Day-by-day routes you can copy or adapt — from a one-week first trip to a two-week classic loop, plus family-friendly and budget versions.
The classic one-week high-speed rail line down the spine of France: 3 days in Paris, 2 days of bouchon dining in Lyon, and 2 sun-soaked days in Nice and Villefranche-sur-Mer.
Ten days linking Paris's grand museums, Renaissance châteaux in the Loire Valley, Lyon's traboules, Papal Avignon and Luberon villages, and the French Riviera.
Our flagship two-week loop across France by high-speed rail: Paris, Versailles, Loire Valley, Lyon, Provence, Nice & the Côte d'Azur, Alsace (Strasbourg & Colmar), and Bordeaux.
Low-stress train hops with minimal hotel changes: Paris towers and boat cruises, Leonardo da Vinci's interactive inventions in Amboise, and storybook canals in Strasbourg and Colmar.
How to experience Paris, Lyon, Avignon, and Nice for under €110/day using €19 Ouigo high-speed trains, historic Parisian Bouillons, boulangerie picnics, and free museum days.
Each plan assumes you arrive at Paris (CDG or Orly), Nice (NCE), or Lyon (LYS) and uses public transport. Travel days are deliberately light. If you're short on time, cut a base rather than squeezing in more stops — changing hotels costs half a day each time. Use our Rail Pass value helper with your final route to decide whether a rail pass makes sense.