Day by day
Each day is written to balance structure with breathing room. Named hotels, named meals, named activities; logistics noted where they matter.
Day 1
Arrive Paris · Left Bank evening
Land at CDG, RER B to central Paris (40 min), check in, and spend the first evening walking the Left Bank — Saint-Germain-des-Prés, a café at Les Deux Magots, dinner at a bistro in the 6th (Le Comptoir du Relais, Semilla, or L'Épi Dupin).
Stay:Hôtel Lutetia or Relais Christine · 6th arrondissement, walkable everything
- ◆Walk the quais of the Left Bank
- ◆Café at Les Deux Magots or Café de Flore
- ◆Dinner at Le Comptoir du Relais
Logistics: CDG → centre: RER B 40 min €11.80 · taxi €55–75
Day 2
Paris · Louvre morning, Tuileries walk, Marais evening
Pre-booked Louvre entry at 09:00 — Denon wing for the greatest hits (Venus de Milo, Winged Victory, La Joconde). Lunch in the Tuileries. Afternoon walking the Marais, Place des Vosges, Picasso Museum. Evening dinner at Le Servan or Clamato in the 11th.
- ◆Louvre (pre-booked 09:00 entry)
- ◆Tuileries Garden lunch
- ◆Marais walk + Place des Vosges
- ◆Musée Picasso
Day 3
Paris · Versailles half day or Orsay + Rodin
Two options: (a) Versailles half day — RER C from Invalides, arrive 09:00 for the Hall of Mirrors before crowds, back by 14:00; or (b) stay in Paris for the Orsay Museum (Impressionist greatest hits) and the Rodin Museum's sculpture garden. Either way, dinner at Septime (book 3 weeks ahead) or Breizh Café.
- ◆Versailles OR Orsay + Rodin
- ◆Dinner at Septime (book ahead)
Logistics: RER C to Versailles: 35 min · €4
Day 4
Paris · Montmartre and a last walk
Montmartre morning — Sacré-Cœur at 08:00 is nearly empty; walk down through Place du Tertre to the Abbesses neighbourhood below for lunch. Afternoon on the Île Saint-Louis (ice cream at Berthillon) and Notre-Dame's reopened interior (free, but timed entry; reserved via the cathedral website).
- ◆Sacré-Cœur + Montmartre walk
- ◆Berthillon ice cream on Île Saint-Louis
- ◆Notre-Dame interior (timed entry, free)
- ◆Final Paris dinner at Allard (historic Left Bank bistro)
Day 5
TGV Paris → Tours · Loire Valley afternoon
Morning TGV from Montparnasse to Tours (1h 10m). Pick up a hire car (one of the few places a car is worth it) and drive to a restored chateau-hotel in the Loire — Château de Pray, Château de Marçay, or the more affordable Domaine des Hautes Roches. Afternoon at Château de Chenonceau, the one that spans the river.
Stay:Château de Pray or Château de Marçay · Chateau-hotel experience
- ◆Château de Chenonceau — Book first-hour entry for empty rooms
- ◆Amboise town + Leonardo's tomb at Clos Lucé
- ◆Vineyard dinner at the chateau
Logistics: TGV Montparnasse → Tours: 1h 10m · Car hire required in valley
Day 6
Loire · Chateaux and wine
Morning at Château de Chambord (the largest, the forest, François I's double-helix staircase). Lunch in Blois. Afternoon wine-tasting at Vouvray (Chenin Blanc specialists — Domaine Huet, François Chidaine) and back to your chateau for dinner.
- ◆Château de Chambord + forest
- ◆Lunch in Blois
- ◆Vouvray wine tasting (Domaine Huet)
Day 7
TGV to Avignon · Provence arrival
Return car in Tours, TGV Tours to Avignon (4h 30m via Paris change — or alternatively, TGV Paris–Avignon direct is 2h 40m if you return to Paris by car). Check into your Provence hotel. Evening in Avignon's walled city — Palais des Papes, Place de l'Horloge for dinner.
Stay:La Mirande (Avignon) or Villa Gallici (Aix) · Classic Provence luxury
- ◆Palais des Papes
- ◆Place de l'Horloge aperitif + dinner
Logistics: TGV to Avignon: 2h 40m from Paris direct
Day 8
Provence · Luberon villages
Hired driver or hire car day through the Luberon. Gordes (perched village, Senanque Abbey in the lavender field nearby), Roussillon (ochre-red cliffs), L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue (Sunday antiques market if that day). Long lunch at La Coquillade or a village bistro.
- ◆Gordes + Senanque Abbey
- ◆Roussillon ochre trail
- ◆L'Isle-sur-la-Sorgue (Sunday market only)
Day 9
Provence · Arles and Camargue
Morning in Arles (Van Gogh sites, the Roman amphitheatre, the LUMA Foundation). Afternoon into the Camargue — the wetlands south of Arles, flamingos and white horses, ending at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer on the coast. Dinner back in your Provence base.
- ◆Arles: Amphitheatre + LUMA Foundation
- ◆Camargue drive (flamingos + white horses)
Day 10
Marseille morning · Depart MRS
Train to Marseille (TGV 30 min or Ouigo). Morning walking the Vieux Port, the Mucem museum, and the Panier neighbourhood. Lunch at Chez Fonfon (bouillabaisse) before flying out of MRS or taking the TGV back to CDG.
- ◆Mucem (Museum of Mediterranean Civilisations)
- ◆Panier neighbourhood walk
- ◆Bouillabaisse at Chez Fonfon
Logistics: Avignon → Marseille: 30 min TGV · MRS international departures
