My 7 Days in France

We did something similar but with 17 days. That being said, we used RS book to guide us through our 7 day Normandy/Brittany driving trip. You could easily cut it down. We skipped Rouen and Giverny and drove to Honfleur for 1 night. From there we visited some Normandy WWII beaches on the way to Bayeux for 1 night. We were able to see the Bayeux Tapestry and to visit the Cathedral and wander the town a bit. From there we drove to Mont St. Michel for 1 night. You could end your Normandy trip there and return to Paris for 4 nights, or you could continue on to St.Malo driving via Concale and then return to Paris. You could add something else an skip Honfleur. With only 7 days you need to decide how many days you want for Paris and then pick the towns in Normandy highest in priority for you. Have a great trip!

I would probably do 4 days Normandy and the rest in Paris...there is so much to see and do in both, but with 4 days in Normandy you should be able to see a lot and enjoy it, without feeling totally rushed. If you see most of what you want to in Normandy you will probably not need to return... with Paris, you can see the 'must see highlights' with your few remaining days. You will then have a taste of Paris and can decide whether you need to return to see all the things you didn't have time for... then next trip you can have a few more days in Paris, then head on to Provence, knowing you have covered Normandy:)) Favorite places near Normandy... Bayeaux, St. Malo, Mont St. Michel (spend the night if possible)

You'll have 6 full days plus the day you land, when you will be jet-lagged. If you give Normandy 4 days, then you only have 2 full days for Paris. Not enough imo.

Bayeux is a charming town and makes a great base in Normandy. We've stayed at Hotel d'Argouges in the heart of town at least 6 times and love it. I highly recommend it.
Btw, what is "HD"?

What time of year will this be and what do you want to see in Normandy?

Have you read any guidebooks yet?

Thanks everyone, did anyone ever stay in a bed and breakfast in the Normandy area? oh and my HD is my hubby. We will arrive in Paris at 11am and want to head towards the Normandy.not sure how far we'll get. I am reading RS book right now and trying to navigate my way on this new website.I was a wiz on the old one
Pat

You arrive on a Thursday and leave on the following Thursday. That gives you 5 full days on the ground, not 6, so plan well. You do realise that Normandy is a large area, not just the landing beaches. (Consult a map.) Where exactly in Normandy do you want a B&B?

We are hoping to stay until the Friday but that will be a bonus. Anyway we would like a B&B in Honfleur or Bayeux if possible.
Pat

Thats a long flight to arrive from, get through immigration, get to rental car place,, then drive for 4 or 5 hours.. jet lagged and travel fatigued.. be careful.
I hope you manage an extra day.. as both Paris and Normandy need at least three days.. well Paris actually needs alot more,, but I would say 3 days is a minimum.. but since you are driving to Normandy. then driving to Paris you are sort of using almost two days in transit. Returning the car.. gettting to a hotel.. its all going to eat time up.. you 'll see.

I do like Bets idea that while you can basically satisfy yourself with one visit to Normandy area with a 3 day visit. you are only going to taste Paris briefly and see if you would like to return for a longer visit and to actually see more of it then you possibly could in 2.5 days.

If you can I would steal a day or two from Dublin.. even family visits are best kept under 4-5 days.. lol And Dublin is quite a bit smaller then Paris..

Norma, Your math is different from mine. I count 6 full days arriving Thurs leaving the following Thurs.

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Pat is right... if you're driving to Normandy then you only have 5 days for Paris and Normandy. Yikes.

You know, Susan, you are right! Six full days is what they will have. Sorry about that ....

I second the idea of using Bayeux as a base for seeing much of Normandy. We (husband, myself, two adult sons) spent three nights in Bayeux (a delightful town) and saw a TON including Mont St. Michel (day trip). We found an adorable place on gites.com (Rue Laitiere). Our main goal was to see all of the D-Day stuff and I think we succeeded (with Mont St. Michel as a marvelous extra). If that's your goal, I think you can do it in three days pretty easily...

Margaret,
My husband, adult son, and I flew into Paris and rented a car and drove to Honfleur on the morning of arrival -2 hours, nice drive. We spent two nights at Le Fond de la Cour B&B in Honfleur. I could not say enough nice things about it....the hosts - Amanda and Craig are lovely people and the breakfasts are awesome ! Clean, comfortable, and Honfleur is wonderful. We then drove the coast into Deauville, Trouville and down the cider route (stopped in Beuvron En Auge-one of the "most beautiful villages" in France) on our way to Bayeux. Stayed two nights in a B&B, called Hotel de St. Croix (not sure this is exact) with a lovely hostess in a beautiful old home right in the square, so you could walk to everything. Very, very clean, and, again, she made the best breakfasts !! Took a tour with Overlord tours (well worth it) and visited the Tapestry Museum, which was great. Then, went to Mont St. Michel and stayed overnight on the mountain - which was great, but hotels and restaurants, not so great. Then, back to Paris for five nights. You could do similar with 1 night in Honfleur, one night is Bayeux, one night in Mont St. Michel and rest in Paris (we dropped car off just inside at a Hertz rental station), so we didn't get too crazy with Paris traffic). You will absolutely love all parts of this trip. We are thinking of going back in 2015 and doing the Loire valley and Paris again - possibly Provence. Enjoy your trip !!
Sue

Imho, stay in Paris. Perhaps do a Versailles visit, which is a very short train ride (on the RER train). Consider looking at the RS 7 days in Paris tour and alter it to meet your own needs. This fall I will be going to Paris for 16 days, my 5th trip there. It is my favourite place in the world. If you like food markets, go to a few outdoor ones, I love seeing real Parisians shopping for fresh produce, bread, cheese, and more.

Walk along the Seine River, daytime and evening to see the gorgeous bridges. The architecture is marvelous.

Have a great time.