Normandy and Loire Valley

Pardon me for saying so, but what you need is a good guide book. For us to help you plan your whole trip more information is required. What are your interests and what kind of sightseeing do you enjoy? Cathedrals? Museums? Chateaux? Will you be travelling alone? Starting in Paris? What would your budget be for hotels? Will the trip be for 7 or for 10 days? This could make a difference in what to suggest for you. I'm not kidding about needing a guide book, by the way. You'll be happy you invested in one.

Look at some guidebooks in the public library to get ideas. Focus on your interests and priorities. Look at a good map, maybe in an atlas at first. The Rick Steves guide to France has chapters on Normandy and the Loire, full of practical information and his suggestions about what to see, and very good advice about the planning process and travel itself. There are other good guidebooks as well. I like Lonely Planet and the Michelin Green Guides. The DK series have wonderful pictures and diagrams, their hotel and restaurant recommendations are on the high end.

You can easily fill ten days in Normandy and the Loire. I'd recommend driving if that isn't a problem for you. If you're flying in and out of Paris, you can rent a car on the outskirts or take a train to a smaller city like Caen or Bayeux or Rouen (Normandy) or Tours (Loire) to get the car. People often recommend flying "open jaw," for example into Paris and home from another city in Europe, to save time if their itinerary covers a lot of ground. In your case, a roundtrip flight to Paris probably makes more sense.

If you are going to be hitting Normandy, check out Victory Tours: http://lignerolles.homestead.com/.

I did this trip seven years ago, and it is still one of my most vivid memories. The fellow that runs the tours is extremely passionate about history and kept the tour educational, but also entertaining. Also, his tour groups are on the smaller side. Book soon... he fills up quickly! Also, just take some time to sit in some of the smaller restaurants and cafes near and outside of Normandy. After the tour, my friends and I sat down in one of them, chatted with a local, and really got a feel for French countryside culture.

Don't forget to learn a few French phrases before you go. They really appreciate the effort!

We just completed 2 weeks in Normandy and the Loire. My brief advice is overweight your time to the Loire vice Normandy. We havent yet been to the South of France, but considering all the northern half of the country from Alsace to the Atlantic coast, the Loire has been our favorite place. Normandy was tops on my to-do list, but have to say it didnt live up to expectations. LOTS of American tourists. The beach/harbor towns of Honfleur, Trouville, and Deauville were just that, touristy beach towns. Beuvron-en-Auge is very cute, but uninteresting. We used Bayeux as a base, and it was pretty nice. Wish we had spent a few days in the countryside though. We did like the D-Day beaches, and Mt St Michel, while touristy and crowded, is a sight to behold. Its more impressive to see it from across the bay than to actually visit though. There are D-Day museums on every corner of every town in Normandy, so recommend just choosing one or two.
We had great food and wine throughout the Loire, including in Tours, where few Americans seem to go. Cheverny was our favorite chateau, maybe just because it was beautiful weather and no crowds when we were there. Chenonceau is also nice but more crowded. Villandry has the best gardens of any of the chateau we saw, incl Versailles, and we could have just stayed there for the rest of our lives. Town of Chinon is very nice, uncrowded, and has really good red wine. We ran into French tourists there, but no Americans. In my opinion you cannot go wrong anywhere in the Loire. We definitely plan to go back there.

Plenty of good advice above. I agree that you can easily fill your time in a loop between these two regions, and driving would be my preference, for convenience/flexibility/freedom.