France and 14 days: what would you do ?

WEll for a start, I think you are trying to cover too much territory for 14 days. Do those days include your arrival/departure days? If so, you don't have 14 days for touring.

Versailles can be visited from Paris. If so, I would plan on 4 days in Paris minimum. You can also do Chartres as a day trip from Paris.(add another day)

You can take TGV train from Paris to Avignon in Provence and be there in a few hours. From Avignon you can take a train to the Cote D'Azur and base yourself in one place to tour the rest.(good train connections).

I am sure that other people will have some good comments/recommendations to make as well.

I would skip the Pyrennes on this trip. I really don't think you have enough time.

This site contains a discussion and links that I think you will find helpful

http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/topic/28278/bhelp-with-itinerary-planning--travel-timesb.html

In 14 days--I'd scale back.

You, understandably, would like to see all of France in that time. I'd say that if you are nimble, and are willing to compromise, you could visit half of those French destinations. You might decide it would be better, however, to limit yourself to three or four of them.

You might consider five days in Paris, including most of a day at Versailles, leaving you nine (or perhaps eight, if your last day is a travel day) to see any two of the following: Normandy and Mt. St. Michel, Loire Valley Chateaux and Chartres, Burgundy, Alsace, and Provence.

If caves are important (and they are great), go directly from Paris to the Dordogne-Vezere area, and arrange to fly home form Toulouse.

Except for near-contiguous regions, such as Normandy and the Loire, use trains to get from region to region and rent a car locally to explore.

The two organizing principles you should heed are (1) your own priorities, about which you should be brutally hones, and (2) reality, as in how long it takes to get from place to place and to enjoy the places you get to.

More time would (always) be better, but you can have a great experience in two weeks--I hope you do!

Yes I agree with the other. While it is possible I would scale it back. I've been to France many times. Every time I go I select one area and focus on it. I still have not seen Normandy or those caves but I'm confident that I will get there. The more I go there smaller the area of focus. For a first trip you have to focus on Paris. That doesn't mean you have to focus all of your attention there but I would stay at least 4 days. You can easily get to the Loire valley via TGV but after you arrive you will need a car rental to do the castles. I recommend the following for a fun yet uncomplicated 14 day vacation: Paris 5 nights, Avignon 2-3 nights, Nice 4 nights then return to Paris for the remaining. These are all easily reached by TGV train and a 3 day France Flexi pass. While in Paris you need to see the Louvre, Eiffel Tower, and maybe something funky like the catacombs, or shopping. All easily reached by metro. In Avignon you can see all that is in town to see then venture out via bus to the Pont Du Gard or take a short train to Nimes and see the mini Colesium and the Maison Carree. Then off to my favorite location Nice. In nice stay as near old town as possible. Enjoy european beach service, great dinners and day trips to Antibes and Ville Franche-sur-mer. Then back to Paris... Enjoy you last nights toasting your great trip from the Eiffel Tower.(or the grass park below)

Get the guidebook--it will really help your confusion. There is a good "sightseeing priorities" in the front that has "if you have 2 weeks, see...".
Like others said you can't do it all, so read the book, watch the shows (Rudy Maxa's Smart Travels shows on PBS and Fine Living Channel are great, too), then decide what you REALLY want to see. Figure out what is near other areas you'd like to see, and cut out the isolated places. Right now, the Pyrenees and the caves in Dordogne don't make any sense given the other places you want to see. Once you narrow down your destinations you can start thinking about transportation.

You really can't go wrong--you won't pick a bad destination; you're only mistake would be picking too many and not being able to enjoy them.

My 14 day trip would be a variation of the RS Paris and Heart of France tour...Paris (Versailles), Mont St. Michel, Normandy (Bayeux and Battlebus Tours, Caen, Honfleur, Deauville, Rouen), and Loire Valley treats for the remainder. Caves, Provence, Mediterranean, Pyrenees would be another trip.

I think it's too much to do in 14 days. We did a 21-day loop starting with a week in Paris, 2 nights Bayeux/Normandy tour, 4 nights in the Loire (rented a car for touring), Arles for 3 nights (rented car & toured the wine road--you could go to Dordogne instead & see the caves)spent the last 3 nights in Nice (toured the Riviera area by train), then flew back to Paris & home.

We took the train everywhere except for car touring a day in Loire and a day in Provence.

Get the book so you can get an idea of what there is to see, what you'd like to see and how far it is between points; how long the train rides are.

Bon journee!

I highly recommend the guidebook. It is very helpful for planning, as well as an enjoyable read and will help you tremendously in customizing your trip for your own preferences. In the book Rick suggests for 15 days: Paris/Versailles, Normandy, Loire, Dordogne/Carcassone, and Provence/Riviera. As for my own opinion I'd replace Dordogne with Alsace (Colmar). Keep in mind Loire could be a hassle if you aren't going by car - you could take a tour bus. And for your Riviera trip I would say Nice is a must for the Chagall and Matisse museums - but that's my own opinion. My other suggestion would be at least 3 nights in Paris, 4 if you day trip to Versailles and/or Chartes. However, again, you should read the guide and decide what suits your own personal preference - everyone who replies here, and even Rick, are going to have their own priorities and tastes. As for whether that's a lot of travel for 2 weeks, I don't think so. When you think about it you've really got 16 hours a day if you sleep 8 hours. And if you're like me you will definitely be setting your alarm clock in Europe!

Violet: If you're still out there, GET THE BOOK. Think of it as a $25 dollar instruction manual on how to get the most out of your $5,000 (or whatever) trip.

Don't be penny wise and euro foolish!