Normandy and Loire Valley

If your flight leaves Paris on 5/31 you should be in Paris the night before
Too risky to be so far away

You just don’t have enough time for all you want to do
Bayeux and Normandy would fit, stay in Bayeux 2 nights and get back to Paris

Bayeux to Amboise is at least a 3 hour drive
I wouldn’t want to do that at night

May 23-27, Paris
May 28, drive to Honfleur and stay overnight in Honfleur.
May 29, 1 hr drive to Bayeux. WWII tour at 8:45 am. What time does your tour end? Stay overnight at Le Mans. Stay in the interesting preserved medieval center.
May 30, drive 1 hour to Tours, seeing various chateaus during the day. Leave off the rental car before evening. Stay overnight in Tours which has a 1-hr direct train to Paris
May 31, take an early morning 1-hr train to Paris, 3:30pm flight out of CDG (be at the airport by noon)

This isn’t exactly what you were thinking, but I’m trying to give you Normandy Beach & chateaus without needing to be in Paris that last night. I wouldn’t risk staying in Amboise and needing to make a train connection that last morning. For Le Mans, I stayed at the La Demeure de Laclais B&B, which is across from the cathedral, and there’s parking close.

I agree with Christine that your itinerary is too ambitious for the time you have. You really don't have time to explore the Loire. And I also agree that you should plan to be back in Paris the night before you return home. It is way too far to drive the morning of if you stay in the Bayeux area.

We did a similar itinerary (omitting Mont St-M and Honfleur, and not stopping in Bayeux) with 4-5 days, and it was still not leisurely. It's not worth going to the Loire Valley, IMO, unless you have at least two full days on the ground, hence staying 3 nights.

Also, as you're driving, be aware that when you go through LeMans two of the Autoroute numbers run together for a couple of miles. It's easy to panic thinking you got onto the wrong highway. Follow the signs for the city/town you want to head for and you should be OK. Also, the highway rest stop at Alencon is convenient for public restrooms, snacks, gasoline.

our Normandy beaches tour ends at 5pm.. the weather channel says sunset that night is 9:30 or so... so plant of time to get to Le Mans as Jean was suggesting. thanks so far for all the input. love it.!1

This would be much too rushed for me, and I wouldn't sacrifice a day in Paris trying to do it all. I suggest you choose either Normandy or the Loire, not both. And I agree about spending the final night in Paris -- you don't need to sleep at the airport but you need plenty of time to get there the next day.

There is a fast train (TGV) from St-Pierre-des-Corps, near Tours, direct to CDG on the morning of May 31. TGV 5260 leaves St-Pierre at 7:54 that morning and arrives CDG at 9:41, well before your afternoon flight. TGV 5440 leaves St-Pierre at 10:54, arrives at Marne La Vallee-Chessy at 12:24, and TGV 5062 leaves Marne at 12:51 and reaches CDG at 1:01 PM. That would be cutting it close for a 3:30 international flight, and the transfer would add to the risk. If you feel lucky, you could return the car at St-Pierre and get that earlier train to the airport. I know St-Pierre has rental car offices but I don't know how early they open. Safer to spend that final night in Paris. You could drop the car in Tours or nearby and take a train into the city on the 30th.

I agree with many others who think you are trying to cover too much ground in such a short period of time. Each day will be rushed, but you and your wife may be up for a frantic race from one town to the next.

Skip Mont Saint-Michel. You will need to park in the town, drag your luggage to the shuttle, and then up the crowded, steep main street of MSM to find your hotel. Then repeat in reverse the next day.

Bayeaux is a charming little town. You could spend two nights there instead of rushing down to the Loire Valley. You can drop your rental car in Bayeux and take the train directly into Paris. (There may be a train that goes straight to CDG).

To truly enjoy the Loire Valley, two days is best, IMHO. However, should you decide to go, you could see a chateau or two and then enjoy a lovely meal in the town of Amboise or Tours. Amboise is smaller than Tours and quite walkable, but dropping your rental car and the train travel to CDG might be easier from Tours.

Good luck!

Wow. Love the great advice. I take it that it’s not as big a deal to leave a car in a different spOT from where you picked it up , like in the US.

Your age is not an issue as much as is your driving-in-a-foreign-country stamina. This is a LOT of driving. The roads are good, but you will have to deal with confusing toll barriers and constant attention to GPS. Will you have GPS, at least on a phone? Have you ever driven in Europe before? I don't want to make it sound harder than it is, but other posts are correct about this being ... too much.

Have you ever been to Europe before? One reason I say this is that you need the savvy to look up the hours of the car rentals in Tours and find that they are closed for two hours of lunch.

You could omit Honfleur, go to MSM after Bayeux, and maybe see the western Loire instead of Amboise, ending up in Tours to take the train back towards Paris. Or you could take another day away from Paris.

You need to make a list of chateaux that you want to see, prioritized with numbers. If you post again, please make it clear if your budget is bare-bones and you can ill afford to give up the $200 hotel night, for example.

when we return it on the 31st, I assume we can taxi/uber to the airport.

Why wouldn't you return the car at the airport? That's what you would do in the US (if you drive and fly the same day.) It's terrifying to drive inside the city of Paris (and I drive in NYC twice a week!) But if you take a day away from paris, you could TGV back to downtown paris and take a cab or RER train to the airport the next day, for a last evening downtown.

Wow. Love the great advice. I take it that it’s not as big a deal to leave a car in a different spot from where you picked it up , like in the US.
As i think I mentioned. We have driven in Ireland and Italy.
So thanks again. We will probably just take the train back in to Paris as so many have advised.

Dropping a car in a different place is not a big deal. I know Hertz charges a fee-a fairly hefty one but that’s who we usually rent from as often they are the only ones who have a no deductible policy. We use AutoEurope.com.

We will be renting a car in Bayeux this fall, keeping it for 9 days with a drop in Orleans. Our drop fee is $168. Hertz is the only car rental available in Bayeux (I think!)

You’ve got me thinking though that we could go to Caen and pick up a car and then drop in Orleans. Might have to look at that!

Well-Caen only has cars from Sixt and they don’t offer the no deductible. We will go with the Bayeux option.

Well-Caen only has cars from Sixt and they don’t offer the no
deductible. We will go with the Bayeux option.

Caen has cars available from several agencies. Most are right across the street from the train station, but Hertz is just down the block, under the train tracks.

Interesting. Might have been affected by my dates since it won’t be until October. And, I looked at Autoeurope which may also affect the outcome. Thank you.

EDIT: Just tried again. Actually, I think it was the time of day I used, but still only got Hertz and Europecar as choices for the no deductible. Sixt was the other but they don’t offer the no deductible choice and we like that option.