Tour Routes in France

Virtually all multi-country Europe tours pass through or originate in Paris, but few see much more of France. It is possible to do a pretty extensive tour of France but even so some fairly important areas will be missing or only covered briefly. Regional tours are popular and give you more of an insight. Here's a pretty complete route that would take at least 24 days (plus Paris):

Note: links to the towns go to photo albums on the Travel Signposts website

PARIS - Versailles - Rouen - Caen - Normandy Beaches - Bayeux - Mont St Michel - St Malo - Nantes - Chateaubriant - Angers - Saumur - Usse - Tours - Amboise - (Chateaux country: Villandry, Azey-le-Rideau, Amboise, Clos Luce, Chaumont, Blois, Chambord, Cheverny, Chenonceau) - Cognac - Limoges - Brive La Gaillarde (Lascaux) - St Emilion - Bordeaux - Biarritz - Lourdes - Carcassonne - Montpellier - Stes Maries-de-la-Mer (Camargue) - Arles - Avignon (Chateauneuf du Pape) - Luberon - Aix-en-Provence - St Paul de Vence - Nice - Cannes - Monaco - Grenoble - Annecy - Chamonix - Beaune (Vezelay) - Nuits-St Georges - Gevrey-Chambertin - Dijon - Colmar - Riquewihr - Strasbourg - Metz - Verdun - Reims - Epernay - PARIS (Chartres, Giverny)

You'll note that there are some "detours" which could be chopped off if you wanted to travel straight through, eg the Lascaux Caves section. On the other hand, I have not named all the interesting villages etc in some regions, eg around Arles and Bordeaux. And some major towns, like Nimes, could be used as an alternative to those listed. But it gives you an idea and constitutes a good cross-section of what France has to offer. Regional coach tours can be judged according to what they miss out!

Don't know where a place is? Try this map (opens in new window): Map of France

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Other France pages:

Travel to France for a Europe Tour with Joie de Vivre!

When to travel to France for your tour: weather and seasons

Useful facts, dates and links to help you plan your tour of France

Food in France: a brief gastronomic tour

Book your sightseeing tours or day-trips in France online

Book your hotel in France online

TOUR ROUTES IN FRANCE: PHOTO HIGHLIGHTS