We (me, wife and 18 year old daughter) are visiting France in late March. After four days in Paris, we are going to western France to visit Normandy and MSM for three days, before flying from RNS for AMS. We are debating if we should also include Honfleur or St Malo in our swing through western France. We are allowing 1 1/2 days for Normandy tours/Bayeux and 1/2 day for MSM. We have can either increase our time in those locations (less stress) or try to include a day in St Malo or Honfleur in the trip. We will take the train from Paris to Caen, where we will pick up a rental car. Any thoughts son Honfluer vs. St Malo are greatly appreciated.
Posted by
Northeast Ohio, USA
683 posts
I've not been to either, so can't recommend one; but just in case you pick St. Malo (and maybe if you don't) here is an excellent novel, set in St. Malo, about the war in Normandy:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18143977-all-the-light-we-cannot-see
Posted by
Florida, USA
12172 posts
I'm always hesitant to say someone should go to one place or another. My preferences could be completely different than yours. Other people here will have completely different ideas too.
That said, here's a couple of things I'd factor in.
In Honfleur, you will see a really quaint old port area. It's really pretty but is likely to be dead when you are there. Probably the nicest thing to do in Honfleur is stroll the area and eat in a cafe with a nice view of the port. It's nice during the summer when the sun is up late and the weather is decent. I doubt cafes will have anything outdoors open in March but will still be mostly in business. Restaurants in this part of France tend to be open on weekends and expand their week as the season gets busier. Even in summer, many restaurants are closed on Monday and many more are closed on Monday and Tuesday. In March, I'd expect most to be closed at least Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday (possibly even Thursday or more days). You will still find dinner options but probably not what you would otherwise expect so factor the day you visit into your planning.
St. Malo is quite a bit bigger. It's part of Brittany, not Normandie. The old area is surrounded by a wall/rampart you can walk completely around. Inside there is a museum, I haven't been inside. Virtually every other building is related to tourism (shops, restaurants, inns) so they'll probably be running very short hours or closed. St. Malo has one of the few sand (vs. pebbles) beaches in the area, which makes it a summer destination. Needless to say, it won't be beach weather in March. The tide rises and falls as much as anywhere I've been. At low tide you can hike out to small island fortifications, which is pretty neat.
I'd probably pick St. Malo, just because there are more things to do and it's not far from MSM.
Posted by
96 posts
Hi
Honfleur is a beautiful small town with a picturesque harbour full of yachts with restaurants circling the port. It also has a small impressionist museum with limited opening hours.
Saint Malo is a working port which has an urban feel. The old town, which was rebuilt after WW 2, is a walled city and has great seafood and crepe restaurants. There are also sandy beaches.
While I would recommend both, your concerns about having enough time for Bayeux and Mont St. Michel are probably right. A lot depends on when you arrive at Caen and fly out of Rennes.
If I were planning -
- pick up rental car, see museum in Caen ( relatively new about war and specifically WW 2 ), drive to hotel ( 2 nights ) along the coast.
- spend the day along the coast seeing the landing areas, old gun emplacements, US Memorial and, if time permits, Juno Beach Museum ( Canadian landing ) and Commonwealth Cemeteries.
- visit Bayeux to see tapestry, drive to Mont St. Michel, visit and spend the night.
- drive to Rennes airport and drop off car.
I would stay in a small town on the coast rather than Bayeux as I remember Bayeux being a bit of a traffic nightmare. There were large parking lots on the fringe of the town within walking distance of the tapestry. The rural roads of Normandy are pleasant.
Enjoy your trip
Posted by
Corvallis OR
7039 posts
If you were going in summer I'd probably not hesitate to say Honfleur, but in March the whole old-fashioned summer seaside atmosphere of Honfleur won't be there. It would still be scenic - it was a favorite of several impressionist painters - but just not the same. On the other hand, even though the old town inside the walls is definitely tourist oriented, I think St Malo has more history and would probably be a better choice in March. There's also the fact that St Malo is very close to MSM, where you're going to after Bayeux, and Honfleur is in the opposite direction from Bayeux to MSM. It's not horribly far but would take an add'l 1/2 day to get to, spend a little time, then head to MSM.
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
7327 posts
1/2 day is enough for MSM, but you must not neglect the driving time. Take Google Maps and add 40%. The climate here is just as unattractive as on the other side of the Channel.
Posted by
IJzendijke, The Netherlands
1985 posts
I think you will like both and as Saint-Malo fits more easy in your schedule I would go to there, gives you more time for a visit, so more room to enjoy the place. Coming from MSM the road between Cancale and Saint-Malo is very scenic and in Ros-sur-Couesnon (along the D797) you can have a panoramic view over the bay with MSM at the horizon.
Posted by
151 posts
St Malo would be the opportunity for you to discover for a short while a part of Brittany. In addition to what was already said, I would say that SM is also worth seeing because you can get different feelings there according to the area you walk in : within the walls, along the Sillon beach, in St Servan, or on small islets (you can reach them at low tide). There are also a few interesting museums.
(even if in March the weather is not fine for the beach, I would add in contrary to what was said that there plenty of sand beaches all along the coast, not only in St Malo, for example Rotheneuf, Varde, Dinard...)