The itinerary collection

How much France fits your trip?

Count from the day you land in France to the day you fly home. Then decide how often you want to pack a bag. Spend a week in Alsace, take the train through Provence, or give yourself two weeks to reach Bordeaux.

Find a route that fits

Want nights per base and a booking list? Try the trip planner →

Stone houses and a bridge over the Aure in Bayeux, with cathedral spires in the distance.

7 days · train and local tour

7 Days in France: Paris & Normandy Without a Car

Paris and the D-Day coast from two bases, with a local guide for the beaches.

Golden light on the island abbey and ramparts of Mont-Saint-Michel, surrounded by water.

10 days · the signature route

10 Days in France: Paris, Normandy & Loire Valley

Go from the Seine to Bayeux, sleep beside the Mont, then finish in the Loire.

The stone façades of Place de la Bourse and the cloudy sky reflected in Bordeaux’s shallow water mirror.

14 days · rail and a short rental

14 Days in France: Paris, Normandy, Loire Valley & Bordeaux

Add a slower Loire stay and Bordeaux, with your final night near Paris.

Half-timbered houses and bare trees reflected in a Petite France canal in Strasbourg.

7 days · Alsace by train

7 Days in Alsace: Strasbourg, Colmar & Obernai by Train

Four nights in Strasbourg, with day trips to Colmar and Obernai.

Sailboats fill Marseille’s Old Port below a long row of waterfront buildings.

8 days · Provence by train

8 Days in Provence by Train: Avignon, Arles & Marseille

Three nights in Avignon, an Arles day trip and two nights by the Mediterranean.

The Eiffel Tower beyond the Seine and the slate rooftops of central Paris.

5 nights · Paris & Versailles

Paris in 5 Days with Versailles: A First-Timer’s Plan

Five nights in one Left Bank hotel, the big museums on their open days and a full Versailles day by train.

3 nights · Paris for a first visit

Paris in 3 Days: A First-Timer’s Itinerary

Three nights in the Marais with the Louvre, Sainte-Chapelle, Orsay, the Eiffel Tower and Montmartre placed on open days.

7 nights · train, tour and shuttle

8 Days: Paris, the D-Day Beaches and Mont-Saint-Michel Without a Car

Paris, then three nights in Bayeux with a D-Day tour and a Mont-Saint-Michel day trip, all without a car.

The pale stone arches of Chenonceau span the Cher, reflected in the river beneath a blue sky.

4 nights · Loire Valley by train

4 Days in the Loire Valley by Train: Chenonceau, Amboise, Blois and Chambord

Four nights near Tours station with Chenonceau, Amboise, Blois and Chambord as train day trips.

5 nights · Paris with children

Paris with Kids in 5 Days: Parks, Dinosaurs, the Eiffel Tower and Disneyland

A family base near Gare de Lyon with parks, the dinosaur gallery, the Eiffel Tower, the Cité des sciences and a Disneyland day.

7 nights · Paris and day trips

Paris in a Week with Day Trips: Versailles, Fontainebleau, Reims and Giverny

One Paris hotel for a week, with Versailles, Fontainebleau, Reims and Giverny or Chantilly as train day trips.

13 nights · Paris, Loire and Provence by train

France in 2 Weeks by Train: Paris, the Loire Valley and Provence

Paris with Versailles, the Loire châteaux from Tours, Avignon with Arles and Marseille, all by train.

Have a long weekend? See the three-day Normandy add-on.

For the day you’re already on the road

The ten-day field guide

A pocket version of the route with the names to search, a return checklist and alternatives for a closed counter or a missed connection.

See a sample day