Where to go in October?

Neither Burgundy nor Alsace involve a great deal of driving. There are small villages to visit but tney are not far apart in either of these destinations.

I would agree with the post above. We spent several days in Burgundy at the fantastic Carpe Diem Guesthouse in Massangis, near Beaune. There are many sights and towns within an easy day drive. We used a Michelin guidebook highlighting driving tours of the region. We have been to Alsace with a car as well, but for us, Burgundy had more and varied sights to offer. There's also the Loire valley, another area we loved and didn't require marathon daily driving. We took the train from Paris to each region and rented the cars there. With 9 days, maybe two locations? Good luck and safe travels.

It's about 350km to drive from Dijon, Burgundy to Strasbourg, Alsace. Both places have frequent fast trains to Paris. Over 5 days or so this is not a great distance.

Or by train,
Day 1 - Paris to Reims (1N)
Day 2 - Train to Strasbourg (2N)
Day 3 - Day to Colmar
Day 4 - Train to Dijon (2N)
Day 5 - Day to Beaune
Day 6 - Return to Paris

Burgundy is a large area - perhaps it seems that the days look too long because I'm being too ambitious for what we can cover in a day? I'm wondering if it may help our driving time by spending a few nights in Beaune as well as a few nights further north in Burgundy so we don't have to backtrack so much for the many sights we are interested in there. I've read through RS and many forum posts but it sounds like the Michelin Green guide is good for drives so I've ordered it. I'm looking forward to seeing the suggested drives in it. I'm hoping I can get a better feel for structuring days/driving based off that guide and then post a detailed itinerary for review.

edited for last response: David, I had thought that it would be too much to try to see both Alsace and Burgundy in 5 days. But, perhaps we should consider it. I'd love to see both and it would be a nice taste of each area. We could always go back if one or both areas appeal and we feel like we want to see more of it.

We spent a week in Burgundy, based in Beaune with a car, and saw a lot. We'd have driven less if we'd split our time between Beaune and somewhere farther north as you suggest. There are fast trains to Dijon where you could get a car and not have to drive long distances thereafter.

Without a car you're likelier to focus on bigger cities. Lyon would be one candidate, with good public transit and connections to Paris. You could spend several days there and make a few side trips.

5 days might be too long for either Burgundy or Alsace, but too short for both. If you love wine and/or love to ride bike and/or love the finite differences between similar villages then both are worth your full 5 days. Personally I love both places - would live in either in a heartbeat.

You mention Belgium. Brussels is 90 minutes from Paris by train, Amsterdam 110 minutes from there. You could do a very nice tour of Amsterdam and one or two historic Flemish towns by train very easily in 5 days from Paris.

Lastly, remember that flying in Europe can be really keep, and public transit to airports is fairly efficient. You could fly to a completely different place than Paris and it would be easy if there isn't a lot of hassle transferring too far from the airport. For under $100 RT each, you could fly to Copenhagen, Lisbon, Berlin, Barcelona or Dublin and likely make it back to CDG on the same day for your flight home. You could soak you toes in the Mediterranean eating artisanal honey baklava and sipping ouzo in Chania Crete for three or four night. Lots of possibilities, such fun!

You could do very well going to Reims on the train, and/or Strasbourg, Colmar, even cities on the German side of the border like Trier or the Rhine area. That said, if you confine yourself to a couple of regions within France, the driving need not be so exhausting. My wife and I have done a couple of France trips where we spent only two or three nights in several regions, and that does get exhausting. But if you went with only a couple of regions it would not be bad at all. Actually Champagne region outside of Reims and visiting Verdun on the way to the Alsace would be a nice trip. I have always thought the city of Troyes in that area looks extremely cool. If you do go to Burgundy don't miss Fontenay Abbey, the hospital in Beaune, Semur-en-Auxois. You could have a pretty good visit in Alsace without driving too much or even at all. Really, the amount of driving would be quite manageable if you plan it right.

First, driving in France is likely to be less tiring than in Ireland, where there are presumably more stresses. Second, it is possible to rent an automatic. Yes, it's usually more expensive but it's not exorbitant. Take the TGV to/from Paris and rent the car in Dijon. I would plan to stay in a small town or village so you have faster access to the roads (driving in/out of Dijon or Beanue will eat up time). You will have 3-4 hours of driving a day to see the villages, abbeys, chateaux, etc. but no long slogs, unless you add Alsace (its about a 3-hour drive from Beaune to Colmar).

Thank you all for your helpful responses. Researching all the possibilities in France is a bit overwhelming. I'm a detailed-type planner so I think I've started jumping too far into the details so I'm attempting to now take a bigger picture approach and look at areas in broader spectrum to identify the area that appeals to us the most.

I did a search of the chateaux in Dordogne and WOW! While the chateaux in the LV look fabulous, the architecture and age of those in the Dordogne just tickle my fancy. More so than the ones in Burgundy as well. DH and I both love really old castles. Those and some prehistoric sights were some of our favorite things in Ireland. Looks like we could tick off our food and wine interests in Dordogne, picturesque towns and pretty scenery as well. The caves look interesting but I think we'd be happy seeing just one or two.

I have seen in the news that a new TGV line will be running in July 2017 to Bordeaux from Paris. Does anyone know if this line is available from CDG? What I find is that it connects in Tours but I can't find where it starts in Paris. It seems like this could be a quicker way to get to the Dordogne area? The amount of time it takes to get somewhere is always a factor. Burgundy and other options are fairly quick to get to from CDG which is a plus.

Chani, we did rent a car for Normandy and my husband found driving in France to be far more enjoyable than even driving here in the States. Everyone was absolutely courteous and minded the rules of the road and made driving a breeze. Not nearly as stressful as Ireland. Excellent point on looking for the automatic option. I know it's not easy always being the driver and I am very appreciative of that so I just want to make sure that he will enjoy himself too :)

In the meantime, I'll keep slogging away through all these options!

Regarding an automatic:

1. If you specify it when you make the reservation
2. If you use a major rental agency (Avis, Hertz, Enterprise, and similar)
3. If it's at a major airport or train station (such as in Paris, Lyon, Toulouse, Marseille, Nantes, and so on)
4. If you contact them a day or two before arrival confirming the reservation and reminding them of the importance of the automatic

...then your chances of getting an automatic transmission in your rental car are very high.

Automatics are (slowly) becoming more common in France. I notice more parked when I walk along the street than I used to.

Sometimes you get them when you don't even ask: when a co-worker and I made a business trip to Nantes he was given a Citroën with an automatic, much to his consternation. He kept stomping on the floor with his left foot and grabbing for the gear shift out of habit. Kind of funny to watch, but it was just frustrating to him.

Also, another factor on getting an automatic in France: If you do get the automatic, be prepared to pay more than you would have for a stick.

Fred -- is it your experience that the difference between manual and automatic is notable? I ask because when I've priced them the automatic is less than 10 percent higher. Not really that big a deal when one considers the cost of travel to Europe.

@ K...Admittedly, one of my flaws is that I can't drive a stick. All I know is that in northern France, (Nord Pas-de-Calais to be exact) we were told that the luxury of an automatic, if one is available, is more expensive than renting a manual. I looked into getting a rental car for getting around in Pas-de-Calais area, exploring the sights, the country side, etc. There is a rental car company left Arras train station as you exit the station.

It is my impression that the smaller cars are only available as manuals, so if you need or want an automatic you are forced into a pricier category. That's one of several reasons why I have never rented a car in Europe.

A few days in Paris sound wonderful. Then take the high speed train or Easy Jet to Nice and spend a few days in the South. Provence in October is still lovely. Rent a car and settle in Aix or Arles or Avignon and just immerse yourselves. My best experience is to alternate a day in town and a day trip to a nearby town or vineyard. Very relaxing and easy. Trains go directly to the towns but Nice is necessary if using in-country air. Or do a one-way train and return to CDG via air (but the train goes directly to CDG as well). Airport in Nice is at far western edge that minimizes driving in a bigger city.

Hello Julie. You said you desire to go to Burgandy in France, and to Paris. You could rent a car at Dijon (in Burgandy), for one day, for driving north to small towns and a palace. If the car does not have automatic transmission, I think your husband could do all of the driving, in one day. The driving would not be very long distances. I recommend going to only one destination other than Paris. If travelers go to Alsace and Burgandy, after Paris, the travelers would feel hurried, in a total of 9 days at Europe. Rick Steves said Burgandy is the best part of FRANCE for seeing French elements. I would go to Paris and Dijon.