France by train in 30 days: need suggestion and advice

Here is the itinerary: Day 1-6:?(5/18- 5/23 W - M) Paris 6 nights in Paris Day 7 (5/24/2011 Tu) : Mont-St-Michel 1 night 5/24 train: Paris Montparnasse – Rennes – Pontorson-Mont-st-Michel dep: 6:35 arr:10:00 TGV8001 Day 8-9(5/25-5/26): Brittany: Carnac: 2 nights 5/25 train: Pontorson – Auray Dep: 9:14 arr: 11:57 Day 10,11,12(5/27 – 5/29 Fri - Sun) : Amboise 3 nights 5/27 train: Auray – Nantes- Amboise dep: 14:14 arr: 17:42 Day 13, 14 (5/30 – 5/31 Mon – Tu): Dordogne: Sarlat 2 nights at Sarlat 5/30 Amboise(St-Pierre) – Sarlat dep: 8:29 arr: 15:39 Day 15: (6/1 Wed) Carcassonne 6/1/2011: Sarlat –Carcassone: dep:13:10 arr: 17:35 Day 16 – 19: (6/2 – 6/5 Thur. – Sun) Arles 4 nights in Arles 6/2/2011 Arr: Carcassonne – arles: dep: 11:33 arr: 13:54 Day 20-24: (6/6 – 6/10 Mon. – Fri.) Nice 5 nigths in Nice 6/6/2011 Arles – Nice via Marseille-St-Charles:?dep: 10:43 arr: 14:34 Day 25: (6/11 Sat) Lyon 1 nights in Lyon 6/11/2011 Nice Ville – Lyon Part Dieu dep:9:25 arr: 13:50 Day 26 - 27: (6/12 Sun – 6/13Mon) Chamonix 2 nights in Chamonix
6/12 Lyon – Chamonix dep: 10:34 arr: 14:39 via St. Gervais Les Bain Day 28-29 (6/14 – 15 Tues. Wed): Annecy 2 night in Annecy 6/14/2011 : Dep: 9:03 arr:12:37 Day 30: Geneva: back home

Even punctual trains don't always make a 10-minute window for transfers. That's too tight. We spent 30 days in France in summer 2009. We drove everywhere outside of Paris. It was easy. Driving is really the best way to see rural France.

Delays are not unheard of, especially with regional trains (TER). 10 minutes transfer time + the risk of being stuck if you miss the train is cutting it a bit fine. I wouldn't risk it myself, especially with the 7 hour journey time. As for your other question I'm not personally familiar with that part of France but there are quite a few people who regularly post here who can probably offer more detailed advice on that one.

Denise: Have you already purchased the railpass? Because if not, then I would suggest a different transportation plan, one that combines driving with trains. The other poster, who suggested that rural areas--Brittany, the Loire, the Dordogne--are far easier by car is absolutely right. Of course you neither need nor want a car in Paris or Nice, but the rest of your destinations would be a lot more fun with a car.
Still, assuming that you have already bought the railpass and cannot afford to rent a car on top of that expense, you might want to cut out both Sarlat and Carcassone. You will still have to backtrack to Paris before going south, but the TGV to Avignon is only 2.5 hrs. Avignon is better located for some destinations in Provence than Arles, so split your extended time between the two...you won't have any regrets about time you spend in Provence.

As per the above. The Loire chateaux really need a car to get the most for your time.

Are france trains always on time? Always is really quite a lot. Just about as absolute as never. I'm willing to believe that nearly nobody can give an "always" guarantee.

Thanks a lot for your inputs. I've already bought the railpass. As a first timer to Europe, I never thought of renting a car. Travel by train seems easier as I can plan ahead and don't have to read the French road sign and figure out my way while driving. Can you rent a GPS when you rent a car in France? I will take Roe's advice to skip Sarlat and Carcassone, and spend 3 days in Avignon. For Loire chateaux and Provence, do I really need a car? I thought they have mini bus tour to those chateaux and Provence villages?

Well, for Provence, you can do a lot but not all by public transport. Avignon and Arles are both very walkable. You can spend a couple of days in each with plenty to do and see...hopefully you'll be in Arles for market day and can assemble a picnic in the most fun way possible. There is train service to Nimes, Orange, Isle Sur La Sorgue, and Aix en Provence. There is bus service from Avignon to the Pont du Gard. After that, it gets somewhat sketchy...RS has details in his Provence book, but I think you will have a difficult time getting to Les Baux and Roussillon, and no chance of getting to little villages like Sault or Gordes. If you could rent a car for a day in Avignon, you could do a breathtaking tour of the lavender country and villages near Mt Ventoux.

An alternative to a car, if you are game, is a bicycle. Parts of Province are hilly, but the Loire is generally flat, and there are rentals available in both places. Here is one, for instance, for the Loire that an acquaintance recommended recently (though I haven't used it), located in Tours. http://www.locationdevelos.com/en/locations.php Also, SNCF used to offer auto rental deals for passholders. There was even a rail-drive pass. The advantage was that you could arrange to rent a car for just a day or two on one location, then another one in another location as needed, paying a very good rate (comparable to the weekly prorated). I realize you have already bought your passes, and decided not to drive, but you really would add a lot to your trip to have a car in Provence and Normandy and maybe the Loire, especially if you are not up for riding bicycles (which I also recommend). So you might want to see if this option is available to you, or if you can exchange passes.

If you don't want to take either a local bus or a taxi from Pontorson to Mont Saint-Michel, you could take a TGV departing from Gare Montparnasse at 07:05 and arriving in Rennes at 09:10. Then take a bus operated by French National Rail from Rennes directly to Mont Saint-Michel departing at 09:30 and arriving at 10:50. Since it's a SNCF bus, your pass will be good for the bus ride. For Amboise-Sarlat the German Rail site shows a faster route than the one you listed. Depart Amboise at 11:21 and connect in St-Pierre-des-Corps, Libourne, and Le Buisson. Arrive in Sarlat at 16:10. The Le Buisson-Sarlat leg is on a SNCF bus so again your railpass would cover the ride.

We travelled through France to Avignon from Paris and to the Loire Valley etc. We based ourselves in Tours and Avignon and took day tours to the Chateaux and various areas of Provence. I booked Provence tour through Viator before we left australia. The chateaux tour I booked at the tourist Office in Tours. For us it worked well.
France is a difficult country to access by train, unlike Germany.