Normandy, Loire, and Burgandy--too much travel?

IMHO it's not a problem if you allot enough days of your two-week trip. You take an autoroute to wherever you want to go in Normandy, then it would make more sense to go south to the Loire and finally cut east to Burgundy. You can either drive back or ditch the car in Dijon or Auxerre and take a fast train to Paris. The car rental place in Dijon is at the train station. When we left the car at the Dijon train station it was an Europcar rental through the US broker Autoeurope. If you want to skip the Loire, the drive from Normandy to Burgundy is autoroute the whole way, swinging south of Paris near Versailles. We did it last year; it didn't take too long. You can get all your driving times and itineraries from viamichelin.com If Ed or Nigel come along, they can give you good itineraries and details. If you use a gps, don't let it take you back to the Paris ring road when leaving Normandy, but cut south toward Versailles.

In my view 2 weeks is much to short a time to do what you are trying to do. You need a week in Paris, then choose one of the other regions. If you try and do it all, you will spend most of your time travelling! I have lived in Europe for many years, and now spend time there each year. Car rental is no problem, but you have to realize that cars coming from the right always have priority unless your priority is marked. Finding your way is much easier with a GPS - I do not carry maps any more, apart from a map of the whole country to orientate myself. Good luck!

Caen to Dijon via Blois is about eight hours. Blois is close to the midpoint. If you skip the Loire, that makes Paris along the route. Coming down, do what Bets said and cut down toward Versailles and then over toward Evry and nab the A6 from there. Two short-term car rentals are going to cost more than a longer one. Don't change cars or make it a separate trip. If you google around, spell the region 'Burgundy'.

Ed,
If Blois to Burgundy is four hours, do you mean the Chablis/Auxerre region or on down to Dijon and Beaune? Even if Joy doesn't take the extra time to go all the way south to Dijon but stays in northern Burgundy, Chablis and Auxerre, she'll see a lot of interesting things. We're in the Chablis area every year and appreciate the Romanesque churches, Roman ruins, cathedrals, Vezelay, etc. but the colza fields in bloom in April are unbelievably beautiful. I believe colza in English is, pardon the expression, rape seed.

I was thinking Blois to Dijon. I had no idea what part of the Loire, and, to me, Dijon is the heart of Burgundy. Auxerre is probably about an hour closer. I can't picture the road over to Chablis. I probably screwed up again.

Chablis is near Auxerre. NW Burgundy sights include Vezelay, Avalon, and the small towns of the Serien valley. I think your plan is feasible and fun. (You won't see everything of course.) Renting one car is probably best for you, but I would think about shortening the rental, maybe, by nibbling away at the start and end time. For instance, instead of driving to say Bayeux, you could take the train and then organize your sightseeing so as not to need a car until the next day or the day after. This could save you some money, maybe, and some wear and tear and the hassle of having a car when you don't need one. Or it might may no sense to your trip at all. Returning to Paris for any reason is logistically costly in that it entails travel back to a place you've already been, plus checking into a new room and unpacking etc. So, similarly, at the end of your trip if you rise early enough you can catch a direct train from Dijon (connections form Beaune too) to Charles deGaulle. Depending on your flight home this saves you from the regrettable need to return to Paris for 1 night just to sleep near the airport. (Spend the extra night in Paris if you like, but before you leave for Normandy, not after.) Have a great time - you've got the right idea.

Hi, Now I know I am just a hick from Wisconsin, but do you know how big France is? Using US measurements, France is 211,000 square miles. For comparison, Wisconsin is a mid-sized US state with 54,000 square miles of land. Your trip plan would be to land in Chicago for a few days (the Paris of your trip), then Springfield IL, cut over to Omaha, up to Fargo, over to Superior, and back to Chicago. That is a lot of miles, it is even more kilometers (joke). If you did this, would you say you saw the upper mid-west? If yes, then go for it. If not, think about a trip with fewer driving days. France, it is a big country, you need time to leisurely eat croissants. wayne iNWI