Loire Valley After Normandy

I'd say whether you spend a week in the Loire Valley depends upon the pace you like when you travel. My husband and I spent 2 nights in Amboise, driving to see Chambered, Cheverny, and Chenonceau. I could have easily spent 2 more nights to allow time to walk around Amboise more, enjoying the shops, river and just being. Also, there are many more chateaux to see. However, to see more you might want to stay in 2 different places during that week. If not a week, at least spend 3 mights in Amboise!

If you're going to be driving I would say it's worth it to take a day and drive from MSM to Oradour-sur-Glane and then spend the night near there, maybe Limoges. Then next day drive to wherever in Loire valley you want to base yourself for 4-5 days. I would plan to spend a day in Chartres, then train to Paris for the last night, somewhere with easy access to CDG. I wouldn't want to have to get from Chartres to CDG unless your flight out wasn't until late PM. There's no direct train from Chartres to CDG so you would have to change trains in Paris, possibly changing to two different stations (I'm not sure about that).

I would definitely choose the Loire Valley as the place to spend your third week even though I would classify the chateaux as being more like stately homes than castles. A full week in Normandy and the Loire Valley is probably more time than you need. You could see most of the main sights in four nights and three full days and not feel rushed. But a night in Chartres and Mont St. Michel will take care of some of the extra time. If you decide to cut it back even further I would spend the extra time in Paris at the end of your trip.

I would not spend the last night in Chartres unless your departing flight is very late in the day. It is only two hours from Charles de Gaulle but you have to drive past Paris on the way and lots could go wrong. If it's an early flight it would be better to stay the night in Paris or in a hotel near CDG.

Thank you all for the replies so far.
My husband and I are not the type to rush things we like to explore. Hence the week in Paris (for me) and the week in Normandy (for him).

I think 3-4 nights in Amboise sounds great. And spending our last night in Paris sounds wonderful to. Will have to think on Oradour-sur-Glane for now and see if we can fit this in somewhere.

Would it be easy to drop off our car then in Chartes?

Shouldn't be any problem dropping off your car in Chartres, then taking the train to Paris for your last night. That's exactly what I did. Don't skip Oradour-sur-Glane if it's at all possible, it was one of the highlights of my trip to France. I've been to a couple of concentration camps in Germany and Poland but this place moved me even more than they did (if that's possible), but for different reasons.

It's always wise to give the month of the year when asking about a trip. For example, some Chateaux have candlelight or exterior illumination nights in the summer. They can also be quite crowded in high season. Since the local roads aren't very wide, there can be delays getting into Chateaux and finding parking. There are quite a few public gardens in Normandy and Brittany, which are naturally at their best in season.

Are you regarding Normandy as more than the D-Day beaches? I ask because a week is too much for just the beaches. There certainly is plenty more to see in Normandy. If you use the Search box at top center, you can find quite a few useful discussions of Normandy and MSM visits by previous travelers. St. Malo and Dinan also come up here a lot.

We dropped our car in Chartres and took the train into Paris. We had planned to leave our luggage in a locker at the train station, but found out that there were no lockers there. The EuropeCar office is across the street from the station, and ate agent there allowed us to leave our luggage in the car while we visited the cathedral. This was several years ago and perhaps things have changed, but it is something to check into. Of course, if you spend the night in Chartres, it will be a non-issue.

I'm assuming you are looking to drive?
Perhaps after 5 nights in Normandy, you might consider 4 nights for Mont St Michel - Saint Malo - Dinan - Rennes - Vitre, before heading to the Loire Valley (4 nights) and Chartres (1 night).

Thank you all for your help once again.

We plan on being in France the last week in May for Paris, and my husband wants to be in Normandy over D-Day/June 6th. Hence the week there. We plan on doing a 2 day D-Day tour. I'm sure that there will be celebration etc.. going on during that week. We really want to take our time here and explore more that just the D-Day history.

If anyone has been there during that time I would love to hear how your experience was and what you did/what was going on that week.

But I am open to suggestions on where else to go in this region. Plans can change...

Thank you again,

Wendy

May/June will likely be some combination of cool/windy/wet with a chance of nice weather in Normandie, so be prepared. Paris and Loire should be mostly nice.

Are you renting or leasing a car? IMO that will be your best bet, you will need a car in Normandie and Loire, and to get to Chartres from Loire. If not, everything becomes more difficult.

I took a similar trip in September except I added a loop through Brittany. I took a train to Rouen from Paris, walked around the center for a few hours then picked up a car to drive to Etretat. A week is a pretty good stay in Normandie, as you develop your itinerary you may decide to shave a day or so off to add elsewhere. I think you would enjoy the cliffs of Etretat and Fecamp. If you are interested in D-day, there are German defenses all over the tops of the cliffs. They were abandoned after D-day, rather than attacked, so they are still intact but mostly filled with dirt.

You have time to see Honfleur, Bayeux and explore Caen as well as see the D-day beaches. I really enjoyed the Bayeux tapestry and MSM because I like pre-Renaissance history most. My loop through Brittany included very old towns and prehistoric monoliths, cairns and dolmen(s?).

My first stop in Loire was Fontauvraud Abbey then Chinon - again for the earlier history. I traded my car for a bike in Chinon, which later led me to drop Chartres and decide on a train directly to Paris. I biked to Villandry to see the gardens, then to Amboise. While in Amboise I biked to Chenonceaux then saw Clos Luce and Chateau Amboise. I managed that in 3 full days (four nights). If I spent more time, I would have moved to another base further up the Loire, maybe Blois, and visited Chaumont-sur-Loire and Chambord. At some point, everyone gets maxed out on the Chateaux. I think you're better off picking a handful and spending less than a week. You can easily spend extra days in Paris and not see everything.

I do think a side trip to Oradour-sur-Glane is too far out of the way. If it's what you really want to see, however, you shouldn't rule it out based on my opinion. Use viamichelin.com to approximate the drive time there and to your next destination. If it were me, I'd make it part of a "loop" and plan on some things to see along the route rather than a drive straight there, presumably from MSM, then to Loire.

If you haven't booked your rooms yet for June 6th, do so immediately. They fill up very fast for the D-Day anniversary. Also, some sights may be closed on the 6th so that they can have special ceremonies. There are lots of special events tied to the anniversary--look for parachute drops, parades, re-enactments, etc., see http://www.ot-baieducotentin.fr/en/d-day-1944/d-day-normandy-june-2016-72nd-anniversary/

But I am open to suggestions on where else to go in this region: On your way to Normandy you might consider stopping in Giverny to see Monet's home and garden. His home, when I visited, did not have any of his paintings on display, but I enjoyed seeing the water lilies which he used as a frequent subject for his paintings.

We spent 9 nights in the Loire valley in October 2014 and had a great time. We started in Azay-Le-Rideau for 2 nights to see Fontevraud Abbey, Chinon, and Azay-Le-R chateaux, then moved to a rental cottage outside Amboise for 5 nights. From there we visited Loches, Langeais, Clos Lucé and Amboise, Blois, and Chenonceau. For the last two nights we moved to Cour-Cheverny and visited Chambord and Cheverny before driving back to CDG for our late afternoon flight. It was a leisurely visit but we really enjoyed it. Staying in our rental cottage was great- so nice to have breakfasts and dinners "at home" in the midst of a long trip.

If you like the historical aspects, I recommend Ina Caro's book Road to the Past - she has a long chapter on these Loire castles and a few more we did not get to.

If you have a car, I would suggest before heading to the Loire, stop in Fougeres. We loved it and stayed at a great castle hotel just outside of Fougeres called Chateau du Bois Guy. Loved our day there. We were only in the Loire for 3 days but loved it.

Our favorite stop in Normandy was Honfleur. Loved it soooooo much. So pretty.

WOW! Thanks everyone so much for your help.

Our trip isn't until 2018, still in the early stages of planning. Should I look into finding accommodations now for the Normandy part of the trip?

I'm going to bring out my map and look at all the towns everyone has mentioned on going after Normandy. You have all been so helpful. I know that we can plan a great trip with all of your advise.

Wendy