INTRODUCTION - France 2014 - page 13

a local, as hotels, restaurants, and sights are wonderfully tourist-free. See the climate chart
in the appendix for an idea of what to expect from the weather.
Whirlwind (Kamikaze) Three-Week Trip Through France
for Drivers
Day Plan
1 Fly into Paris, pick up your car, visit Giverny, and overnight in Honfleur (1 night). Save Paris
sightseeing for the end of your trip.
2 Spend today at D-Day sights: Arromanches, American Cemetery, and Pointe du Hoc (and Utah
Beach Landing Museum, if you're moving fast). Dinner and overnight in Bayeux (1 night).
3 Bayeux Tapestry and church, Mont St-Michel, sleep on Mont St-Michel (1 night).
4 Spend your morning on Mont St-Michel, then head for châteaux country in the Loire Valley.
Tour Chambord, then stay in Amboise (2 nights).
5 Do a day trip, touring Chenonceaux and Cheverny or Chaumont. Save time at the end of the
day for Amboise and its sights.
6 Head south to the Dordogne region, stopping en route at Oradour-sur-Glane. End in a Dor-
dogne village—your choice of the handful of lodgings I recommend (2 nights).
7 Browse the town and market of Sarlat, take a canoe trip, and tour a prehistoric cave.
8 Head to the Languedoc-Roussillon region, lunch in Puycelci or Albi, and spend the evening in
Carcassonne (1 night).
9 Morning in Carcassonne, then on to Provence with a stop at the Pont du Gard aqueduct. Stay in
or near Arles (2 nights).
10 All day for Arles and Les Baux.
11 Visit a Provençal hill town such as Roussillon, then depart for the Riviera, staying in Nice,
Antibes, or Villefranche-sur-Mer (2 nights).
12 Sightsee in Nice and Monaco.
13 Make the long drive north to the Alps, and sleep in Chamonix (2 nights).
14 If the weather is clear, take the mountain lifts up to Aiguille du Midi and beyond.
15 Allow a half-day for the Alps (in Chamonix or Annecy). Then head for Burgundy, ending in
Beaune for wine-tasting. Sleep in Beaune (1 night).
16 Spend the morning in Beaune, then move on to Colmar (2 nights).
17 Enjoy Colmar and the Route du Vin villages.
18 Return to Paris, visiting Verdun or Reims en route. Collapse in Paris hotel (4 nights).
19 Sightsee Paris.