Brittainy, Normandy, Loire and Paris itinerary guidance

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france/normandy-brittany-thoughts

We flew into Paris and took the train to Rouen, (not from the airport train, we had to take a bus to the train station that took us to Rouen). We stayed there a couple of days, nice town, small but good museum, cathedral . We rented a car there upon leaving and drove to Bayeux for a few days to explore Normandy, the Loire Valley, Mt St Michel and Dinan in Brittany before going back to Paris for a night before flying home.

We weren't on a tour, but introducing some family members to France we did the following.....
We spent afew days in Paris first (no tour, so we visited some things that you may see on the tour). Picked up a car at Orly and drove to Giverny in the a.m., visited Monet's house and gardens, ate lunch at the cafe there, then drove on to Rouen. You could stay 2 nights there (charming medieval town). Next day drove by way of the Route Des Abbayes and partway along the Seine River to Bayeux. You could spend 3-4 nights there (we spent just 1 night; some spend a week there, but that is more WWII history than I want in one time). Bayeux has a great church and museum, plus a nice area to walk around. With a car you can choose from a number of sights. Also cider routes and some good eats/drinks (camembert, calvados and shellfish.) We left the American cemetery after the flag-lowering ceremony and drove to Villedieu-les-Poeles (long-time bell-making.lace-making/copper foundry town) to spend the night (another chambre d'hote).
We went to Mont-St-Michel fairly early next day, going up the back way (steeper but less crowded) to the Abbey, and coming down through the more crowded street on our way out. Then we drove on to Dinan in Bretagne, where we stayed overnight. The next three days we did some exploring of Bretagne. Our family members had their own car, so went off on their own. We had some French relatives to visit, so met the others two days later at Quimper for aperitifs near the cathedral.
From Quimper we drove to our next stay, a chambre d'hote in Pluneret, near Auray, a cool little harbor area and good restaurants for Breton (savory) crepes and more shellfish. The following morning we went to Carnac to see the dolmens, and were off to Saumur at the western end of the Loire area. That was our longest drive (about 4 hours). All the others were fairly short between stops (per our plans). This was an introduction to the northern half of France for the family members, so a three-week trip covered a lot.
To continue, we stayed in Saumur, doing some wine-tasting. Next day we worked our way east...Chenonceaux in the morning, picnicikng on the grassy area (with tables) near the parking lot, then to Chambord in the afternoon. We stayed at another chambre d'hote near Chambord. (Very nice! Dinner with the owners from aperitif to digestif, lots of good conversation, and very reasonable at 25 euros pp, including wine). Nice lodging as well, with a terrific breakfast! Next day we headed south toward Burgundy. You would probably head back to Paris from here.
Of course, that was what we did in 2017, with 5 adults (3 newbies) and 2 cars. Most drives were fairly short, usually 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Only Pluneret to Saumur (via Carnac) was 4 hours. Suamur to Chambord was 2 1/2 hours if we drove straight through, but we stopped to visit Chenonceaux on the way, so not a long drive on either side of Chenonceaux.
I hope this itinerary gives you some ideas. I used Viamichelin.com for finding routes. They often give you options of fastest, cheapest, most scenic, etc. I always add time to what they say to allow for gas/food/comfort stops and the odd traffic problem. We also try to take the smaller D roads. The autoroutes are fast, but less interesting to me. And they may have tolls. (Except in Bretagne. No tolls allowed there.) When booking hotels, I tried to get ones with parking where possible, even if there was a (reasonable) charge. Sometimes a parking spot is hard to find. We did this drive in early May, so you will be there when we were. We didn't run into too many crowded places.
If you want to skip Paris before your road trip, I would maybe take a train to Giverny arrival day and spend the night. Then train to Rouen next day and pick up a rental car on your way out of town. And you're off!
We are also 80 somethings, but did this trip in our mid 70s.
Bon voyage! Amusez-vous bien!

P.S. From Rouen to Bayeux we stopped to see the Abbey at Jumieges. Well worth a one hour stop!

Thank you, Judy, for this information. It is exactly the itinerary I was planning on planning. I quickly realized that I would be unable to rent a car in Giverny or Rouen so will look at options to get one at a location that will easily get us out of Paris. I'm printing off your reply and will use it as a guide or a backbone for planning. I am thinking of 2-3 weeks to do the non-Paris portion of the trip
I'm happy to see you spent so much time in Bretagne. It seems like a lovely place to visit and am hoping it is not overrun with Brits as I hear this is a favorite spot for them to vacation.
M.E.

I've spent time in Normandy (6 days) and Paris (almost 2 weeks) this year. Paris is, for me, a weekend town. I have pages of notes from there. The Loire I've only touched on, and Brittainy is on my list for next spring. But here are some of my notes from the end of April in Normandy.

I left work on Friday afternoon a couple weekends back and drove to Rouen, France, on my way to visit the D-Day beaches. I arrived in Rouen late, around 10pm. It’s a long drive, but very pretty. The first part was across the Meuse River valley, which I’m becoming familiar with, and all the small towns and WWI monuments. This is a rural area with rolling hills, and the air was heavy with the scent of the huge yellow fields of rape.

When I arrived at my hotel, I was tired, so I didn’t look around much, although the bars were still crowded. But the next morning I was up early, and I found my location was ideal for exploring the old part of the city. Rouen is known for its metal working, and there’s a lot of fancy work done on almost all of the old buildings, especially in the terrace railings and lamps.

I spent some time in one alleyway that was almost all antique shops, just window shopping, and ended up at the Hotel d’Ville, an old royal residence with an extensive garden. It was early enough that I got to see them turn on all the fountains.

Walking the paths I noticed that there was a lot of chert (or flint) in the mix of small rocks used to pave them. That made me a bit curious, and I found that the area around Rouen is related to the area in Brittain around Dover, with chalk and flint being mined from prehistoric times.

I walked a bit further into the old town, had a very nice almond croissant and coffee while watching a couple other fountains start up, and then wandered back to the Art Museum which is housed in another Renaissance era building, and is free. They have a fantastic collection.

After a couple hours there I headed over to the Cathedral Notre Dame, the main church of the city. This is still an active Catholic church, and one of the best I’ve been in. It’s light and has an immense amount of space, all of which is highly decorated. Very impressive. And the tallest tower is all done in ornate metalwork (and being refurbished). Historically it’s famous as the church where Joan of Arc was held and questioned before being burned at the stake.

The location of that event is not far from the cathedral, and while it’s rather plainly marked the newer church built in her memory is pretty interesting as it’s much more modern in design, and right in the middle of a very popular square; surrounded by half-timbered buildings that are much older.

I had an interesting lunch in the square around the cathedral, a Norman crepe with ham, eggs, potato, camembert cheese, and apples. Which may sound strange but was rather good. This was to be my introduction to the regional practice of putting apples into just about everything.

I spent a lot of time walking Rouen, visiting a couple bookstores and window shopping, and it wasn’t until the shadows started getting long that I realized just how long I’d been wandering. I really enjoyed this city. It’s an interesting blend of old and new, there are a number of huge art murals, buildings from multiple centuries next to each other, and the river is still used as a port for seagoing vessels.

The next morning I drove to the city of Bayeaux, stopping on the way at a small Patisserie for an exceptional pastry with berry filling and toasted almonds and chocolate. I have my GPS set to avoid toll roads, which France has a lot of, so it took me down a lot of backroads, and I really enjoy traveling this way when time’s not an issue. (continued)

My whole reason for going to Bayeaux was to see the Norman Tapestry, one of history’s earliest marketing pieces, showing the invasion of England in 1066 by William the Conqueror. Since this is going into storage for a couple years starting 1 SEP this was a priority for me. I had made plans to spend several nights there, using the city as my base for exploring the D-Day beaches.
The museum is interesting, the tapestry is displayed in a long progression, bent in the middle, and you get a small headset that tells the story as you move along the length. It’s very popular, one of the most visited places I saw over the week, with busloads of tourists coming and going. As I was there on Sunday it wasn’t too overwhelming, but then a lot of the town was closed also.
The next day I started by visiting the Museum of the Battle of Normandy, which is pretty good. Everything is well lit and displayed, with signage in English as well as French and German. Afterwards I headed over to the Normandy American Cemetery, which really surprised me.

Maintained by the American Battlefield Monuments Commission this cemetery is, according to the folks who work there, the most visited of all the sites they maintain. It was certainly a change from all the others I’ve visited. It was crowded, with full parking lots and tour buses. This monument receives over 1.8 million visitors a year. I mentioned to a couple of the people at the main desk I had just been at the Montfaucon Monument and there was no one there. Their response was that there are days they would prefer that.

The Cemetery is impressive, and placed on the rise so you can look down on Omaha Beach. The graves are roped off, unlike any of the other ABMC sites I’ve visited, but that’s apparently due to the high volume of people and to keep the grounds pristine. Which they are. I wrapped up my afternoon there, just walking around.

Wanting to do something other than the normal beaches, the following day I started a drive to Cherbourg, at the end of the peninsula, which was a major port, and fought over once the army broke out of the beach heads. It’s basically a hard right turn from Omaha Beach, and about an hour’s drive. It was a foggy morning, and the road runs up and down the hills, so I drove in and out of the sea fog the whole way.

Coming into Cherbourg you come down off the high ground into the city, and the port stretches out in front of you. It’s a huge harbor, with miles of jetties angling out into the sea from both sides. This is an old harbor, in use for more than 600 years, and there are still some of the older fortifications, as well as bunkers from the German occupation, visible.

My plan was to visit La Cite de la Mere, a huge building along one of the old quays, that’s been turned into a museum complex. The building is the old terminal for the trans-Atlantic shipping lines, and traces of that past history are present, even with the multiple other uses now in place. (continued)

Coming into Cherbourg you come down off the high ground into the city, and the port stretches out in front of you. It’s a huge harbor, with miles of jetties angling out into the sea from both sides. This is an old harbor, in use for more than 600 years, and there are still some of the older fortifications, as well as bunkers from the German occupation, visible.

My plan was to visit La Cite de la Mere, a huge building along one of the old quays, that’s been turned into a museum complex. The building is the old terminal for the trans-Atlantic shipping lines, and traces of that past history are present, even with the multiple other uses now in place.

One of the displays, in a drydock, with German bunkers surrounding it, is the first French nuclear submarine, which can be walked through with an audio guide. I found myself comparing it to the German sub I’ve toured in Speyer, and I was impressed by how much larger it was. That’s not to say it’s roomy, because it isn’t. These are not a place for anyone with claustrophobia issues.
Another attraction, for me, was the Titanic exhibit. Cherbourg was the port of embarkation (POE) for Titanic, and they have a very interesting set up with displays for all the various passenger classes accommodations, and other reconstructions of spaces on the vessel, as well as a very popular looping video of the hours leading up to hitting the iceberg and the immediate aftermath from a position at the bow.

They also have a large selection of deep sea diving equipment, from subs, to bells, to remote piloted vehicles (RPV). Also an aquarium, which is apparently a very popular place for school outings, and a movie theater which had a surprisingly good film on the city during WWI and its rebuilding.

Needless to say this took up most of my day, to include lunch, where I got into a conversation with a German who works on one of the large cruise ships docked on the other side of the quay. Aida, the cruise company he works for, is patronized almost entirely by Germans. I’d never heard of it. But looking at some of the cruises they offer piqued my interest.

I drove back with a stop at a small cider presse, where they make their own cider, Calvados, and apple jellies. I tried a couple of the products, and bought a couple bottles of Calvados, and then got back into town.

Utah Beach, which was my primary destination the next day, is very different from Omaha. Instead of the cliff, Utah has extensive sand dunes going inland for a kilometer or two. The sand is slowly covering any remaining fighting positions, although some are visible. The main memorial was fenced off, apparently it requires work, but there are several smaller monuments in the same general area, and it’s easy to walk through the dunes down to the beach.

The beach itself reminds me much of the sand at Aberdeen, WA; very flat, shallow out several hundred yards, small waves, and clam and oyster shells everywhere. In fact, there were almost as many locals clam digging as there were tourists.

I still had some time, so I headed back to Omaha, and this time actually walked down the beach a ways. The weather was perfect, and so I stopped and had a late, long, lunch and just watched the water. It wasn’t crowded, which surprised me, and the tide was low enough you could make out the remains of the artificial harbor the US had used (for a short while) once the beach was opened. (It was destroyed by a big storm, and they couldn’t salvage it, so it’s slowly rusting away about 500 yards off shore.)
It's very easy to see why this was the hardest beach to open up, the cliffs and the very well sighted bunkers really made it a shooting gallery. (continued)

I visited the British and Canadian beaches last, on the following day, starting with a stop at the Canadian Cemetery, which is very well maintained. Unlike the American ones, the rows have extensive flowers places between the headstones, which is really quite pretty.

Juno, Sword, and Gold beaches tend to run together, but you can’t drive from one to the other without detouring inland a bit. There is no road that parallels the water, and houses are built right down to the sand. (Apparently this was true back in 1944 also.) These beaches are not as deep as the US ones, and also have low, flat, stretches of beach that goes out a ways into the water. But where Utah and Omaha are fairly rural, these are rather urban, and the monuments are mostly tucked away.

After my time on the beaches I drove over to Chartres, another famous French city, south of Paris, and different in character. I took back roads, and the drive was most rural, with horses and cattle as the primary focus. The French Stud Register was on the route, and there were some farms that outshine anything I’ve seen in Kentucky. Very pretty country it is too, lots of small rolling hills and well kept forests, with neat farms and little towns scattered around.

I had booked a small apartment in Chartres, and it turned out to be right on the riverbank as it flows through the city, and the path up the hill leads directly to the tourist office in the center of the old commercial district. It wasn’t very big, but I could easily live there. With a good restaurant on the other side of the bridge, a pastry shop and small store just around the corner, and everything touristy just up the hill, it was perfect.

Chartres has a large number of memorials to the fallen in WWII, as well as one for the 7th Armored Division that liberated the city, a whole wall dedicated to the fighters of the Resistance, and another to the Free French forces. There’s a whole series of them around one of the fanciest post office buildings I’ve ever seen. (It’s even better than the one in Port Townsend, which is pretty swanky.)

The Lady of Chartres Cathedral is very famous, mostly for its stonework, both inside and out. It’s nice, but I prefer the one in Rouen. Likewise the art museum was a bit of a let down, but I really enjoyed walking the city, and of course, just sitting and having a nice meal in one of the plazas. The building I liked most was the old covered market, and late 1800’s cast iron and glass structure that is now mostly used as a taxi stop.

All in all, I enjoyed Normandy a lot, and I’d really like to take some time and follow the coast from Cherbourg south into Brittany. I’ll have to put that on the list. I could very easily spend another week in the area and still have lots to see.

Thank you, KGC, for describing your time in Normandy but I have to ask, how you know about the beaches in Aberdeen WA???
My hope is that we will do similar meandering around as you did in Normandy I've found that is my favorite way to travel. The tapestry has left Bayeaux but that may end up being a good thing as its absence may reduce the number of tourists there. May have to make our way to London to see it in the future.
Honestly not much of a WWII buff but was fascinated by a WWII museum in Sicily and the history of Crete's and Crete's partisans in that war. I expect that Normandy's historical sites will be equally stunning.
Thank you again for your input.
M.E.

Tim, I want to thank you for that link to the 2021 forum discussion. I finally have had to read through it and it clarified many things I was fuzzy about, particularly car rental.
thank you!
M.E.

how you know about the beaches in Aberdeen WA???

Other than the fact that I've lived, off and on, around the Sound for many years? My primary home is in Steilacoom. I've worked the seaports in Grey's Harbor, Longview, Tacoma, Seattle, Everett, and a couple other smaller ones too. There's not much of WA I haven't seen, to include the East side.

If you really want to just see the local places, use the Waze app, and set it up so you avoid toll roads. That will put you on the secondary routes, a little slower (only 100kph speed limit) but a lot more scenic.

We just returned from 6 days/7 nights in France, with 5 nights of it spent in Bayeux. We find that 3-4 nights in larger cities isn't usually enough for us, but were ready to leave Bayeux after 5 nights, but without a day-trip to Mont St. Michel, 4 nights would have been fine. We really, really prefer in-depth, slower travel and staying places longer, but are not retired, so have more limited time.

How much extra time do you want to stay? Many weeks? Visiting all of the places you mention above at a leisurely pace feel like at least 4 weeks to me. I could fill 2 weeks in Normandy easily :-), and then I'm sure the Loire would be a week, and Brittany another week, with some rest in between.

My suggestion is to leave Paris ASAP after landing, heading to Rouen via train or private car transfer (My Day Trip is an option), so that you finish in Paris, which you have to return to anyway for the trip home. Alternatively, putting the Rick Steves tour first (faster paced, I would imagine then your self-paced travel) may be the better way, instead of traveling first. Your call.

Download the Michelin Guides app to find less-frequented sites along the way on your journey.
Plan to be in at least one or two of these places on a market day and really enjoy the experience of being French.

Anyway, here's what I would propose following either landing or the Paris tour:

Day 1: Leave Paris and head to Rouen.
Day 2: Enjoy Rouen at a leisurely pace.
Day 3: Rouen or Giverny day trip (timing depended on the day of the week and the potential Giverny crowds. Get advance tickets and arrive early as you can. Eat lunch in Giverny. Find a lovely town to stop in for sites and dinner.)
Day 4: Rouen or Giverny (depending on the above).
Day 5: Head to Honfleur, following abbey route.
Day 6: Honfleur sites, including people watching at a harborside-cafe.
Day 7: Head to Bayeux. Enjoy a seaside town along the way for lunch.
Day 8: Bayeux. Rest day. Maybe book a nice hotel (we loved the Hotel Tardif) and enjoy the surroundings. Maybe visit the cathedral, or just wander the streets a bit. Stop at a place for a cider tasting (we went to the one in Rick's book and it was lovely). Have a nice dinner.
Day 9: D Day sites (if interested). We did two full days of D-day tours with Overlord tours. The first day was Omaha/Utah overview and the second day was the Battle of the Hedgerows and really went in depth. Both tours were incredibly worthwhile.
Day 10: Arromanches day trip to see Mulberry harbors and any other side trips to D-Day sites you'd like to do.
Day 11: Potential day trip to Cherbourg or Caen, or just stay a bit longer in Bayeux. The Saturday market in Bayeux was a lovely time, and we grabbed food for a picnic lunch. Nearby Chateau Balleroy would be a lovely picnic site.
Day 12: Head south toward Brittany. Stop in some villages along the way. (Use Michelin guide app for this). Arrive near Mont St. Michel for the evening so you can see it in the evening after most of the crowds are gone. Stay on the Mont if interested. Be prepared for LOTS AND LOTS of stairs. Like lots. I mean. Lots. If this is not doable, you may just want to see it from afar, and head on to Dinan or St. Malo.
Day 13: Visit Mont St. Michel before 10 a.m. when the crowds start to arrive. Investigate the tides and try to see it at both high and low tides. And then, head on to your first stop in Brittany.

From here, you could easily do Brittany, and then the Loire, finishing in Paris so that the flight home is right there.

When i did my Normandy trip i took the train from Paris to Rouen where I rented a car. Rouen is a nice city to walk around. I drove to Honfleur (loved it) via Etretat and coast - spent 3 nights driving around the countryside. I drove to Bayeau and took a half day tour with Overlord of the dday beaches. That was just the right amount for me - surprisingly emotional! Then I drove to Mont St Michel and spent the night there (hotel du Guesclin). Drove to Dinan for 3 nights exploring the Emerald Coast. (dont miss St Malo) then to Perros-Guirec (Castel Beau Site) for 2 nights to see the cote Rose. The driving was easy and beautiful countryside. I kept going because i had more time, but you could drop your car in Rennes and train back to Paris. This was one of my favorite parts of France - not too many people and beautiful country drives. I did the Loire on a different trip and that was fun too. Enjoy whatever you decide! sue