How To Plan Your France Trip (If You Have Over A Month)

French itinerary tips
A bird’s-eye view of Nice’s Promenade des Anglais on the French Riviera

 

July 14 is France’s National Day. It is also a very special day for me.

That’s because July 14, 2013 marked the end of the most satisfying journey I had ever had.

I had reached France on June 9 and left the country more than a month later on July 14. I had planned everything down to the last detail and yet had plans if I wanted to change the itinerary. This is what my trip looked like.

Planning a trip to France is always a daunting task. There are so many places and things to do. There is the history-filled Northern part where much of World War 2 played out. The East has the French Alps while the West has beaches and natural beauty. Central France is strewn with gorgeous châteaus and champagne while the French Riviera in the South needs no further introduction.

 

French itinerary tips
The tapestry at Bayeux depicting the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England

 

While there cannot be a perfect itinerary for so great and huge a country, having a month can allow you to see a considerable part of France. I recently spent over a month and you can see from my itinerary that I still had to leave out East France from the equation. But I hope this will give you a general sense of how to plan your own trip.

I essentially landed in Paris and saw the Rafael Nadal versus David Ferrer finals at Roland Garros in 2013 before going to the North, Central and South parts of the country and then spent an entire week in Paris. You can decide to spend lesser days in Paris, skip going to outlying countries like Andorra and Monaco and factor in cities in East France as well.

French itinerary tips
The breathtaking Mont St Michel abbey at Normandy

 

Here’s my itinerary for referral. My primary mode of transport all through was trains.

 

June 9 – Roland Garros

 

June 10 – Normandy D Day beaches

 

June 11 – Rennes

 

June 12 – Mont St Michel and back to Rennes

 

June 13 and 14 – Tours and Chambord château

 

June 15 and 16 – Bordeaux

 

June 17 – Toulouse

 

June 18 – Toulouse (Space City)

 

June 19 – Andorra

 

June 20 – Carcassonne

 

June 21, 22 – Montpellier, Sete

 

June 23 – Nimes, Pont du Gard

 

June 24 – Avignon

 

June 25 – Provence (Gordes and Roussillon)

 

June 26, 27 – Marseille

 

June 28 – St Tropez via St Raphael

 

June 29 – Cannes

 

June 30 and July 1, 2 – Nice

 

July 3 and 4 – Monaco

 

July 5 to 14 – Paris

 

French itinerary tips
Eiffel Tower and me – one of the most happiest moments of my trip

 

If you need any help planning your own trip or suggestions on how I could have done it better, please don’t hesitate to write in the comments below.

All images copyrighted by Constant Traveller. Follow me on Facebook and Twitter to stay updated with the latest travel news. 

More Stories
The only tiger you'll see at Tiger Cave Temple in Krabi
Climbing 1237 Steps To Buddhist Nirvana At Krabi
Malcare WordPress Security