Final itinerary..any thoughts ?

My final thought is the itinerary is excellent, well planned. You will certainly enjoy your trip to France. Do a post trip report when you comeback from the trip in August and share your experiences with us.

Bon voyage

What a great trip! I love that you're staying multiple nights in almost all the stops.

Hi,
This a well-planned and reasonable itinerary. You will enjoy it and the car will provide you with flexibility, especially with kids.

I don't know all your destinations but it seems like a well-planned itinerary, leaving enough time to enjoy each area. If I were visiting Paris for the first time I'd want more nights there, but maybe not if I had kids with me.

Thnaks for all those answers !

About Paris, I've been there 20 years ago, and my wife has been 19 years ago, before we got to knew each others ! 5 nights will be enough, i'm sure about it.

anyone else ?

I think you're probably going to wish for more time in Lyon, but I don't have a suggestion as to where you can find an extra day.

I've spent a week in Paris and a week in Bayeux, haven't seen much else (besides an afternoon in Avignon and a quick stop at Pont du Gard). I think you're probably going to wish for more time in Bayeux, but I don't have a suggestion as to where you can find an extra day or two. [Acraven, I'm stealing your words because they were perfect!]

I've been to most of these places and am in agreement with those who applaud your itinerary. I also agree that you may wish you had more time in Lyon.
One remark about Le Mont Saint-Michel: If your stop there occurs midday I think you will regret it. There are hordes of visitors during the day. I always endeavor to arrive there as early as possible and be off the island by late morning. If your departure from Bayeaux won't allow early arrival at MSM you might consider making it a day trip from Dinan instead. I've done that before.

Bayeux: 2 nights, mainly for visiting D-Day beaches, stope in Mont St-Michel while driving to...

Dinan: 4 nights, with daytrip to St-Malo and Cap Fréhel.

I'd recommend a tour company for the D-Day beaches. The info provided by the guide was amazing! We used Overlord and thought they did a great job.

RS recommends arriving in MSM in late afternoon when the daytrippers are thinning out and that is what we did. It worked well. We stayed in a hotel across the bridge from MSM, there are frequent shuttle buses. Went to MSM, came back and had dinner, then back for some night photos (it is beautiful all lit up!). Left the next morning after a brief visit back. So I'd consider taking a day from Dinan and spending it at MSM, you'll still be in Dinan well before noon the next day.

As for Dinan, if you visit St Malo then Cancale for oysters isn't far away. We were under-impressed by Cap Frehel but enjoyed visiting nearby Fort La Latte; easy to do both since they are only about 3 miles apart.

In addition to the RS book we used the Michelin Green guides for our trip since they have details about many smaller towns and suggested driving routes; if you don't have them you might want to take a look.

As for the car dropoff, spend a few minutes before your trip figuring out where it is! Some train stations like Rennes are very easy. At others such as Rouen it is almost hidden.

If you are staying in Paris in the 18th, I would pickup your rental car, at possibly Gare du Nord. The blvd in front of the station is blvd de Magenta which, if you make a right turn onto it from the station, is almost a straight shot north, northwest to Porte de Clignancourt. At Porte de Clignancourt, join the périphérique orbiting west to Porte Maillot from where you will pickup A14 west.

Be sure to map out your exit in advance to avoid any problems but the route is very easy. Once you exit the périphérique at Porte Maillot, you will have la Défense straight ahead of you, just continue straight ahead, following the direction of N13/A14. Farther to the west, A14 joins A13, the autoroute to Normandy.

When you arrange your rental, there may be a one way charge if you use Hertz or Avis. Sixt or Europcar typically do not charge a fee one way within France. Of course if you lease, this is not a concern.

At the end of July/beginning August, the mass migration for summer vacation begins. If you are on the main highways the last Friday of July (the first weekend of August), be prepared for intense traffic. Autoroutes will be bumper to bumper and lines of cars passing through toll booths can be miles in length. By your schedule, you might be traveling along A9 during that time so plan accordingly.

Otherwise, it looks like you´ll have a memorable vacation.