France Trip Help(overhwelmed solo traveler)

Dan, the first question is what do you want to see and do in these places, then work backwards to the timing.

To me, Lyon, Grenoble, and Nice would be very low on my list to go to and spend that kind of time at, however, boarding out Provence to include Carpentras, Nimes, the Pont du Gard, Les Beaux,(sp) and Aix, then continuing on to Carcassone, Albi, and Coulierre on the way to Barcelona would be a lot more fun.
You could take the ICE from Paris to Avignon, and work from there.

I am trying to really limit one night stops on this trip. First, I think two nights is better to get the feel of a town before you have to rush out. And secondly, the less train tickets needed will lead to less euros spent. (I'm really budget traveling)

Dan, your itinerary is almost the reverse of ours, and we'll be flying out just before you get to Paris, so we have done a fair amount of research. We are planning on 3 nights in Provence, but I worry it is not enough. Sigh. As Rick Steves says, "assume you'll return". I haven't been to some of these places, but I would probably reduce the number of nights in Lyon and increase nights in Provence. There is a lot to see there. Do you have the RS Provence book?

I guess it depends on how much you like crowds and cities vs. rural issues. Also, I got a LOT of good advice on the helpline about rail issues and costs. My thread is called "Help from Experienced Rail Travelers"; it is currently on page 5 of the Into the West helpline. Take a look at it.

I like the itinerary. I would definitely consider buying a rail pass considering the number of days. It also makes life easy.

I've never been to Grenoble but I loved nearby Annecy (the Venice of the alps). If you would like to turn some of these two nights into three nights you could simply cut Grenoble...

I would consider doing Nice for 4 days and doing Antibes as a day trip. You can simply buy this train ticket and short hops like it and save your rail days for the other longer legs.

I can see why you are using Provence as a stop-over on your way to Carcassone. I used Arles for this purpose in 2006 and it was perfect. Three nights isn't too long but you have to think about economizing where you can. I personally prefer 3 night stops but Arles is small and 2 nights is not too short.

Thanks alot for the help. A very kind and informative forum