Bordeaux to Nice

If you are planning on relaxing and not spending time in the car you are planning it all wrong. One night stays won't be relaxing. I would spend at least a day outside Bordeaux wine tasting. At least two nights in The Dordogne which I found to be amazing. Stop for lunch at Carcassone. At least two nights Near Avignon to explore the area. I found Carcassone interesting for about an hour but it seemed more like a ren fair to me.The Old Cite is the attraction and the rest of the town isn't much to look at. Lot's of shops selling dragons and plastic swords. I would cover less ground and extend the stays.

Where do you recommend staying in the Dordogne? I've been all over Provence, but my husband has not. I haven't stayed in Nimes so I thought I'd make that my base for a night or two before heading to Nice. Have you been to Nice? Is it worth 2 nights?

It looks to me like you used some kind of mapping software, plugged in something to give you the fastest route and then just picked (mostly) stops in major cities along the way. There's nothing wrong with one night stops - - why spend two nights somewhere that doesn't merit it and mess around with day trips? It takes no longer to get out of a hotel with a suitcase than it does to get out with whatever junk you'll need for the day. The trick with one-nighters is to get going early and make it to the next place is a couple or three hours. Alternatively, you can stop at several intersting spots along the way and make a whole day of the trip. Regarding Carcassonne - - a couple of hours is plenty. When I lug people through there, I try to arrive at almost supper time, walk them through the old part and then feed their faces (there are a couple of good restaurants in the Cite, actually) and stuff them in the sack so we can get a good start the next day. Regarding the Dordogne - - stay in Les Ezyies, it's the center of all the important stuff and has the national prehistory museum which is world-class. Regarding some of the other places you mentioned: - - Montpellier offers nothing for the average tourist. Aigues-Mortes, just to the east, is touristy but a real gem. - - Nimes is pretty good for a couple of nights since you can make sorties to Pont du Gard, Avignon, Arles, Orange and the rest of the places around the lower Rhone. - - Nice has never interested me one bit and I try not to stay there. Haul-tail driving time from Bordeaux to Nice is about eight hours. If you do it as follows, you get to see some neat places, stay off the freeways more, and have about twce as much driving time. Only one day would get longish, but you can pull into Carcassonne as late as you want.

Here's a pretty good route. Suggested places to stay are in CAPS followed by total driving time for the day. Most stops will need a couple of hours. Bordeaux, Perigueux, LES EYZIES DE TAYAK (2.5) Les Eyzies, Figeac, Albi, Castres, CARCASSONNE (5.5) if you have to clip one, it would probably be Figeac or Castres, depending on your timing. Carcassonne, Aiques-Mortes, Pont du Gard, NIMES (2.5) Nimes, Orange, Avignon, Arles, NIMES (2.0) personally, I'd substitute either Carpentras or St Remy for Arles without changing the driving time, but I get too much flack for slamming Arles. Nimes, Antibes, NICE (3.0)

Ed and I usually agree with each other, but I'm an art lover so I have to put in a good word for Nice. Outside of Paris, Nice and the surroundng area have the best art museums in France. The Orthodox cathedral is said to be the best of its kind outside of Russia. Wandering through Vieux Nice (the old city) on foot is a fun thing to do. My wife and I and our adult daughter spent five nights in Nice in 2005 and, with a couple of day trips outside the city, we never ran out of things to see and do. If you want to stay someplace smaller, I suggest either Antibes (30 minutes west of Nice by train) or Villefranche-sur-Mer (7 minutes east of Nice by train and only a little longer by bus),