Hey everyone, fairly new here and I'm planning the final details of our upcoming trip to Paris/London this July. We will be in France for a total of 7 days prior to heading to the UK for the remainder of our trip. We are a family of 3 and this will be our first trip to France (though we have some travel experience in Asia).
I'm trying to figure out the logistics of getting out of Paris and seeing a few sites in the countryside during our trip, but I'm a bit overwhelmed by our options. Here's my plan thus far. We will arrive in Paris on a Monday around lunch, clear customs, head to our hotel and get checked in. Tuesday-Thursday we'll spend in Paris seeing a number of the major attractions and I'm fairly comfortable with my planning for those days.
It's actually Friday-Monday that I'm struggling with. Here are my thoughts. We would like to rent a car Friday morning and do a loop before returning the car Sunday night. Maybe see Versailles on Friday, see a couple of Chateaux's on Saturday, see Mont. Saint Michel on Sunday and drive back to Paris that night to go to Disneyland on Monday. I know it's a lot of driving and it would be a couple of long days, but we're type A on vacation and typically run from morning to night.
I think this plan will work, but the transportation is what is confusing me. I was thinking about renting a car before going to Versailles (so we would have a place to store our bags in the trunk), see Versailles on Friday and driving closer to the Loire Valley that evening. Spend the night nearby a couple of the Chateaux's, see them Sat. morning/afternoon, then drive near to MSM and spend the night there and see the area Sat. evening/Sun. morning before driving back to Paris.
What would be the best way to do this? Rent a car in Paris? Take the train to Versailles and rent a car there? Then where to return it Sunday night? Near Disneyland? Or somewhere else and then take a train? Any help appreciated...thanks!