How to Plan a 2 or 3 Week Trip to France (My Exact Route + Variations)
Last Updated: January 2026
There is so much more to France than just Paris (as amazing of a city as it is)! The best way to experience it fully is a roadtrip through the country. Plan a France road trip and fit everything in without feeling rushed with my 2 OR 3 week itineraries. It’s all about diversity, mixing iconic cities with underrated stops, coastal surf towns, mountains and glaciers, and wine regions. It’s designed for travellers who want more than just the highlights and are happy to have freedom, scenic drives, and places that actually feel lived-in. Whether you’ve got two weeks or can stretch it to three, these two itineraries show just how diverse and beautiful France really is.
Choose this itinerary if you:
• Want variety (cities + coast + mountains)
• Have 2–3 weeks and don’t want to rush
• Want to see highlights and lesser-visited areas in one tripThis itinerary may not be for you if:
• Want a strict hour-by-hour plan rather than loose structure
• Only want big-name cities
• Prefer to just have one home base the entire trip and explore from there
To rent a car or to not rent a car? 🚘 Both versions of this itinerary are completely doable with or without a rental car. That said, I personally love traveling with a car – the freedom is unmatched, and it makes it much easier to explore beyond the usual tourist stops. We chose to rent a car for this trip and have absolutely no regrets.
Without a car 🚘: You’ll need to book your trains between cities in advance. I’d recommend either skipping Lourdes and the Pyrenees altogether, or checking out my Pyrenees guide and reading the travel section to understand the limitations of visiting the region without a vehicle. You may miss out on a few extras, like a day trip to San Sebastián, but beyond that, the cities included in this itinerary are highly walkable and easy to navigate.
Option 1: 3 week itinerary (my top pick)
This would be my ideal itinerary if we had more time for our trip, a relaxed three-week vacation with Bordeaux added in to make the perfect France road trip. You’ll get such a good variety – the grungy, hip vibe of Marseille, the clean and floral-smelling streets of Toulouse, the insane mountains and glaciers of the Pyrenees, the surf beaches of Biarritz, the vineyards and wine of Bordeaux, and finally ending in iconic Paris. Literal perfection.
Logistics: For this itinerary, I would aim to pick up the rental car in Toulouse and drop it after a day or two in Bordeaux. This would give you the most freedom, you’ll have it to explore the countryside in the Bordeaux region for a few days, to explore the French Pyrenees mountains, and even make a day trip to San Sebastian in Spain. The other destinations are easy to take the train between them.
Start: Marseille, train to Toulouse
Car Pickup: Toulouse
Car Dropoff: Bordeaux
End: Train to Paris, fly out from here
Day 1-4: Marseille
We started our trip in Marseille for a wedding. After flying into Paris in the morning, we immediately took a 3.5 hour high speed train down. Marseille is a cool city in the south of France that feels a bit grungier and more real than places like Nice, Paris, or Toulouse. It’s a great place to start your trip if you want to experience the city’s African influence through the food, architecture, and everyday culture. The Calanques national park is also gorgeous and reminded me of the Amalfi coast. I won’t go into too much detail here since I’ve written a couple of full blog posts all about Marseille. Check them out below!
Logistics: Either catch a flight or train here directly, or fly into Paris and take a 3.5 hour high speed train down. You don’t need a car for Marseille, so save some money and pick up your rental car on the day you are leaving town to the next spot. Even better, take a train to Toulouse and rent a car there.
Day 4-6: Toulouse
Toulouse totally took me by surprise. I’d already been to France twice in the past and visited Marseille, Nice, and Paris. Toulouse wasn’t even on my radar back then! Honestly, I was just looking for a pit stop to break up the drive to the Pyrenees and ended up here. I wouldn’t call it a hidden gem, I’d just somehow never looked into it before (lol) and it did feel like there were not many tourists wandering the streets as other spots in France.
After coming from Marseille, which is a bit grungier, dirtier, and more lively, Toulouse felt like a breath of fresh air. Literally, the whole city smelled like flowers when we were there in June (apparently it’s from the Toulouse violets planted all over town). It felt young and hip because it’s a university city, but also elegant and calm at the same time.
Logistics: One important thing to know if you’re road-tripping: you can’t drive into the heart of the city without special stickers on your car. Our rental didn’t have them, so we parked in a 24-hour lot near a train station on the outskirts of town for a reasonable price. It sounds intimidating, but it was actually really easy or you can ask your rental agency about the stickers ahead of time. OR the best bet would just be to train from Marseille to Toulouse and grab your rental car there.
I also have two separate blog posts all about Toulouse if you want more detail – click below to check them out 🙂
Day 6-9: Lourdes and the Pyrenees mountains ⛰️
This is where having a car REALLY comes in handy, because this area is pretty hard to add to your itinerary without one. Everyone knows about the Dolomites (I feel like they’re really blowing up lately), but I don’t see nearly as many people talking about the Pyrenees. And wow… they should be. (Or maybe not, so we can keep them to ourselves hehe.)
The most popular trail here, the Cirque de Gavarnie was the best low effort to insanely high reward ratio hikes I’ve ever done – and that’s coming from a Canadian hiker. Best of all it was not swarmed like people like our Moraine lake gets. I’ve linked a few different posts all about the French Pyrenees below if you want to dive deeper.
Logistics: Pick a town like Lourdes as your home base and look for accommodation that provides free parking for the car. There will be paid parking lots on some of the main hike lots.
Day 9-13: Biarritz 🌊
On the north coast of France, there’s a magical stretch of coastline called the Basque Coast. It’s an unreal place where you can surf, soak up the sun, and eat some of the best food in the world. Yes, really.
This area is famous for pintxos – amazing bite-sized dishes – and it also has one of the highest concentrations of Michelin-starred restaurants in the world. Check out my posts below to dive into the best places to eat, surf, and explore along the Basque Coast.
Logistics: Stay in accommodation that offers free parking for the car, as parking in town is limited. Use your car to explore nearby Basque towns, hit up coastal hikes, reach the further away Michelin star restaurants and a MUST DO– day trip to San Sebastian in Spain! My 4 day Biarritz itinerary below would be perfect for your time here.
Day 13-16: Bordeaux 🍷
Bordeaux is such an underrated stop on a France itinerary and absolutely worth adding if you have the time. The city itself is elegant, walkable, and lively, with beautiful architecture, a vibrant food scene, riverside strolls along the Garonne, and plenty of wine bars where you can taste the region without leaving town. It’s easy to explore on foot, by bike, or using public transit, making it a great fit even if you’re traveling car-free.
That said, if you do have a car, it opens up the surrounding wine regions, château visits, and smaller villages just outside the city, a great bonus, but not a requirement to enjoy Bordeaux. Whether you’re here for culture, wine, or a relaxed urban break between bigger destinations, Bordeaux adds depth and variety to a France trip without feeling hectic or overrun.
Logistics: Keep the car for the first half of your time here to explore the surrounding wineries, vineyards, and countryside, then return it and spend your last few days wandering Bordeaux itself. This is an easy way to save on car rental costs.
Day 16-21 Paris
No trip to France is complete with Paris! The heart of the country and one of the coolest cities in the world. You could spend a whole week or more exploring this city alone, but you have plenty of time to soak up the Parisian goodness and also see the sites you want to like the Eiffel tower, Arc du Triumphe, explore a few districts and check out some museums and delicious food. Pick the kind of activities that you like and don’t just go to the Louvre because everyone else does 😉. I have a full Paris guide coming soon to the blog.
Logistics: The train from Bordeaux to Paris takes around 2 hours.
Option 2: 2 week itinerary (what I did)
We actually did this exact itinerary with a few extra days in Biarritz and traveled for about 2.5 weeks total.
This itinerary works best if you’re on a two-week time crunch and want to focus on the diversity and scenery of France. If Bordeaux is a must for you, I’d swap it in for either Biarritz or the Pyrenees. As a nature lover, those were probably my favourite stops on the trip, but from a logistics standpoint they’re the easiest to cut if you want to avoid spending a full day driving.
Logistics: Start by getting yourself to Marseille. We flew into Paris and took the train straight down, then didn’t rent a car until the day we left Marseille. We returned the car a few days into our stay in Biarritz, which was perfect for keeping rental costs down. You really don’t need a car for getting around French cities (the Pyrenees & Bordeaux being the main exceptions on these itineraries), and the train from Biarritz back to Paris was the easiest way to end the trip.
Car Pickup: Marseille or Toulouse
Car drop off: Biarritz or Bordeaux
Day 1-4 Marseille
Day 4-6 Toulouse
Day 6-8 Lourdes & the Pyrenees mountains
Day 8-11 Biarritz
Day 11-14 Paris
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