Northern or Southern France ?

We liked roaming around Normandy with a rental car and staying in rural B&B's. Bayeux, coastal towns, and the D Day beaches plus taking the back roads and stopping for local cheeses and Calvados for picnics complemented the museums scattered about. Southern France was wonderful as well but I'd vote for Normandy and Brittany. You can't go wrong going to either and the train ride to Caen or Bayeux to fetch a rental car is but a couple of hours from Paris.

That is a tough one...we had a few days in South of France...Villefranche/Nice/Monaco(2 nights) and Avignon(2 nights), and also spent time in Caen area(2 nights) and did a trip to Mont St Michel (which was amazing)...I really enjoyed both, but I think if I had to choose, I'd return to Nice and the Cote D'Azur...my husband thought 2 nights in Avignon was enough, but I'd love to go back and explore some of the smaller towns...Uzes/Arles etc. They really did seem like 2 diff places - the north (for me) was full of charming quaint villages (maybe more like England) and the south was warm and full of big beautiful houses (on the Cote D'Azur, more like Italy)...you have a tough decision ahead of you! Maybe someone will have some opinions re:weather in May - it would prob def be warmer in the South, north France may be a little cooler if that matters (we were there in late Sept)

For the record, we rented a car just as we were leaving Paris and had it for 2 1/2 days up North...driving was great and no prob...we used the train in the South (and the TGV fr Avignon to Paris - fast and comfy - and well priced if you buy way ahead)

Very hard choice. South would appeal more in May. Better chance for nice sunny days without rain. Take a look at www.flickr.com for photos of the different areas that interest you.

We've been both directions on separate trips, and really liked them both. With 9 days I'd probably do the northern trip as IMO would be easier than doing justice to your southern plan. On the other hand,the previous poster's comment on weather in May is, I think, valid. We spent 10 days in Provence alone (Luberon, Cotes du Rhone, and Le Lavandou); I'd hold off on that direction until a trip in June. We'd also been to Nice and Monaco on a previous trip-the beach at Le Lavandou is just as nice at a lower cost-but we heard no English on the beach. You have a good problem-deciding between two great destinations. Happy travels (and planning)

May is a spectacular time for either of these itineraries. The weather does not help you to make up your mind about this one. On the other hand, you can't really go wrong. If you have not purchased tickets yet, the southern plan would work best with an open-jaw flight with return out of Nice. This will save you a six-hour train ride back to Paris and make better use of your time.

You could also use Marseille airport open-jaws. It is busier than Nice I believe.