SANITY CHECK ON FRANCE ITINERARY

Is your only question about staying over in Nice?

I'm not sure there is anyplace in Provence where you can "easily" make an 11:05 flight out of Nice. So, though I'd advise saving the Cote d'Azure for another trip, seems to me you might as well spend the night there.

If your return flight is not set in stone, then definitely stay in Arles and consider flying home from Marseilles or even Paris (you can get a train from Avignon direct to Charles deGaulle).

I think you've got way too much and would have a better trip if you scaled back further. You have three very long drives; three of days 9-12 are spent in your car.

I'm not saying its physically impossible, but is that how you want to spend your scarce time on the ground? These are wonderful destinations, but a single day in the Dordogne (for instance) doesn't really justify the time and effort to get there.

If you are locked into that Nice return, I'd suggest heading to Provence from the Loire (by train to maximize your time there, although it is a haul) ending in Nice. If you have more flexibility you could head to Sarlat and fly home from Toulouse.

Everyone's sweet spot is different, but it just seems to me you've got too much on your plate. You are trying to fit a fast-paced three-week trip into two weeks.

That is an easy choice. Spend another night in Provence and eliminate a move. By that time you will be looking for ways to reduce demands on your time!

Maybe you should look for another move to eliminate. As we travel, I always consider my itinerary subject to correction. So we can change it without guilt.

I agree about the too much driving but also suffer from wanting to see everything syndrome. We rented our car in Amboise and detoured to Oradour-sur-Glane on the way to Beynac (which was fabulous, by the way)as a Dordogne base. It was well into evening by the time we arrived to the "outskirts" of the Dordogne region- granted, the Oradour part added several hours. So your first night in the region really doesn't "count"- you'd probably just have time for dinner. That gives you only one full day in the Dordogne region. You could canoe the river and tour a couple of the castles that way- we did. Are you skipping the caves?

If so (due to not an interest of yours) you might be okay...we eventually arrived in Carcassone (one night is plenty) but took the bus to Arles. It's the Arles to Nice I wonder about. If you haven't already gotten your tickets you could include Avignon and take the TGV back to Paris for your return flight, instead?

I don't mind a new place every night (if you pack light) but everyone's different- it just sounds like a whole lot of driving.

Personally, I think you should choose between Paris and the highlights outskirts, Versailles, Giverny etc and either the south of France, Nice or Dordogne or Loire Valley. The Loire Valley is spread across quite and distance and could easily occupy 3-4 days leisurely. Depending on where you are based you can cover Amboise, Tours, Angers, Saumur, Chenonceau, and many other villages see mywweekin.net for ideas. Otherwise from Paris go south and enjoy a different France - Sarlat, fantastic but very touristy now - the drive from Amboise to Sarlat will be 8 hours but in Summer, everyone goes South!

Many, many thanks for your responses and ideas. This website (and all of you) are the greatest when it comes to sharing travel advice. BTW, I am pretty much locked into Nice as our departure airport.

So O.K., then, here's "Plan B" for your consideration:
- Fly to Paris, stay in Paris (nights #1-3)
- Day 4, take train to Versailles, pick up rental car and stay in Giverny (night #4)
- See Monet's Gardens, drive to Le Hommet-d'Arthenay for D-day beaches (nights #5-6)
- Drive to Loire Valley and stay nights #7-10
- Drive to Aix en Provence (yes, a long day) (nights #11-15)
- Get up early and drive to Nice Airport. www.viamichelin.com says it's about 1 hr., 38 min. - Fly home from Nice.

What we skip on this trip: Dordogne Region, Carcassonne, Nice/Monaco
What we gain: Ability to do more day trips in Loire Valley and Provence, slower pace, one long travel day vice several

Does this sound more reasonable? And do you agree with the sacrifices we've made?

Bonjour Roy, In '04 we had a marvelous time doing a whirlwind trip of France. We went with another couple who had never been out of the US; we needed to end up in Paris because we were meeting up with family.
We flew into Paris but only spent 1 night. Early the next morning we trained to Amboise, stayed 2 nights; trained to Sarlat, 2 nights; drove to Carcasonne just for a quick tour (about 3 hours there) then on to Arles for 2 nights, dropped off car. Trained next to Aix en Provence, 2 nights; trained to Beaune for 2 nights; trained to Paris where we stayed for 4 nights then flew home. We definitely prefer to take it slower but for that trip it worked great. Gave everyone a taste of several regions and had a fantastic time. We pre-arranged a tour of the Loire chateaux and the caves near Sarlat. The reason we drove from Sarlat to Arles because that year at least the train connections and times were not at all convenient.
Hope this helps.

Not too bad for "first draft"...echoing earlier posters, I would forgo Nice (and most of Provence) this trip...enjoy your stay in the Dordogne...see Arles and/or Avignon, and then fly home from either Marseilles or Montpellier.

If you're locked into flying home from Nice, then be sure to get an early start from Arles so you'll have time to do one of two things:

1. Take advantage of having a car and drive La Grande Corniche between Nice and Monaco. It's the road featured in the film "To Catch a Thief" starring Grace Kelly and Cary Grant.

2. If you're art lovers, skip Monaco in favor of visiting the Chagall and Matisse museums in Nice and/or the Picasso museum in Antibes.

Roy, you have done the hard work of setting priorities and you have a great itinerary. Congratulations!

I hope you get to see those other great places--the ones you had to leave out--soon.

Here are my two cents on the revision.

Aix is charming, but makes a poor base from which to explore Provence. It's needlessly far from too many attractions. Your original choice of Arles was better, or (since you have a car) stay in a small town or country auberge closer to the Rhone.

I understand that you want to be within striking distance of Nice for your flight home. But Aix is still far from there. You'll have to get up awfully early to check out, drive to Nice, and return your car with time to check in for an international 11 a.m. flight (with a little safety margin time included).

A better plan would be to stay in Arles (or small town) and head to Nice the day before. You could, by the way, even do this by train.

I'm also looking at the drive from the Loire, which I figure to be about 10 hours at least. Okay, you gotta do what you gotta do, but here's an alternative.

Return your car in the Loire and take the train to Arles. Thanks to the TGV, you can do this trip in about six hours, though you might want to stop in Paris for lunch. Then rent a second car to see Provence.

Finally, though it's hard to know, you might regret only having one day in Normandy, especially if it decides to rain that day. I'd at least think about shifting a day from the Loire or somewhere else.

Good luck, and have a great time!

I can add to the provence part of the trip. Aix is really a much larger, more confusing city than I expected, so not my favorite. I have stayed many time in St. Remy and traveled on day trips to Arles, Avignon, Rousillion, LeBaux, and many other wonderful towns. It is also a wonderful village with great food, hotels and a fabulous market. Much more of what I expected Aix to be like. Totally french! Also, heading back towards Nice I would definitely stay there the last night. You can get rid of your rental car and stay so you can walk along the beach and enjoy a nice dinner and evening in that city. It can be a bit crazy driving into Nice in the morning when you are trying to catch a flight, and as long as you are going to be there it's a shame to miss it. There is also another favorite town of mine on the coast, which is Ste. Maxime, and that is a little closer to Nice and might be nice for a last night if you don't want to stay in Nice. Have a wonderful time! I have done both the 'whirlwind' trip and stayed for weeks in the same place, and I love it all...after all you will be in France! And, for those people who love the driving and exploring and stopping at obscure little places along the way, the journey can be the most wonderful part... not always the destination!

Roy,
Sounds like a great trip. My husband and did almost that exact trip a few years ago, but we were there little longer. For what it's worth here are my suggestions:

Stay in Paris one more night and make Versailles a day trip. It's very easy and quick to get to. Then, go through Giverny as a day trip and drive to Honfleur for the night. Then visit the war sites the next day. This was totally doable for us and would actually give you another day to see Honfleur and/or the Bayeux tapestry. On the way from Normandy beaches to the Loire you could stop at the car museum in Les Mans which is on the way and actually pretty interesting.

Just an idea.