feedback on 13 day France itinerary- Normandy, Paris, Nice, ?maybe Provence?

Benefits of spending one night in Mont St. Michel, vs just day tripping?

Day-tripping to MSM is about the worst decision you could ever make in France - it ensures you the absolute worst possible experience. You want to enjoy your time there? Arrive mid-afternoon, oil your body so you can squeeze thorough the giant human knot of people occupying every square centimeter of the narrow streets, check in to your hotel on the Mont (yes, stay on MSM itself - the hotels on MSM itself are limited, a bit expensive and not exactly Five Stars - suck it up). Watch in amazement as the human tide begins to recede and almost every tourist drains away around sunset. Enjoy a few blissful hours in the evening wandering the magical streets. Hit the sack, get a good night's sleep, get up early, and enjoy another few hours in the early morning with MSM nearly to yourself. Note the distant sound of thunder, as the mega-crowds approach mid-morning, and prepare to flee as the endless rows of day-trip busses roll in and disgorge their passengers. Get outta Dodge by 10 am and move on to your next destination.

We'd like to travel mainly by train, ideally would like to avoid renting a car.

Trains are great, but without a car you will be somewhat limited and/or slowed down in some areas, including Normandy. To do MSM efficiently, IMHO you will probably want a car (or be prepared to spend more time getting around). If it were me, I'd combine trains with cars where needed. Driving in rural France is generally easy and delightful (just avoid driving in Paris).

We stayed in Bayeux four nights and loved it. We visited the Canadian and British beaches by ourselves and the US beaches, on a small van tour arranged by our hotel. And the Bayeux Tapestry, 1066, is also a must see.
We enjoyed staying at historic Hotel Lion d’Or.
We day tripped to Mont Saint-Michel and had an excellent experience. We hit it on an uncrowded day.
You do not have time for Nice.
Paris day trips-My favorite was Giverny, no contest. Versailles was not a favorite. On another trip we stayed in Champagne region and saw Reims, a nice historical city.

Time of year? It makes a difference.

You can get to Bayeaux directly from Paris. Not every train is direct but I'd try to pick one without changes to make the trip easier and shorter. You can get a guided D-Day tour from Bayeaux easily.

Avoiding a rental car always makes MSM a difficult visit. You can catch buses from different places to MSM but that invariably leaves you there during the most crowded times. Given that, I'd say you certainly want to spend a night - just to experience it without throngs of tourists.

I did it differently, started in Bayeaux drove to MSM and afterward went on to Cancale for the night. That worked well with a rental car but it won't work for you.

It's a long leap to Nice from Rennes (the closest transportation hub to MSM). I'd consider bus to Rennes airport then a flight, you will likely save both time and money.

Same issue in Provence. Without a car arranging bus transport to different stops takes much more time and effort. In Nice, you can take the train up and down the coast but will probably have to take a bus to get off the coast (up into the hills for example).

Driving in France (excluding Paris) is no biggie and I would not do MSM and Normandy without one, unless you’re just really, really timid drivers. I feel exactly as the previous poster does about MSM. Arrive in the afternoon, stay ON MSM and then leave by 11:00 the next day when the masses arrive.

You don’t say if your 13 days includes the days you arrive and depart. You really can’t count on those for any worthwhile touring because it’s all taken up by trave/unpacking/packing. So you may not have as much time as you think you have. And if you’re including Nice, that’s a big travel day as well.

If you haven’t booked air yet, I would definitely leave Nice for another trip, spend a week in Paris and do the day trips you mention and spend the rest of the time exploring Normandy and Brittany.

We've been to all of those places and travel to France every year. I echo the sentiments of other posters. Leave Nice for another trip, but I'm assuming you have already arranged for your return flight, so that is a given.
Provence and the Cote d'Azur warrant lots of attention, but they're a different world from Brittany and Normandy. With only 13 days, if possible you should consider flight in and out of Paris; train to Nice will take up most of a day on your itinerary.

Normandy and Brittany are absolutely fascinating, especially for students of history, and Giverny is well worth a daytrip from Paris, as is the Chartres cathedral. You may be able to get excursions (by bus) for those places through your hotel. Skip Versailles (vast and crowded) and see Chantilly instead.

Bayeux and D-Day sites are best by car, but the roads are relatively uncrowded and easy to navigate. Mont St. Michel is a crowd scene, but remember that this place was crowded even in medieval times (and much smellier) as it was filled with religious pilgrims and pickpockets. If that is your "must see" then you should arrange to stay overnight, as other posters have suggested. In Normandy for a D-Day excursion we stayed on the beaches, so to speak, by basing at Longue-sur-Mer, but Bayeux is also charming and you have to see the tapestry!

With 13 days, I would say to spend your first few days in Paris. After that, your destinations of choice really call for a rental car. Pick up your car at CDG and drive to Bayeux (note it's spelled with only one "a" and pronounced accordingly: bay-UH, not bay-OH). Enjoy a couple of days at the D-Day beaches, drive to MSM and stay at least one night there.

After that, if you really and truly didn't want to do any more driving, you could turn in your car in Rennes and take the train to Nice. On Rome2Rio you can find your route. https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Rennes/Nice Heck, you could even fly to Nice. Otherwise, keep the car and enjoy a couple of days making your way through France to Nice.

Another option if you really do not want to drive is to sign up for a tour of Normandy and MSM.

I would stay in Paris first for five or six days and then take an early train to Bayeux or Caen and rent a car. Driving is easy in this part of France, and things are pretty well marked although you will need a data plan for your phone or GPS. This will allow you to optimize your limited time in Bayeux, the Beaches and MSM (arrive late and stay overnight, as suggested). Then drive down to Rennes and take a NS Hop flight to Nice for the remaining 3 nights. Once in Nice, you can take the train, bus or Uber to the main locations (except to certain hillside towns -- but you'll have plenty to do in just 3 days)

You won't have time for Provence -- time of year is important anyways, as noted above for the crowds, and in some villages things shut down in the off-season.

Okay, all, thanks so much for the feedback (including the point that I misspelled Bayeux, oops!).
We will be going June 11-25 for 13 nights- arrive at 11:10 am in Paris the first day, so that's a half day, and leave fairly early from Nice on the final day, so I'm not counting that one. So, will really have 12.5 days.

Armed with your advice, I will tell my husband that if he really wants to see D-Day beaches, he will have to suck it up and agree to a rental car while in Normandy. :-)

Seems I probably bit off more than we can chew by booking our flight out of Nice, so I think I'll try to change the tickets to fly in and out of Paris -booked last night, so 24 hr cancellation in my favor!

We will definitely plan to stay overnight one night in Mont St. Michel, and stay at least 3 nights somewhere else in Normandy- probably Bayeux.

That leaves 9 nights... think we should spend them all in Paris and plan to day trip from there? Or other easily accessible destinations for 2-3 nights, rather than Nice?

We've never been to France, only ever been to Europe once (Italy, took trains between Venice, Florence and Rome), so any additional advice is welcome! And again, thank you!

Your hubby is right about the D-Day beaches (and surrounding area). It's a worthwhile, moving, and meaningful area to visit - even for those would might prefer a root canal rather than suffer through WWII history. The D-Day area is absolutely worth at least a full day - trust me, you will be glad you went there. The rest of Normandy is absolutely beautiful, with lovely countryside, charming small towns, and great old cities. Get Rick's France book (if you don't already have it) and give yourselves at least a few days in the area. It is perhaps my favorite part of France.

Renting and driving a car in rural France is a non-issue - it's easy and enjoyable. Cross that off your list of things to worry about.

Tip: You will want to stay in one of the small hotels on MSM itself for logistics and to maximize your time on the Mont. There are only a few, they are small (and yes, they seem expensive for what you get - it's all about location, location, location...) and they fill up early. You should book ASAP (soon) for next June.

There are plenty of great day-trips and nearby locations you can do from Paris.

I'd agree that if you can switch your flight so you don't need to depart from Nice, it would be good.

We spent 5 nights (4 days) in Normandy - arrived in Bayeux by train, had pre-booked a 2-day American beaches tour with Dale Booth and he drove us everywhere in his van. Not only do you not have to worry about navigation and parking, you learn so much about what happened during the D-Day invasion. We did rent a car for one day to drive to Honfleur and back (make sure you get in the lane that takes cash at the toll booth - look for the coin symbol). But I would say renting a car is totally optional.

I would save Nice for another trip.

I hope you've been able to change your flights to Paris round-trip. While "open jaw" can save time and money on a longer trip, your original plan left you with a lot of distance to cover between opposite ends of Texas-size France and not enough time to do any place justice.

I suggest Paris and Bayeux as bases for this trip, with an overnight on MSM if you can. Rent and return a car in Bayeux or nearby Caen. Consider one of the D-Day tours out of Bayeux (Dale Booth and Overlord get praise on this forum but I can't speak from experience). Leave plenty of time for Paris, one of the world's great cities, with enough to keep you busy for weeks if you had them. Reims, Versailles, and Giverny are all worthwhile day trips from Paris, but you really won't have time for more than one, if that.

Enjoy your first trip to France, and, as our host reminds us, "Pace yourself. Assume you will return."

Just a comment about Dale Booth if you’re thinking of booking him. He’s an amazing guide and if you’re interested, contact him ASAP. I booked him a year ago this week for a date in June and my first choice wasn’t available. So if you’re interested in touring with Dale, move quickly after figuring out your dates.

Happy Traveling!

I just posted our experience on our two week roadtrip through France. We flew into CDG and out of Nice and had two full weeks. I hope it's helpful!