We will be in northern France for 3 weeks in May — 2 weeks in Brittany and Normandy and 1 week in Alsace. We — three active seniors who enjoy small towns, local cuisine, culture and history — are flying into Paris, then taking the train from the airport to Rennes, where we will pick up a car and spend 3 nights in the Bayeux area for exploring Normandy. 1 night on Mont-Saint-Michel, then 5 nights in the Dinan area, and winding up in the Quimper area before heading back to Rennes to take the train out of Brittany to Strasbourg for our final week. All this looks doable based on online maps, but I'd like some input from those who have explored these areas on whether it's practical and whether we should change our proposed route. Also, is it asking too much of us to consider taking the train from Paris to Rennes or Vannes and then driving to our ultimate first destination on our first day of travel from the U.S.? Any input would be most appreciated.
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10710 posts
It is unsafe to drive that route after the flight and train. The train to Rennes from the airport takes a sinuous route which makes it longer than the TGV from Gare Montparnasse. At least that's how it was in 2003 when we took it after our overnight flight.
It looks like you want to pick up and return the car in the same location. If that is your goal, I suggest you spend the night in Rennes and pick up the car in the morning to drive to Bayeux.
However, it's often free or inexpensive to pick up your car in one area and drop it in another. You can get an idea of the prices here on autoeurope.com: https://www.autoeurope.com/index.cfm?changesite=1&site=US&sflag=US&aff=GOOGLEFR&c=132998
In that case, you could take a taxi from the airport to the Gare Saint Lazare train station and go directly to Normandy. You could rent your car a day or two later in Bayeux and return it in Rennes or Vannes and take the TGV back to Paris Montparnasse station.
Posted by
Somerville, MA
669 posts
I’ve done similar trips. You are on the right track. I don’t like that Rennes to Bayeux drive on day 1. I recommend you switch to the following
Start in Dinan via train from cdg to Rennes
Then go to Bayeaux
Then msm
Then Quimper
Then make your way back.
The bayeux piece is a bit of back tracking but not much. I personally would trade your one night on msm for the rose granite coast (msm is an easy ride from Dinan and with 5 nights msm is a great use of one of those late afternoons) but that’s just my preference.
In 2022 we did Chartres 1, Dinan 5, Bayeaux 2, Beaune 7, Colmar 5. The driving was easy but the length of the drive from western Normandy to burgundy was too long.
Happy planning.
Posted by
USA
410 posts
Also, is it asking too much of us to consider taking the train from Paris to Rennes or Vannes and then driving to our ultimate first destination on our first day of travel from the U.S.?
I don't think that's a great idea. I suggest spending at least one nite (or, better, two) in Rennes or Vannes before picking up the car. Other than that distances aren't huge in the region and it sounds like a fun plan.
The Michelin Green Guides for Brittany and Normandy (two books) cover just about every town, have suggested driving routes, etc. Request Stu Dudley's Normandy & Brittany itinerary; see https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/normandy-and-brittany-stu-dudleys-updated-itinerary-1670294/ We used this in addition to the Michelin guide when planning our trip to Brittany a few years ago.
Posted by
494 posts
Since you mention Vannes and Quimper I would suggest heading to either one first and then working your way back to Alsace. This eliminates back tracking and keeps you on a somewhat liner route. You could dump the car in Rouen or Caen and train to Alsace from there. The spectacular Brittany coast deserves your full attention. A week in Strasbourg seems a tad too long. It's all good though. Brad
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10710 posts
Note that there is one direct Rennes to Strasbourg TGV train a day. You avoid changing stations across Paris or at the CDG train station. With this in mind, the most efficient is to go directly to Bayeux, rent your car the 2nd or 3rd day, drop the car in Rennes and take the direct TGV.
Posted by
Colorado Springs
3028 posts
Might be easier if you took the train to Caen after your arrival in Paris. From there it's only about a 30 minute drive to Bayeux versus the 2+ hours from Rennes. There are a number of rental car offices at the Caen train station. I don't recall there being any in Bayeux.
The Memorial de Caen D-Day museum is excellent. If you were to overnight in the city upon arrival you could include a visit there while ensuring that you've had a good night's sleep before collecting your car and hitting the road.
Do verify the parking situation at your accommodation in Bayeux. Free parking lots are now few and far between and have imposed a 4 hour limit, which was a new wrinkle I wasn't repared for during our own visit in September.
The paid parking lots elsewhere in Northern France (including Dinan) were pretty reasonable, and I never had any issues paying with my US credit cards.