France itinerary

Yes, it's too much. By a good deal. I do not know what you should drop. What are your priorities?

I agree with Adam. With only two weeks I would do Paris, Normandy and the Loire Valley.

John It is so hard to choose, even if you are in one country for 2 weeks. You have 5 places to go in 2 weeks. Does that include the day you leave the US and the last day which is totally a travel day? You may be down to 12 days then. Get yourself a map of France (even Google it). Try to draw a a route between all of the cities. Loire and Paris should be together as they are both in the North Central part of France. I think you may have to drop Dordogne/Carcassone or the Riviera to make this work. Are you doing an Open Jaw ticket? In one city and out the other so you don't have to backtrack to your original first city? Do the Open Jaw and you will save lots of time and money! Don't be fooled by a cheaper round trip one city fare. Check out viamichelin.com and put in some of your destnations and how long it will take you to drive the routes. Make sure you check the Time and not the Miles/KM. France roads in these areas are not like US 4 lane highways. I think you will find the hours in the car take way more time that you expected. And not necessarily pretty country. Here are 2 thoughts: * Stay in northern France: Paris (with day trips by train to Versialles, Giverny, castle towns, or other), then to Normandy and Loire by car, then MAYBE to wine country or Strasburg or Colmar on the German border by car. * OR Paris then Normandy and Loire by car; then take the TGV fast train to Avignon and Provence area by car or Nice for Riviera by train. If you are going in the summer, all of these places are jam packed, especially the Riviera. Let us know how your itinerary evolves with the great suggestions from other posters.
Bobbie

I will be traveling with kids ages 12, 15, 16 and 19. I have done arrival in Venice, to Florence, to Sienna, to Cinque Terre and fly out of Milan on a 2 week tour of Italy last summer. With France being a larger country I may have to focus on North Central or South for my first trip and give myself an excuse to come back again!

Good advice here. Also you obviously won't want a car IN Paris. Stay in Paris for a few days using the Metro/Trains to get around and then pick up your car as you leave.

Upon further research I think I have settled on Paris 4-5 days, Normandy 2-3 nights, Loire Valley 2-3 nights, Dordogne 2-3 nights and fly out of Bordeaux!

I would do 4 or 5 nights Paris. Train to Bordeaux. Car to Dordogne and on to Provence. Train back to Paris.

Thanks for all your help. My itinerary will probably be in constant flux but those beautiful villages in the Dordogne are calling me!

John, you did not originally mention Provence, so assume that is not on your list. If so, I like your revised itinerary. If you simply forgot Provence, I would revise to Paris, Provence, Riviera.

Looks like you have scaled back already but hitting all the areas in your original posting is doable, just not relaxing and an in depth way to travel. I did a two week trip in Germany during the 2006 World Cup with my wife and two kids, 10 and 17 years old, and it was one of the funnest trips I've done. Timed it to avoid cities hosting any games during our time in that city. Also spent a couple nights in Lucerne. Flew in and out of Cologne. Rental car the whole way. Stayed in Cologne, Berlin, Rothenberg, Munich, Reutte, Lucerne, Heidelberg, and back to Cologne. So we had to be choosy about what we did in each city/region but never felt shortchanged. We had some very long days but this wasn't supposed to be a relaxing vacation. You can relax back home. We are also used to all day drives from visiting our National Parks. I plan to do the same type of journey in France. Good luck and you will have a great time, especially having family with you.

One other question. With my itinerary running from Paris to Normandy, Loire Valley and then to Dordogne, does it make sense to fly out of the Toulouse Airport? Does anyone have experience with that airport and the ease of getting there from the Dordogne?

An open-jaw flight will save you a day, pretty substantial on an itinerary like yours. It's a couple of hours from the Dordogne valley to Toulouse, though.

John,
I'm doing a similar 12 day trip in France as part of a 5 1/2 week Europe trip. I have 5 nights in Paris but can only spend 1 night near Mont St. Michel and 1 1/2 days (1 night) in Loire Valley before driving down to a town (Verlhac-Tescou) about 1/2 hour from Montauban staying 4 nights then flying from Toulouse to Madrid. I have revised and revised and feel this is the best use of my time as I am on an extreme budget using miles for the round trip, trying to see as much as possible and only paying for hotels/b&b's where I have to- MSM & Loire Valley. Your trip is ultimately your trip and you know the pace you are comfortable with so take the wonderful advice you have received and go with your gut. Enjoy!!