France itinerary advice

Can't offer advice on the driving aspect, but can offer some train advice Depending where you want to make your base in the Dorgogne. There is a TGV from Gare Paris Montparnasse to Bordeaux. From there you can take a regional train to Sarlat.

How long does the train trip from Paris to Bordeaux take? Is there no direct train to Sarlat? Thanks for the driving website. Will check it out. Are the D-Day beaches a must-see? Or can we skip them and just head to Mont St. Michel, Loire, etc? Annie, there is no such thing as "one size fits all" when it comes to travel. Everybody has different preferences and what I might call a "must see" somebody else would say to drive right by and stop at a different one. For me, the D-Day beaches area of Normandy are an absolute pilgrimage. I was lucky to have all 4 members of my immediate family who fought in WWII return whole and unharmed - including one who commanded a tank in the Normandy Bocage after landing on D+3. For you and yours it may mean nothing. For me Mont St Michel was pretty much meh with too many tourists and too little respect for the church, especially during my 10 days in Normandy seeing a little of what my Uncle had gone through. He commanded tanks in North Africa against Rommel and defeated him; now he had to defeat the same guy again. The 4 of you really need to look within yourselves and decide what is important to the 4 of you. For train information use http://www.bahn.com. Change the language at the very top to English. Put in Paris as either start or finish and Sarlat at the other and then you can see the fastest connections. You will see that something over 6 hours including one change at Libourne or Bordeaux. No flue powder will be faster.

Annie, You can check your driving routes and times on viamichelin.com

How long does the train trip from Paris to Bordeaux take? Is there no direct train to Sarlat? Thanks for the driving website. Will check it out. Are the D-Day beaches a must-see? Or can we skip them and just head to Mont St. Michel, Loire, etc? And we are a family of 4 with two teens. It's our first time in France, except for my husband who backpacked around Europe a long time ago.

I think you have too much in too short of time. I would cut out Mont St. Michel, as much as I love it, and the Dordogne. Add time to either Normandy or Paris. The WWII museum in Bayeux is well worth your time. You really need more than one day in Bayeux and more than 2 in Paris. www.Bahn.de is a good website to find train times and routes.

The drives are very doable. Between Amboise and Sarlat will take most of a day. If you drive to Bordeaux or Poitiers to drop off the car, the TGV train back to Paris is very fast. Or you could drive from Sarlat to the southern side of Paris to drop off the car. Read about driving in the "transportation" section of "travel tips" on this website. But you'll be spending a lot of days mostly in the car, and you're allowing only one full day each for the Loire and the Dordogne. You'll see a lot of scenery and little else. The Dordogne is great, so why not save it for another trip? I'd suggest giving Normandy another day, and the Loire at least one more, preferably two. Or spend more than three nights in Paris, there's enough there for a much longer visit.

You should be able to drive each of those legs within a day. MSM to Loire is piece of cake. Loire to Dordogne is loner. Returning to Paris from the Dordogne will take most of the day. You will have to drive to the fast train. I agree with those who counsel skipping the Dordogne. Two nights, bracketed by long travel days, leaves one day for sightseeing and recovery. Save this wonderful area for another trip and have a much, much better time in northern France.

Thank you for all your input. My husband may want to see the D-Day beaches. I like pretty villages and castles, that's why I thought of the Loire Valley and Dordogne. But we only have so many days. So I'm wondering what to cut out. At first I was thinking about cutting out Normandy. But I may have to cut out Dordogne instead since it looks like it's too far from everything else and too much vacation time will be spent on the road. I hope I will be able to go on another trip someday to see it, along with Provence.

Annie you say your husband "may" want to see the D-Day beaches. Talk to him and find out! It will help your planning immensely if you know it's a definite must,or if it can be stricken from the list. One option is to take a day trip to Mt St Michel from Bayeux. That's one less transition day. The Churchill Hotel at least used to offer a van trip, check their website. I would suggest staying a couple of more days in the Loire. It's so beautiful and there's so much to see. Keep the Dordogne for another trip,it's just too far for your timeline.

We did this trip with our 2 boys a few years back. We drove to Bayeux and stayed 2 nights at Hotel Tardif in their family room and loved it. We visited Omaha Beach, the new American Museum there, and Pont du Hoc. That took up most of a day and was nice to drive through the pretty villages between. In Bayeux you and your kids would love the Bayeux tapestry. Very worth seeing. (There is a cool Youtube video of it. My kids loved it.) Two nights in Bayeux was perfect and then we spent one night in Mont St Michel. Loved being there after everyone left and my family loved running around the ramparts and the island after the water sub sides in the evening. The drive is easy from Paris. We adored Normandy. It is so charming, and the villages are lovely. There are also other great stops up there like the beach towns of Deuville, Trouville, Honfleur and even the Brittany coast and Giverny (Monet's home- on the way up), which are very close if you can explore this area further which I wish we did.
I'd be glad to answer any other questions! Have fun.

Annie, I was so excited when I saw your proposed itinerary. My husband and I did the same trip but with 3 days at each stop (not Mont St. Michel). So I think the advice you received is good...leave out the Dordogne (it is worth 2-3 days on its own) and come back again. Otherwise you will spend too much time in the car. By adding time in Normandy and the Loire you can immerse yourself in wonders...Honfleur, Giverney, Versailles..take your pick. We also loved Ste. Maire Eglise, be sure to watch "The Longest Day" first; it is old but good. The Loire is wonderful too. We opted for one story book castle (Chenonceaux) and then on to Chinon. The Chateau du Clos-Luce was interesting in Amboise. Be sure to get to the top of Mont St. Michel and hopefully snag an English tour. Have a wonderful time..you are going to terrific places!!

Thank you, everyone, for your input. As much as I really want to see Dordogne, I think I will save it for hopefully another trip. OK, our possible flight to Paris arrives at 9:35 p.m. at Orly Airport. At that late hour, renting a car and driving a couple of hours to Bayeux or Hornfleur is out of the question, since we would be arriving there at midnight. So do we: 1) do a late check-in into an aiport hotel and travel the next morning to Bayeux? 2) do a late check-in into a hotel at Versailles before moving on to Bayeux the next morning? How far is Versailles from Orly anyway and is it safe to be checking into a Versailles hotel at that late hour? So here is our new itinerary. I added one night to Loire. What do you think?: 1st night--Airport or Versailles Two nights--Bayeux One night--Mont St. Michel Three nights--Loire Three nights--Paris
On to Amsterdam for family visit Should I make Loire just two nights and Paris four nights?

By the time you clear the airport crap and get to the closest hotel, it's going to be eleven. Later if you pause to get a car. Call it quits for the day. Stay at the airport and get the car the next morning. It's a half hour to Versailles if you know exactly what you're doing. Bayeux is at least three hours away, Honfleurna bit less.

I agree with Ed - but I would also just stay in Bayeux and do a day trip to Mont St Michel...don't change hotels for the day. It's not worth it. Enjoy!

Be sure to take the time to see Paris, we were there a week and didn't see all, but enjoyed GREAT food and the main museums. Walked all over the place in January! Good luck,and be sure to talk to your family about what it is that is important. If you want to experience the people, slow down and rent bikes. Janice
Edmonds