need help with travel provence to loire

My wife and I plan to spend a week and a half in France in late April/early May.

We will spend 4 nights in Paris, then take train to Aix-en-Provence, rent a car and drive to St-Tropez, and spend 3 nights there.

My plan was then to spend two nights in the Loire Valley, then go back to Paris for 2 nights before flying home.

My problem is this:

Do I turn in my rental car in Aix and go to Loire Valley by train? Or is it less trouble to drive (to eliminate the need to turn in the car then maybe need to rent again to explore the Loire? Is it better to drive in 2 days and stay in another area on the way?

Any ideas appreciated.

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St Tropez to Tours is over 8 hours solid driving, which takes out at least a day of your time. When I did that drive earlier this year we stopped for the night in Vichy, making it a more leisurely two day journey.

If you travel by train, you have to go up tp Paris, and then bcak down to Tours; and the journey time is at best almost 7 hours.

Either way, you are looking at a full day%26#39;s travelling. Have you enough time to do that?

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Hi luckydog69, Happy Holidays !! Nice trip you are planning. A good map will help out. Here%26#39;s viamichelin.

viamichelin.co.uk/viamichelin/…

If you do not have air tickets yet, you might be able to enjoy your time in Paris, rent a car, visit the Loire, continue on to Provence and St Tropez, drop the car and return back to New Orleans from Nice and or Marseilles. This way you may save a lot of time, connections and avoid backtracking. You will enjoy the scenery. Have a wonderful trip.

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Thanks for the info. I think driving from St Tropez to Tours or Orleans would be my best bet; but to do it in 2 days would prob be best. Where is a good place to stay about half way? Was Vichy nice?

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We chose Vichy because it was as far as we wanted to drive on the first day, and it was a town that we had never been to before. I was also intrigued by the historical World War 2 connections with the Vichy regime, although there was nothing to see in that context. The town was very interesting from an architecture point of view, with a lot of Art Nouveau type buildings and structures. We stayed in the Aletti Palace Hotel in the centre, and found a good restaurant within 5 minutes walk.

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Another possible overnight stop would be Le Puy-en-Velay, which has an extraordinary medieval centre built around three volcanic plugs. One has the cathedral on top of it, another has an old chapel, and the third has a huge statue of Virgin and Child, made from melted-down cannon.

It%26#39;s an enjoyable and unusual place to stay, and a bit off the usual tourist track.

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***UPDATE***

Thank you all for your suggestions. I had to postpone the trip due to my wife%26#39;s medical problems (surgery for breast cancer folowed by chemotherapy-just started to be followed by radiation) So her MD said she should be ready for travel by October and I have rescheduled our flight--into NICE on Oct 15; back from Paris Oct 27.

Here is what I am thinking of doing:

Rent car + drive to St Tropez-3 nights.

Aix for 2 nights.

Drive to Loire but stop for 1 night in Vezelay;

then drive on through Sancerre to Onzain for 2 nights in Loire;

then drive to Paris (CDG to turn in car) then 4 nights in Paris.

Any thoughts on this itenerary. I have tweaked and expanded this trip since my previous plan. I also have some concerns for fatigue on my wife%26#39;s part.

Thank you!

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