Driving in Normandy

Bayeux makes a great base and is a charming town. It's very convenient to most sites, has the Bayeux Tapestry and the best WWII museum, imo.

I highly recommend Hotel d'Argouges in the heart of town. It looks like a manor house, down a long driveway so it's quiet, has two lovely gardens, lots of beautiful flowers, free parking, wonderful breakfast included in price, budget friendly, large rooms and bathrooms, comfy beds, very clean and best of all... The owner, Mme Ropartz, and her staff are extremely nice and very helpful with anything you need help with. I highly recommend this hotel.

We stayed in Bayeux, which worked as a decent base for touring the various beach sites, as well as seeing the tapestry, of course. The town was having its annual Medieval Fair when we were there in early July 2008.

If you're picking up the car and returning it in Paris, you could visit Giverny either on the way to, or on the way back from Normandy.

We'd visited Mont Saint-Michel a few days earlier, as we headed to Brittany before circling back to Normandy, so that's not quite what you have in mind. What about taking a train to see Mont Saint-Michel, then renting a car from there? Don't know if that would work for you.

Bayeux is a nice and picturesque town to stay, centrally located and within maybe one half hour drive to Gold beach (the central of the invasion beaches). Bayeux is about a three hour drive from CDG. Mt. St. Michel is about a 2 hour drive from Bayeux. Caen is larger than Bayeux and farther away than the sites you want to visit except for maybe Giverny (which I know not much about). Caen is also less picturesque. Plan on a whole day for Mt. St. Michel and don't miss that attraction. I wasn't aware until visiting but there are actual hotels within so staying there is an option though it is likely expensive lodging and a good distance from the invasion beaches (>2hr drive.)
I suggest buying a "real" map and not relying of what they hand out at the car rental place. I visited in April 2014 and the map Europcar gave me was practically useless. Navigation is overall pretty easy from Bayeux to the beaches though without a decent map finding your way to Mt. St. Michel can be problematic. Maybe because it was off season but I found no place to eat in the small towns along the invasion beaches during the daytime and very few in the evening. Even at Grandcamp Maisy (one of the larger size beach towns) the restaurants were open for drinks but did not serve food until 7pm. Likewise there were no convenience stores nor gas stations in the invasion beach communities(I only visited Utah, Omaha and Gold Beach). Good idea to carry snacks and bottled water for your beach excursions along with adequate fuel in your vehicle though it's not the end of the world if you have to drive back to Bayeux midday for supplies or food. Don't forget some warm clothing, it can get cool even in May.
There are also numerous B&Bs to stay throughout the area so you don't necessarily have to stay in a town or city. The wife and I stayed at a centuries old "mini-castle" that it now a family run dairy farm only about a quarter mile from Omaha Beach. It was a great experience. Have a great trip!

We were in Normandy just over a week ago. We found Bayeux to be a great base for seeing the WWII sights. After we left there we spent a night near MSM, but it can easily be done as a day trip from Bayeux. It's about a 90 minute drive. I agree with the advice to go to Giverny on the way to or from Paris. If you are renting the car just after arrival from the U.S. I would save Giverny for the way back.

We're in the middle of a similar trip. We spent 4 nights in Paris so we were able to make the time shift from California before renting a car. If you will be dealing with jet lag, I'd recommend staying nr CDG for a night before renting a car. We rented the car in western Paris (Parc des Princes) which made for an easy hop on to the motorway. We drove past the Vernon (GIverney) exit, but didn't go there. We drove to Caen and did the Musee de la Paix, then on to Bayeux. I was very impressed with the museum in 2003, but this trip found it very confusing. We got the audio tour, but had trouble finding the numbers for the audio in sequential order. The english explanations were in small font and very poorly lit, Definitely bring a small flashlight if you decide to go.

We stayed 4 nights in Bayeux at the Hotel Mogador and it was fabulous. Nice room at a reasonable price (85Euro/night I think?) with delightul owners and guests. We did the 9 Euro breakfast each morning, which was very good. Coffee, fruit, yogurt, cheese, OJ, 2 6" pieces of baguette and a croissant. We met several delightful couples and shared information about restaurants, museums, etc. From our base there we did a one-day tour with Normandy SIghtseeing Tours (if you have lunch at the Roosevelt Cafe at Utah Beach have the mussels - they're outstanding). The next two days on our own we went to Arromanches, the Bayeux Tapestry, the Bayeux Battle of Normandy museum and the MAHB. The MAHB was possibly the best museum I've ever been to in terms of simple layout and great infomation. It starts with the local geology and carries you through history to the mid-20th century. The Normandy museum was also great covering the entire 100 days of the Battle of Normandy with very clear explanations, a good movie, lots of equipment and dioramas, etc.
We had 3 outstanding meals in Bayeux - the Florentin on Rue de la Cuisinerie, and Au P'tit Bistrot (try their 44 Maison liqueur) and Le Petit Normand on Rue Larcher. We had a fair meal with very poor service at Tavern des Ducs, one of Rick's recommended ones.
You can do a day trip to MSM from Bayeux, but we went and stayed on the island. The Hotel DuGuesclin was wonderful with another fabulous dinner. Breakfast was good, though not as social as the Hotel Mogador. We did the 1/2 board option, so the room with a bay view, dinner and breakfast was 150 Euro for 2 of us. There are also many hotels on the mainland and the shuttle busses run until midnight, so that's another option. If you can plan your trip to coincide with a full or new moon you'll get to see the famous tides.
We're now in the Loire Valley enjoying lots and lots of chateau:)
Hope this is helpful.
Alison
Los Altos, CA

Day 1. Roissy to Bayeux via Giverney. See the tapestry upon arrival.
Day 2. Hustle around trying to see WWII sites.
Day 3. Swing by MSM and drive back to Paris which will take six hours of road time.

It's going to be a mean rush.