2 Weeks in France: 4 Day-by-Day Itineraries, Where to Stay and When to Go (2026)

Two weeks is a great amount of time for France. It is long enough to discover the real France, not just the most obvious tourist spots, and to take your time so you can really enjoy the trip, as long as you stay in no more than 4 or 5 places. The best route for you depends on the kind of trip you want (nature, history, authentic villages), so here are 4 two-week itineraries to choose from, each with a day-by-day plan and advice on where to stay, how to get around and when to go.

Table Of Contents

• Is 2 weeks enough to visit France?
• 4 itineraries for 2 weeks in France
  • 1. Normandy, Brittany and the Loire castles
  • 2. Loire castles, Bordeaux and the Dordogne
  • 3. Provence and the French Riviera
  • 4. Lyon and the French Alps in winter
  • Christmas options: the Loire castles or the Alsace markets
• How to get around France: train, car or driver?
• When is the best time for 2 weeks in France?
• Final tips for 2 weeks in France
• How Itinerary France can plan your 2 weeks in France

Is 2 weeks enough to visit France?

Yes, two weeks is perfect, but that does not mean you should over-plan it. Knowing they have two weeks, some people try to fit in every single part of France. That is not a good idea: you would spend your whole trip in transport, rushing through every place.

4 itineraries for 2 weeks in France

Each of the four routes below starts with three nights in Paris, then moves on to two or three regions. The table compares them at a glance. Below it, each itinerary comes with a day-by-day plan and advice on where to stay.

Itinerary	Route	Best time	Best for
1. Normandy, Brittany and the Loire castles	Paris → Bayeux → Mont-Saint-Michel → Saint-Malo → Loire → Paris	March to October	History, nature, old castles
2. Loire castles, Bordeaux and the Dordogne	Paris → Loire → Bordeaux → Dordogne → Paris	March to October	Wine, food, castles, prehistory, villages
3. Provence and the French Riviera	Paris → Avignon (and the Luberon) → Nice → Paris (or fly home from Nice)	All year	Small villages, nature, authentic places
4. Lyon and the French Alps in winter	Paris → Lyon → Serre Chevalier → Paris, with a Christmas option in the Loire or Alsace	December to February	Food, snow and mountains, Christmas atmosphere

1. Normandy, Brittany and the Loire castles

• Route: Paris → Bayeux (the D-Day beaches) → Mont-Saint-Michel → Saint-Malo → the Loire castles → Paris
• Best time: March to October
• Getting around: a rental car or a private driver, or a mix of train and car
• Best for: people who like history, nature and old castles

Day	Night in	Idea for the day
1	Paris	Arrival, the Île de la Cité and a walk along the Seine
2	Paris	The Louvre at opening time, the Tuileries, the Musée d’Orsay
3	Paris	The Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, Montmartre at sunset
4	Bayeux	Train from Paris Saint-Lazare (about 2h30), the Bayeux Tapestry and the cathedral
5	Bayeux	The British and Canadian D-Day beaches: Arromanches, Gold and Juno
6	Bayeux	The American sector with a guide: Sainte-Mère-Église and Utah Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Omaha Beach, then the American Cemetery
7	Saint-Malo	Mont-Saint-Michel on the way (about 1h30 from Bayeux) in the afternoon, then Saint-Malo in the evening (under an hour)
8	Saint-Malo	A sail in the bay on a traditional tall ship, then Dinan and its harbour on the Rance
9	Saint-Malo	The ramparts and the island of Grand Bé at low tide, then Cancale and its oysters
10	Loire Valley	Drive to the Loire (about 3h), lunch in a troglodyte restaurant near Saumur, then the Château de Villandry and its gardens
11	Loire Valley	Chenonceau, then a wine tasting in a troglodyte cellar in Vouvray
12	Loire Valley	Chambord with a guide, then Amboise: the royal château and the Clos Lucé (Leonardo da Vinci’s last home)
13	Paris	TGV from Tours (about 1h15), last evening in Paris
14		Departure

Where to stay: Paris, 3 nights (central Paris) · Bayeux, 3 nights · Saint-Malo, 3 nights (inside the walls, with Dinan and Cancale both within half an hour) · Loire Valley, 3 nights (Amboise, Tours, or a château hotel in the countryside such as the Château de l’Aubrière, near Tours) · Paris, 1 night.

Mont-Saint-Michel is on the road from Bayeux to Saint-Malo, so you stop there on the way rather than coming back for it. Leave Bayeux late in the morning to reach the Mont in the afternoon: the day-trip coaches start to leave, and the bay takes on its evening light. If you would rather stay on land, swap the sail for Cap Fréhel and Fort La Latte, a castle on the cliffs west of Saint-Malo. In the Loire, arriving from Brittany puts Villandry on your way in, so the three days cover the four great names (Villandry, Chenonceau, Chambord and Amboise) without doubling back.

This is probably one of my favourites: you see a lot of different things (the D-Day beaches, Mont-Saint-Michel, the Brittany coast, the Loire castles), all in the same part of France, so you spend less time on the road and more time enjoying each place. If you have less time, two of its legs also exist as shorter trips: 4 days on the D-Day beaches, based in Bayeux and Saint-Malo and Mont-Saint-Michel in 4 days.

2. Loire castles, Bordeaux and the Dordogne

• Route: Paris → the Loire castles → Bordeaux → the Dordogne → Paris
• Best time: March to October
• Getting around: a rental car or a private driver, or a mix of train and car
• Best for: people who like wine and food (Bordeaux, Saint-Émilion, foie gras, truffles, walnuts), old castles, prehistory (the Lascaux caves) and medieval villages such as Sarlat

Day	Night in	Idea for the day
1	Paris	Arrival, the Île de la Cité and a walk along the Seine
2	Paris	The Louvre at opening time, the Tuileries, the Musée d’Orsay
3	Paris	The Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, Montmartre at sunset
4	Loire Valley	TGV to Tours (about 1h), then Amboise: the royal château and the Clos Lucé
5	Loire Valley	Chenonceau, then a wine tasting in a troglodyte cellar in Vouvray
6	Loire Valley	Chambord with a guide, then the Château de Villandry and its gardens
7	Bordeaux	TGV from Tours to Bordeaux (about 1h45), the Place de la Bourse and the Water Mirror
8	Bordeaux	Old Bordeaux on foot, then the Cité du Vin
9	Bordeaux	Saint-Émilion and a wine tasting at a château
10	Dordogne	Drive to the Périgord (about 2h30), Lascaux IV, then Sarlat at dusk
11	Dordogne	Domme, a gabare boat trip at La Roque-Gageac, Castelnaud
12	Dordogne	Rocamadour and the Padirac chasm
13	Paris	Train back to Paris (about 5h: regional train to Bordeaux, then TGV)
14		Departure

Where to stay: Paris, 3 nights (central Paris) · Loire Valley, 3 nights (Amboise, Tours, or a château hotel in the countryside) · Bordeaux, 3 nights (city centre) · Dordogne, 3 nights (Sarlat or a nearby village, and you need a car or a driver to reach the villages) · Paris, 1 night.

The Bordeaux and Dordogne half of this route also exists as a trip of its own: Bordeaux and the Dordogne in 7 days, from Saint-Émilion to Sarlat.

3. Provence and the French Riviera

• Route: Paris → Avignon (with day trips into the Luberon) → Nice → Paris (or fly home from Nice)
• Best time: all year round, with peak moments such as the mimosa and lavender seasons (see the tip below)
• Getting around: a rental car or a private driver, or a mix of train and car
• Best for: people who like small villages, nature and authentic places

Day	Night in	Idea for the day
1	Paris	Arrival, the Île de la Cité and a walk along the Seine
2	Paris	The Louvre at opening time, the Tuileries, the Musée d’Orsay
3	Paris	The Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, Montmartre at sunset
4	Avignon	TGV from Paris (about 2h40), the Palais des Papes and the Pont d’Avignon
5	Avignon	The Pont du Gard, then a wine tasting in Châteauneuf-du-Pape
6	Avignon	Day trip to the Luberon (about 45 min): Gordes and Sénanque Abbey
7	Avignon	Day trip to the Luberon: the ochre trail in Roussillon, then Lourmarin
8	Avignon	L’Isle-sur-la-Sorgue and its market, then Fontaine-de-Vaucluse
9	Nice	Drive to Nice (about 3h), first walk on the Promenade des Anglais
10	Nice	Old Nice, the Cours Saleya market and Castle Hill
11	Nice	Èze, a hilltop village, then Monaco
12	Nice	Antibes and its ramparts, then Saint-Paul-de-Vence
13	Paris or Nice	Menton, then back to Paris by TGV (about 5h45) or plane (1h25), or a last night in Nice
14		Departure

Where to stay: Paris, 3 nights (central Paris) · Avignon, 5 nights (in the old town) · Nice, 4 nights · Paris, 1 night (or one more night in Nice if you fly home from there).

Avignon is your only base in Provence: you unpack once, and every Luberon village is a day trip from there, 30 minutes to an hour away. There is no train into the Luberon, so you go by rental car or with a private driver, and come back to the old town each evening. Our private day trip to the Luberon from Avignon covers Gordes, Sénanque and Roussillon in one day.

For a shorter trip covering the same area, see Provence and the Camargue in 7 days, from Avignon and the Luberon to Arles. And to plan your days in Nice, there is also a French Riviera itinerary from Nice without a car, with day trips by train.

4. Lyon and the French Alps in winter

• Route: Paris → Lyon → Serre Chevalier → Paris (by night train)
• Best time: December to February
• Getting around: a rental car or a private driver, or a mix of train and car
• Best for: people who like food (Lyon and its bouchons), snow and mountains (skiing, snowshoeing) and the Christmas atmosphere
• Christmas option: swap three nights for the Loire castles at Christmas or the Alsace Christmas markets (see the options below)

Day	Night in	Idea for the day
1	Paris	Arrival, the Île de la Cité and a walk along the Seine
2	Paris	The Louvre at opening time, the Tuileries, the Musée d’Orsay
3	Paris	The Eiffel Tower, the Arc de Triomphe, Montmartre at sunset
4	Lyon	TGV from Paris (about 2h), Vieux Lyon and its traboules
5	Lyon	The Fourvière basilica, then dinner in a bouchon
6	Lyon	Les Halles Paul Bocuse, then the Presqu’île
7	Serre Chevalier	Private transfer or drive (about 3h) via the Col du Lautaret
8	Serre Chevalier	Skiing or snowshoeing
9	Serre Chevalier	The thermal baths of Le Monêtier-les-Bains
10	Serre Chevalier	Briançon, Vauban’s fortified town
11	Serre Chevalier	A free day on the slopes
12	Night train	A last morning in the snow, then the sleeper train from Briançon in the evening
13	Paris	Arrival in Paris in the morning (about 12h overnight), last day in the city
14		Departure

Where to stay: Paris, 3 nights (central Paris) · Lyon, 3 nights (Vieux Lyon or the Presqu’île) · Serre Chevalier, 5 nights (Le Monêtier-les-Bains, Chantemerle or Briançon) · night train, 1 night · Paris, 1 night.

Two dates to know for winter 2026-2027: Lyon’s Fête des Lumières runs from 5 to 8 December 2026, and the Serre Chevalier ski season runs from 5 December 2026 to 18 April 2027, snow permitting. Also note that the Col du Lautaret, on the road up to Serre Chevalier, can close in bad weather or when there is a risk of avalanches.

Christmas options: the Loire castles or the Alsace markets

In December, this route can take in one of the two great French Christmas experiences. You swap 3 of your Paris and Lyon nights for one of these two stops:

Option	Nights	Where to stay	When
Loire castles at Christmas	3	Amboise or Tours	28 November 2026 to 3 January 2027 (“Noël au pays des châteaux”)
Alsace Christmas markets	3	Strasbourg or Colmar	Late November to late December (Strasbourg is about 1h50 from Paris by TGV)

• The Loire castles at Christmas, from late November to early January: an option we highly recommend. Chenonceau, Amboise and Chambord put up their Christmas decorations, and several castles open for one special evening during the month (the dates are in our guide to France in December). In 2026, for its 10th edition, Noël au pays des châteaux takes place at Amboise, Chenonceau, Villandry, Loches, Azay-le-Rideau and Chinon. The Loire also fits this route neatly: a direct TGV links Saint-Pierre-des-Corps, next to Tours, with Lyon Part-Dieu in about 3h, so you can go from the castles to the Alps without passing back through Paris.
• The Alsace Christmas markets, in Strasbourg or Colmar. If you would rather give them more time, there is also a 5-day Christmas markets trip to Strasbourg and Colmar.

How to get around France: train, car or driver?

All three options work. If you would rather not use a car (rented, or with a private driver), it is perfectly possible to do some of these itineraries by train, with the occasional transfer. It is not a problem at all: France is very well served by rail, and every big city has a large station right in the centre (I cover the TGV, regional trains and tickets in my complete guide to train travel in France). There are also tourist trains, and some regular lines are beautiful journeys in their own right, such as the Côte Bleue line west of Marseille, where you can get off along the way.

What I recommend most is a mix: the train between big cities, and a rental car or a private driver for some parts of the trip. For example, take the train from Paris to Avignon, then use a car to explore the Luberon villages (there is no train there). If you plan to drive, read up on driving rules, tolls and car rental in France before you go.

When is the best time for 2 weeks in France?

Honestly, there is no single best time: it depends on what you want to avoid and what kind of weather you are after. Here is how the seasons compare. For more detail, see our guide to the best time to visit France.

Season	Weather	Crowds
Winter (December to February)	Cold	Fewer people, except in the Alps and Alsace
Spring (March to June)	Depends on the place	Usually fewer people, except during the French spring school holidays and the May long weekends (the “ponts”)
Summer (July and August)	Really hot	Crowded, except in Paris
Autumn (September to November)	Depends on the place	Usually fewer people, except during the French autumn school holidays (Toussaint, late October to early November)

Final tips for 2 weeks in France

If you come to France for two weeks, I really recommend visiting several regions, but staying in no more than 4 or 5 different hotels: beyond that, the trip becomes a rush rather than a holiday. Also pay attention to where you go and when. In the Dordogne, for example, many sights close in winter (see the warning under itinerary 2). Before you plan a stop, always check whether it is open and what there is to do in the area at that time of year.

How Itinerary France can plan your 2 weeks in France

First, we know these regions really well. We organise your trip so that you spend your time visiting and enjoying yourself, rather than working out where to go next and what to do, or worrying that you will miss something, or miss your train. We also book everything for you, choosing the hotels, activities and transport that best suit you. You can have plenty of free time or a detailed schedule, as you prefer. Entrance tickets and guides are included too, and we can arrange visits to local artisans’ workshops: the trip is built around what you want.

I hope to see you soon in France!