Hello,
We are planning a trip to France in May.
I'm thinking of May 1-11, 9 nights.
I need your input, please, as I have airline tickets until 12 midnight.
We fly in from US on the morning of May 2,into CDG, where I think we will take a train to Normandy(Caen). We will rent a car and stay possibly 3 nts in the area,(maybe Bayeax), to visit World II sites and MSM. 3nights, May 2 ,3, 4. Or should I do 2 nts in Bayeax, and 1 in MSM?
Then, take a train to the Loire Valley, rent a car in Tour, and drive to Ambroise, Chambord, etc. 3nts(where to stay?), May 5, 6, 7.
Train back to Paris for 3nts, (where?), May, 8, 9, 10. Flight back to US on May 11.
Does this sound like a good itinerary, without being rushed too much?
We do like to stop and enjoy life.
Thank you, S
Posted by
Olympia, WA, USA
6713 posts
There's no direct train service between CDG and Normandy, so you'll have to either get the car at CDG and drive on your disoriented jet-lag day (not safe for you or others), or get to the Gare St-Lazare in Paris by taxi or local rail (doable but tiring, I'd recommend a taxi), or spend the first night in Paris and then take the train from St-Lazare to Caen. That's a good place to get a car, Bayeux is a good base for your next nights. I'd recommend a night at Mont St-Michel if possible, it's a long drive from Bayeux and a day trip would put you there in the most crowded part of the day. Better to see it late one day and/or early the next.
Train service between the MSM area and Tours, the main Loire city, takes you back to Caen or even Paris and involves multiple changes. Instead, I'd just keep the car and drive there. Amboise is a good base for Chambord and the other chateaux east of Tours. In two full sightseeing days you can see enough of them to satisfy you or whet your appetite for a future trip. St-Pierre-le-Corps station, outside Tours, would be a good place to drop the car and take the train back to Paris. Or you could drive somewhere closer and get a shorter train ride into the big city.
For me this would be a pretty rushed itinerary, leaving little time to "stop and enjoy life." You could easily spend all nine nights in Paris without getting bored. You might enjoy the trip more if you divide your time between Paris and one of the other areas, either Normandy or Loire.
Posted by
OP
5 posts
Dick,
Thank you for responding.
I guess I knew this itinerary would be rushed.
I have added 3 more days onto our trip, so I'll add a couple onto Paris and one onto something else.
Thank you, S
Posted by
3122 posts
It's good that you added nights. We did a similar itinerary but with only one night in Normandy -- just time enough to enjoy breakfast, see the American Cemetery, and eat a late lunch, basically. Since you want to see more of Normandy and out to MSM, you will definitely need more time.
As you are visiting both Normandy and the Loire Valley, you should rent a car for that entire portion of your trip. Pick up your car in Caen after you've traveled there by train from Paris and gotten a night's sleep. The highway connections are good, fast, and fairly easy to navigate.
Where to stay in the Loire Valley? I can recommend Hotel Biencourt in Azay-le-Rideau for charm, comfort, and exceptionally helpful owners. The village has a few very fine restaurants as well as more casual places to eat. It's about 1/2 hour south & west of Tours, convenient to the Fortress of Chinon, the Chateau of Villandry, and of course the Chateau of Azay-le-Rideau. To drive from there to Amboise and the chateaux at the eastern end of the region takes about an hour.
When you return to Paris from the Loire region, I'd say drop your car at Orly Airport (which is right off the main highway) and use a car service or taxi to your hotel. No sense hassling with Paris traffic just to drop off your car.
Posted by
Chicago
8444 posts
It will only be 30 or 35 to grab a cab at the airport -- no need to order anything ahead and so you don't have any time pressure. We often drop at Orly when returned from the south and then cab to the apartment. We used to drive into Paris and drop and that is not terribly difficult, but we make it easy on ourselves these days and don't drive in central Paris.
Posted by
Chattanooga, TN USA
583 posts
Sblazer, we did a very similar trip last May like this:
Day 1 early arrival CDG, pick up rental car drive to Giverny (1 hr) see Monet's gardens, sleep Giverny
Day 2 drive to Bayeux, see cathedral, tapestry, walk around, sleep Bayeux
Day 3 DDay tour with Bayeux Shuttle ends around 5pm, sleep Bayeux
Day 4 Drive to Mont St Michel. Lots to see along the way or you can go straight there. See MSM. Sleep MSM area (we did not stay on MSM)
Day 5 day trip to St Malo or Dinant. sleep MSM area.
Day 6 Drive to Loire Valley. We based in Amboise and loved it.
Day 7, 8 Chateaus, canoe trip on Cher River, hot air balloon, explore Amboise. Sleep Amboise
Day 9 drive to Chartres, stopping at Chateau Chambord along the way. Drop off the car. Sleep in Chartres.
Day 10 train to Paris.
Day 11, 12 sleep in Paris.
If you have extra days, I would add one in Bayeux and explore more of the countryside, and one in Paris because it's Paris. We had apartments in Amboise and Paris, b&b's in other places. Beware, it's still cold on the Normandy coast in May. The day of our DDay tour it was 39 degrees with sleet at times.
Have a wonderful trip and happy planning!
Posted by
OP
5 posts
Thank you all so much. Your information is very helpful.
Even though, there is only the two of us, I would like a small apartment, or similar, in Paris. I would love to be able to have coffee, and breakfast in our room, and also, take home food for when we are exhausted.
Where did you find apartments for rent?
S
Posted by
Chattanooga, TN USA
583 posts
I used HomeAway for apartments in Amboise and Paris. Be aware that apartments in Paris must be registered to be legal and the one where we stayed probably isn’t.
Posted by
Ohio
7 posts
We used Air B&B to rent an apartment in Paris. It's very easy to use, and we landed a great place just blocks from the Eiffel Tower. Good luck!
Posted by
Paris
2466 posts
You should look for the 13-digit registration number, if you don't want heartbreak.
You should be all right if you stay in a hotel in Bayeux - I wouldn't stay in Mont Saint Michel.
There are 4 holidays - called "jours feries" :
May 1
May 20
May 20
May 21
May 1st will be closed most everywhere. Good for looking around your neighborhood.
May 20 is a Catholic holiday.
And May 21 is Pentecote Monday - most everything will be closed - or people will take a mini-vacation.
Posted by
South Florida
776 posts
In addition to the above, 2 more that might affect you. It would be wise to visit specific web sites of places you plan to see and get information there. Not everything is closed tight.
May 8th VE Day
May 10th Ascension Day
Posted by
Franklin, TN, USA
898 posts
We did this same trip in May 2015. We flew into CDG, got a car and did Gerberoy (incredibly beautiful) and added Giverny, Rouen, Honfleur, and Etratet ( stayed in Honfleur 1 night and Giverny 1 night) to our trip before we settled into Bayeux for our 3 night WW2 trip. Took a day tour and used the rest of the time to drive our car back to where we wanted more time. Drove on to MSM where we spent 1 night....bucket list item and well worth it. After this we drove to Amboise ( Manior Les Minimes a perfect place to base) and did our 3 or 4 chateau touring out of Amboise. Do not miss Villandry.......in May the gardens were incredible! We thoroughly enjoyed basing in charming Amboise each night. Stayed in Amboise 3 nights.
We drove back to Paris and turned our car in and stayed there 4 nights before flying home. We have stayed in Paris at Hotel Empereur ( near Eiffel Tower, a great location) and have also stayed on the Ile St Louis at Hotel Lutece. Both had AC and were great....just depends where you want to base.
We had plenty of time to stop at all the bakeries and enjoy the goodies.