August Paris trip - side trip advice Normandy and what else?

It's not crazy to go to France in August. Yes, there's a good chance you'll get some hot weather (maybe very hot) - if it were me, I'd ensure all my accommodations had aircon (not always easy to find). Yes, there will be crowds - it's peak tourist season. But the idea that France "shuts down" because all of the country has gone on vacation is nonsense.

If you don't like huge crowds, be sure you take a smart approach to MSM. Do NOT do it as a "day trip" - in fact, avoid MSM at mid-day like the plague. Arrive later afternoon, as the human tide recedes just like the waters do, and - critically - spend the night in one of the little hotels on the Mont itself. get up early the next morning. This way you can enjoy blissfully crowd-free hours late on your arrival day and early the next day. When you see 10 tour buses roll up, get outta Dodge and move on.

Yes, you will want a car for this area. Driving is easy. Pick up your car outside Paris to avoid driving in the city center (stressful).

All of Normandy is beautiful. Rick's France guide has plenty of details, consult your copy.

We this exact trip two years ago in August and it was perfect. I didn't feel like the city was shut down at all... Its a myth now a days.

We took the train to Caens and picked up a rental car... it was right across the street from the train station. We stayed in Bayeux and drove to Mt. St. Michael that night after the crowds died down, We toured the DDay beaches on our own. We used Rick Steves guidebook for reference. Booking a tour would be worth the splurge here, but it depends on your style. We drove back to Paris and stopped at some sites along the way like Giverny and dropped the car off at the airport. We never drove in the city. If we had more time we would've gone to the Loure Valley and see a Chateaux or two. We are actually looking to come back this August.

In August I found a few of the restaurants I had picked out were on vacation, but lots were open. After all, they want those crowds of tourists to spend freely. Having air conditioning means you don't need to open the windows to catch a breeze, and along with it night street noise. I strongly advocate taking a full day guided tour of the Normandy beaches. Not for transport, but for the information and context a good guide can provide. There is only a limited amount of physical evidence left from 75 years ago that you can see on your own.

I'd want a car but I'd pick it up after taking a train to Normadie (Caen, Bayeaux or Rouen). Driving isn't difficult. From MSM keep going into Brittany. August is a nice time to visit along the coast. Cancale (great oysters), St. Malo (walled city on the coast) and Dinan are all a relatively short drive from MSM. Ft. La Latte is also a nice castle visit not far from there. With a little more time you can cross the peninsula to Vannes or Auray and see the megaliths around Carnac. Drop the car in Rennes and train back to Paris.

thanks for the feedback, if we wanted to do MSM at the non-tourist swarm time, could we do this without staying on the island, would love to try to stay in one hotel when in Normandy area and not do a single night on the island so we can avoid the tour buses.

If you are very particular about which restaurants you want to try, or there are small shops you want to be sure to be able to visit, Paris in August can present problems, as these will often close for part of the month. Otherwise, you'll be fine - as long as you get A/C in your accommodations (as said above, not a given).