into us, but that was okay.

http://www.avignon-hotel-colbert.com/

If you are interested in a hotel in a small village, east of Avignon a little bit, we enjoyed 4 nights last June at Le Mas de l'Almandier in Saint-Saturnin-lès-Avignon. You definitely need a car for this as it is kind of in a suburb of Avignon. Family run, Phillip and his parents were very friendly and accommodating. Phillip speaks English and his mom a little bit. The rooms are comfortable, clean, and air conditioned. We had a nice balcony we could enjoy. They do have nice pool. We found them on booking.com. Breakfast was included in our price. We found the location convenient to exploring in all directions: Nimes, Pont-du-Gard, l'isle-sur-la-Sorgue, Roussillon, Gordes. Sounds like a great trip.

Baumanière, Les Baux-de-Provence