We did an amazing trip about 10-12 years ago (pre-kid).
We flew to Paris and took the train to La Baule for a wedding. It's a charming beach town on the west coast. You could also go to Les Sables D'Olonnes or somewhere similar - I spent time in Les Sables D'Olonnes in high school and it's also a nice beach town - slightly bigger with a casino.

After a weekend in La Baule, we picked up a rental car and drove to the Loire Valley for several days. We stayed in Amboise, which was a great jumping off point for chateaux and wineries.

We then went to Normandy for a couple nights and explored the WW2 sites.

Came back to Paris for the weekend.

I can't remember exactly but it was probably like a 9 day (Friday to the following Sunday) trip. I would have liked more time in Normandy - we were kind of rushed to get back to Paris. And if you've never been to Paris you may want more than the weekend there.

Nothing beats the Riviera beaches.

Anonymous wrote:We want to drive around France. We like drinking, walking around, the beach, and eating. Not necessarily in that order. Where should we go if we want to hit 3-4 places? Thinking of going next month.

With that amount of time I would go to 3 places. I like mixing things up, so would aim for beach, then mountains, then Paris, of course.

Fly to Nice. Stay in Antibes, nice little beach town, not as high end as St. Tropez or Cannes. Maybe 3 days? Depends on how much you like the beach.

Drive up to the Chambery/Annecy/Aix-Les-Bains area. Beautiful mountains, lakes, nice regional food. 4-5 days?

Drive to Lyon and drop off the car, hop on the train to Paris. 5 days there.

Another option is to fly to Bordeaux, enjoy the relatively close beaches and the food/wine. Then drive up to Brittany or Normandy, stay there for a few days. Then on to Paris.

We want to drive around France. We like drinking, walking around, the beach, and eating. Not necessarily in that order. Where should we go if we want to hit 3-4 places? Thinking of going next month.