Provence to Paris

Depends on how much time you have. Brittany is way west, by the way, and Alsace is way east, Going up through Burgundy can be a wonderful drive and veru efficient. To go the other way, you have a lot of driving to do. Again, it depends on how much time you have.

Either would be a good choice! Or a combination of the two alternatives. You could think of the Lyon/Burgundy/Alsace as a food & wine route (although this is a big over-simplification). Or, if you're in the mood for Loire Chateaux and the quaintness and coastal scenery of Brittany, then you pick the other route. You could also hit Burgundy, then go west to the Loire and Brittany. But note that Alsace is a big deviation to the east and for that reason maybe not your best choice for this trip.Technical footnote: You got your directions reversed: Dordogne - Loire - Brittany is the western route; Lyon - Burgundy - Alsace is the eastern route.

I would definitely do the eastern route. Where areyou starting from? We have done this trip several times. There is so much to see, the Luberon villages, the Cotes de Rhone villages, Isle sur la Sorgue, . On the way up the A7 and the A6 there are beautiful wine villages on the western side and the eastern side of the expressway. We did not drive into Lyon, but went up through Burgundy. We always drive this in the Fall... there is less traffic. We have stayed in some wonderful places along this route.

And just to give the other side of the coin, the west side is also wonderful. If you headed up to Normandy, Brittany is fabulous (Dinan especially), the Loire valley is great, as is the Dordogne. It all depends on what interests you most.

Having traveled Europe many times, I can recommend that you either buy or inspect a good highway map of France to determine the distances you are talking about. Without doing that I would not know how far it is and how long it will take to drive.

Tollways are fast of course, but more expensive in Europe than here. Do a google search for the tollways and find the distances and fares. Search for the name of the two cities plus "tollway".

In my opinion, going west will be too out of your way, as well going as far north as Alsace (though it's a beautiful region and would give most anything to live there). It does depend how long you have, and if you've got enough time, you could fit Alsace in (though it's out of the way), but I suggest going from Provence by passing through Lyon and Burgundy. The Lyon area's got lots to see if you're coming from Provence. You could pass through Annecy, which is supposed to be real nice, and you could go to some cute villages between there and Lyon, then go to Lyon for some time, then go through Burgundy (beautiful region, just lived there for 8 months). If you have questions about Provence (I studied in Avignon), or about Burgundy give me a shout and I'll try to help.