Paris, Normandy, Paris, Lyon river cruise to Arles..good plan?

[gma rae]

We would like to visit Paris, Normandy and Provence in our first  and possibly only visit to France. At first I thought that the Grand France river cruise on Uniworld would be the perfect solution. Alas it is very expensive. So as an alternative we can do a combination of river cruise and DIY.  So we would fly into Paris, train or private car to Bayeux and stay there for 3 nights. We would book an Overlord 2 day tour. Then return to Paris via Giverny by private tour or train if we can work that. Stay in Paris 3 nights and explore then take the high speed train to Lyon and board river cruise to Arles/Avignon depending on cruise company (AMA or Uniworld). Post cruise 2 nights in the Provence area then either train to Paris or go to Marsielle to fly home. Based on research this is much cheaper than the 2 combined river cruises.

 

I have read everything I could find on the river cruise site and this board but there is not much regarding this type of trip.

 

Hubby refuses to drive in Europe so renting a car is out. Maybe once we have been there he would be willing to drive outside of Paris.

Meeting another couple in Paris for Paris and cruise portion.

Thinking to go end of May or very early June 2020.

 

So is the river cruise a good way to see Provence with different sampling of cities and areas or would we be better off planning a land trip there?

Thanks, I would appreciate feedback from those who know the area and may have done a land trip vs a river cruise.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[CruiserBruce]

Have done a land tour in much of that area. The key would be to not rent a car anywhere near Paris, and avoid driving in Paris. This is not hard to do, just takes some research. Do you really want to totally skip Paris?

 

Training around works pretty well. Can you do it with carry ons only? We have done this in a variety of situations in Europe,  but again takes some planning and research. But definitely doable.

[gma rae]

I think if I do some more research on the road trip from CDG to Bayeux I may be able to convince him to drive. So would CDG be a good place to rent a car for that trip or should we look elsewhere?

 

The train is still an option but alas we will each be lugging at least a medium suitcase and 1 backpack.

 

We will be doing Paris for 3 nights with our friends after Normandy.

[marazul]

CDG is a good place to rent a car.  You can also return the car at any train station, train back to Paris and taxi to your hotel.  Then you do not need to drive in Paris.  

Where in Provence do you want to go?  You will see Arles and Avignon on the cruise.  Maybe even Orange or Aigues-Mortes.  If you want to go to Nice and Cannes, you can take the train from your final destination (Arles, Marseille, Avignon) and then fly home from the Nice airport. 

[gma rae]

Marazul- Thanks for the input.

Yes we will see those places but the tours are brief glimpses and sometimes you are forced to chose 1 of 2 great options. I was thinking of staying around Avignon a day or 2 to see what we missed. Such as lavender fields, Le Baux, Abbaye de Sennanque, Pont du Gard if we miss that tour, Carrier de Lumineres, Gourdes, Rousillion. It will depend on how the cruise tours flow and what we feel we need to do in addition.

I thought if I gathered info on the various places and distances from Avignon I would have a better idea of which tour to choose on the ship and what we could on our own after.

 

[marazul]

Sounds like a plan. Here are some sites to look for ideas:

https://www.france-voyage.com/travel-guide/provence-alpes-cote-d-azur-region.htm

https://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions-/avignon-f-az-av.htm

https://www.avignon-et-provence.com/en/tourism-provence

You might want to get the Michelin Green Guide to Provence.  It will be a help to choose your tours and after cruise sightseeing. 

[gma rae]

Marazul, Thank you so much for the links. Yes the Michelin would be A great help!

[CruiserBruce]

If you rent at CDG, you will want to plan a driving route around Paris...otherwise the standard direct route will probably take you through Paris. Or train to the west side of Paris, and get a car there.

[gma rae]

Thanks CruiserBruce.

I did notice something about renting the car away from the airport and outside of Paris. That seems way too complicated after a very long day of travel. I have found a private car transport that can pick us up at CDG and drive us directly to Bayeux for not much more than a car rental. Much easier than self driving after that long trip! We don't need the car in Bayeux as we will have a private tour.