Two-ish Weeks in France

Paris makes a convenient starting point for an all-France itinerary, but out of everywhere I've been in France, Paris is my least favorite place.

Bayeux is an easy train ride from Paris and makes a great base for D-Day sites and Mont St. Michel. In 2019, we took the train from Bayeux to Saint-Malo and really loved it. The walled city was heavily damaged in WW2 and rebuilt in the old style. Beautiful scenery, interesting WW2 sites, and delicious food.

Provence has a little bit of everything - Roman ruins, more beautiful scenery, wine, food - it's like living in a Williams Sonoma catalog. In 2014 or 2015, we stayed in Avignon took a couple of day-trips with Provence Panorama.

You have a lot of options, but I might suggest upon CDG arrival, you continue to the Loire Valley for several days, renting a car there then working your way up to Normandy, possibly include Brittany and end with 5 to 7 days in Paris. Such an itinerary typically takes several weeks and this framework can be filled with many stops and points of interest to include those you mention.

Tocard’s suggestions are very good. Paris is my favorite place on the planet. It’s a beautiful city with so many fun things to do and see. If it were me, I would read Rick’s France book and see what appeals to you. You can also look at Rick’s various France tours and see what their itineraries are, ie, what they consider makes a good trip. We also watch a lot of YouTube travel videos to get a sense of places we’re interested in going to.

Just a note about heading from Paris to the Loire Valley, if that's what you decide to do. It's highly advantageous to have a rental car to get around the Loire region. It might seem that train to Versailles and renting a car from there would make sense. However, we looked into this and also renting a car from Chartres, since both Versailles and Chartres in the general direction of our Loire destination (Azay-le-Rideau). We found there were no cars of the size and type we needed (midsize or larger, automatic transmission) on the days we would be there. Renting from Orly airport would be my recommendation -- but, it may depend if you are happy with a standard transmission, smaller car etc.

Just a quick note about car rentals in France - reserve in advance. This is particularly important if you want a car with an automatic transmission - which are not very popular in France. Most cars have standard transmissions which, for those from the USA, can be problematic. Consider a quote from www.autoeurope.com

When planning several weeks in France, I like to push through on arrival day and proceed to a point outside Paris. Take the train from either CDG (allowing 3 hours between scheduled arrival and train departure) or from Gare Austerlitz/Gare Montparnasse (allowing an additional hour to reach the station from CDG). In the strongest words possible, I would advise against renting a car at CDG after an all-night, transatlantic flight and driving any distance. Fatigue is the #1 cause of accidents on the autoroutes. Wait and rent a car the following morning.

Leave Paris for the end of your vacation. You will have easy access to CDG for your return flight.

Are you planning on renting a car for any part of your trip? Or are you planning on strictly public transportation. Answers will be better if this is known. Also do like to base in one place for a few days and do daytrips or do you prefer to keep moving?

Hi Tocard - saw your helpful rental car tips and checked out AutoEurope - and was curious if you have any expierence renting from Sixt? Reputable company?