France, mostly

This is a dream itinerary, possibly for summer 2010. How does the itinerary itself look? I haven’t specified numbers of days because I’d prefer to be somewhat spontaneous – more time in a place I like, less in another. Most of these cities are also close enough together that I can stop at one during the day and move on to the next by that night if I so choose.

I’m thinking approximately 2 months total – this gives me an average of 2 days per destination listed here, but some parts of the trip are chosen more for the overall landscape (the Languedoc section, for instance) than for the specific places along the way. Thus I expect to be able to spend some extra time in places I really fall in love with. Does 2 months sound reasonable?

Any suggestions on an overall budget I should be thinking about for this amount of time? I plan to travel mostly by rail, likely with a France eurail pass and paying for excursions into other countries. I’m not into the party scene, and my destinations are chosen mostly with scenery in mind – I’d rather go for a hike than visit a museum, though I will need to factor in some admission prices for the occasional culture. I’m open to staying in hostels, camping, etc, although some of my destinations are off the beaten path so I’m not sure how easy that’ll always be. As far as food, I plan to do what I can to cook for myself/picnic/etc, although again some of the places I’ll be might make this more difficult than if I were hopping from major city to major city staying exclusively at hostels.

Within this general outline, any suggestions of places (sights within these cities/towns, nearby towns, etc) not to miss? Any great places to eat or stay?

Thanks!

OK, I’ve put tentative amounts of time in. I’m counting “days” in a place to be nights I actually spend in those places. Therefore, cities with a “0” are either stops during the day in transit to somewhere else or day trips from a more centrally located town. Also, places with longer stays (Tours, for instance) often include day trips into the countryside (in this case, to see the various chateaux in the region).

With these tentative times, I come up with 44 schedule nights. Going on a two-month total, that leaves me about two weeks’ worth of unscheduled time to be added along the way wherever I feel I want more time. This may mean longer in one of my central cities, it may mean an extra night in a place I planned to just stop for the night if I decide I want to explore that place for a full day, or it may mean stopping for a night (or two!) in a place I planned to just visit during the day en route somewhere else.

How does the overall pacing look, given these variables?

Looks pretty good to me. It seems like you have a good idea of what you want to see and experience.

If you are staying at hostels I would suggest taking a look at the “Book Hostel” option in your itinerary for average prices and booking. To budget this without transport, I would average between $75-100 a day. You can do it for a little less if you are more frugal.

Thanks, mim! Great idea about the “book hostels” for average prices – I hadn’t thought of that. Any other tips from anyone?