Critique my drive from Rouen to Bayeux please

As someone who once drove a similar route over several days, I am tempted to say it is too much, that you are not accounting for enough time for even trivial stops, and that you are forgetting to eat.

But perhaps you have considered this, and are prepared to eat bread and cheese type food on the road.

So I'm not saying it's impossible, but it might be, as you suggest, rushed and unsatisfying.

As you'll notice on Google Maps, the drive times it gives you are 'without traffic', they are also without stops - either rest stops, dining stops, or sightseeing stops. You're trying to pack an awful lot in and counting on no traffic, which may or may not be the case. If you need to check into your b&b by 8:00, you're probably not going to win friends by showing up right at 8:00, which is probably what it will be if you try to fit in everything you have on your wishlist. I can't say it's not possible but it may be more stressful than enjoyable.

I get 3-1/2 hours of driving on ViaMichelin.com, and I didn't try to figure out how much extra time might be needed for the scenic route to Trouville or the Route of Ancient Abbeys. Have you accounted for stashing and retrieving your luggage in Rouen, and have you allowed enough time for picking up the car?

I assume you noticed that your train route involves a change of stations in Paris. You have 41 minutes, which should be enough time, but one of my TGVs was 35 minutes late a couple of weeks ago, and a second was delayed by about 15 minutes. I've never made the transfer from Gare de Lyon to Gare Saint-Lazare, which I think doesn't require a transfer on the Metro. My recent transfer from Gare de l'Est to Saint-Lazare did require a transfer. I had scoped out the path to the Metro and bought my Metro ticket on a previous trip through Gare de l'Est, and it still took me about 30 minutes to get to the departure board at Saint-Lazare.

OK, so looks like I need to rework this driving plan. Any suggestions? B & B check-in is between 12 and 2 (which we obviously can't make) and 6 and 8, so it would be nice to use that time without being so rushed.

acraven, I did notice the transfer in Paris and checked that out a while back. I think no metro transfer was needed but will look at it again. Thanks for the heads up.

RER might be an option; I only looked at the Metro.

If I were you I'd plan to spend the extra time primarily in Rouen, weather permitting. (Which it may not; this is not a particularly sunny area.) You already have two things you want to do there. Be sure you're not going to run into a delay at the car-rental counter (not sure how you do that), then make a decision about the abbey route vs. the Honfleur activities vs. Trouville once you're in the car and heading north. It would be a shame to rush out of Rouen, which is very attractive, only to find that--because of traffic or parking delays--you really don't have time to enjoy the other things you have planned.

Incidentally, there are public WCs in Honfleur right near the church. I think they're at the base of the bell tower. There didn't seem to be an attendant on site, but the toilets were relatively clean. They might save you a bit of time. Rick mentions the toilets inside the tourist office, which you might end up passing on your way from your parking place to the church.

As far as I can see on the French Rail site, all trains from Provence to Rouen, change stations in Paris - from Gare de Lyon to Gare St Lazare.

Barb, it is hard to give intelligent advice without knowing more about your itinerary. But you might spend a night in Honfleur. More radically, if you went to Bayeux from Aix, you could pick up a car in Caen and sightsee, then reverse your itinerary for your last day, leaving Bayeux in the morning and ending up in Rouen, where you can return the car and take the train to Paris.

If that doesn't work because you aren't going to Paris, tell us where you are going.

The total driving time of 3 hours is too optimistic as the abbey circuit goes through a lot of villages with 30km/h speed limits and traffic lights, not to mention busy traffic as you will see. Not only the abbey of Jumièges is worth a stop but you will certainly walking around at least a bit in Saint-Wandrille-Rançon too. I think you have to make a choice like going after this straight to Bayeux and considering a visit to Honfleur on the way back to Paris so having more room enjoying the first day.

Depending the time of the year best is to visit Le Mont-Saint-Michel in the morning (including the abbbey) and evening when the crowds are gone.

Thanks to all for your thoughts. Our itinerary is set, so no big changes can be made at this point. We had originally planned to use public transportation and so planned to stay just 2 nights in Bayeux, 1 in Mont St Michel, and then on to Paris. When we decided to rent a car, so many other things to see presented themselves! But I will follow the advice given. We will explore Rouen, and get the car. Depending on the time left, we'll probably drive the Route of the Abbeys and then head straight to Bayeux.