France Nov. 9-18

Why don't you start by asking your daughter where she would like to go? Maybe your idea of small, picturesque and quaint villages, does not jibe with her idea of the bright lights of the Rembrandtsplein.

You should get guide books or look at tourist information for regions in a specific country (all have these online discoverable by Google searching as they know it generates tourism) and compare the responses to what strikes your interest as worth visiting also. You make better decisions about where to spend your money and time that way.

If it's not part of your larger trip already, I'd be tempted to do Normandy and Mont St Michel.

Hi, thanks for your replies. We decided to do Normandy from Rouen-Mont St Michel and a little of Brittany, St Malo and Rennes.

Is spending a night in Mont St Michel I worth it?
What would be a good base to explore this area?

I used public transportation in that area. I know a car will be more efficient, but I don't think it's a good idea to try to use the hub-and-spoke method to cover that full area, at least not with just one base. I'll tell you what I did, but I'm not sure it will be at all helpful because of the different modes of transportation

• Stayed in Rouen to visit that city.

• Stayed in Caen for the Peace Museum and side-trips to Honfleur, Deauville, Cabourg and Falaise (another museum)

• Stayed in Bayeux to see the tapestry and WW II museum and take a D-Day tour (highly recommended in lieu of driving around and looking at beaches and chunks of concrete)

• Stayed in Rennes to visit that city and take side-trips to Vitre and Fougeres

• Stayed in St. Malo to visit that city and take side-trips to Dinan and Dinard

I didn't go to Mont-St.-Michel. I've just never had a burning desire to see it. It has been swarming with tourists for decades, but in retrospect I should have visited it on my first trip to St. Malo back in the 1980s(?). It's hard to recognize the Good Old Days until they're visible in the rearview mirror.

This website has videos of some of these places that you can watch to help you decide.

Thank you acraven, andrew.reis and cala for your insights. Armed with these, I think we can now formulate our plan. We are off to BENELUX tonight. The adventure begins!!

You can't go wrong with Rouen and St Malo.

On getting to Rüdeheim am Rhein: When yo leave Paris, take the TGV from Paris Est to Frankfurt Hbf. Do you plan on staying in Rüdesheim or somewhere nearby? You can go there as a day trip from Frankfurt.