Normandy for 1 night two days - or 1 night in Mont Saint Michel - 1 day in Normandy?

chris.borsheim ,,

whats more important to you?

Just so you know, you can spend a good part of a day or all day at Mont St. Michel (MSM). That will kill a lot of your time in Normandy.

When i was there i had a personal guided tour of the USA sectors in the Normandy area and i didnt see everything. i took the shuttle from Bayeux to MSM and it was about an all day try that started 0800?.

to me, i would leave MSM for another day. but thats up to you.

happy trails.

If this is your first trip to Paris, I'd just spend another night in Paris. 4 nights is 3 full days. Only one night in Normandy is just not enough to get much out of it. I would also not do MSM during tourist season; we went in October and it was lovely to not have to fight the crowds. It has so little space that dozens of tour buses must make it a living nightmare in high season. You can see our visit to Mont St. Michel and to Bayeux here:
http://janettravels.wordpress.com/category/normandy/
If I was going to spend just one day in Normandy and not even take enough time to do a full day tour of the landing beaches, I'd probably do MSM though.

We loved Normandy in October, but we had 5 nights 4 full days to enjoy it. Paris itself offers so many wonderful things to see and do -- and there are literally dozens of wonderful day trips by train within an hour of Paris, that I would not make the trek to Normandy if I only had one night. You can also see some day trips in the Paris area to give a bit of the rural on my photo journal.

I suggest that you use the search box here (top center) to read some of the many posts on those two destinations - particularly the frequent question, Can I see the D-Day Beaches in a same-day runout from Paris?

Because you don't mention uncles or parents who fought in Normandy, perhaps you don't have the personal connection that prompts many to spend multiple days here, but it's hard to even do a cursory visit in less than a full day of daylight. (What month of the year ....?) There are so many D-Day locations that you are right to rent a car. Do you know there is more to Normandy than the U.S. invasion? You didn't mention the Bayeux Tapestry or the coastal port cities.

You should allow more than the Google Maps time to get to MSM, maybe up to double if in the summer. What we're telling you is that it's a three or four hour project just to drive past the Alligator Farm and jam shops, park in the big lot, take the shuttle bus or walk the causeway, walk up the steep medieval streets to the abbey, climb the steps inside the abbey, fight the medieval crowds, eat lunch, and get back to the car. Then you have to add time for looking at things you enjoy, or watching the tide come in/out, or detours that interest you. Personally, I didn't have a transcendent experience there, so I think as much time is needed at MSM as many posters here do ... (that Search box I mentioned.)

I also agree that if this is your first time in France that Paris is worth more than four nights. One of Rick's principles: "Assume you'll return."

7 years ago, I spent one night in Bayeux and one night in MSM. It wasn't enough time; we should have spent an additional night in Bayeux or added a stop in Honfleur.

If you have only one night, I'd go for Versailles or Giverny and Honfleur, saving Normandy for another time.

Another possibility is Epernay; it's only a 2 hour drive back to CDG. We had a great dinner at Brasserie La Banque.

Hi Chris. We did almost the exact itinerary you suggest last week. I think it is doable and worth it. We took the train to Bayeux, arriving around noon. We had lunch in the square, toured the cathedral, saw the Bayeux tapestry, then picked up a rental car and headed to Mont St Michel around 3:30. It takes about an hour and a half to get to Mont St Michel if you take the autoroute, 2 hours if you take the back roads. We arrived at the Mont around 5:00 as all the tourist buses were leaving. (We passed them on the way in!) The last tour of the abbey is at 6, so we hustled up there first thing. No lines and we had the place to ourselves -- although, unfortunately, the audio tours had already closed for the night. We had reserved a hotel room on the Mont because we wanted to experience it without the crowds, but you could stay on the mainland and just have an over priced dinner on the Mont. The crowds are gone by 7, the restaurants stay open until 9 or so. We got up early and drove back to the Normandy beaches before returning the car and taking the 2:45 train back to Paris. We loved Mont St Michel, and the drive was totally worth it, but we are traveling with kids, who are less enthralled by D-Day sites. One piece of advice -- there seems to be only one rental car place in Bayeux. It is a Hertz and it is located in a gas station just outside of the center if town. Our taxi driver knew exactly how to get there, but we had a moment of doubt ("really?? THIS is the Hertz car rental."). But in fact it was totally fine and the woman at the counter spoke English. I hear the car rental situation is much more accessible in Caen -- but Bayeux is so pretty, that we decided to skip going to Caen and try our luck with our high school French in Bayeux. Good luck! If you go to Mont St Michel, I definitely recommend going after hours. Just don't get there so late that you miss touring the Abbey.

Remember if you do decide to get a car in Bayeux or Caen that these agencies keep limited hours. The Caen rental closes down for 2 hours at lunch so if you arrive there at noon for pick up you cool your heels in nowheresville for a couple of hours; I would assume it is even more so in Bayeux. They are also likely to close early, to not be open on weekends etc etc. So be sure you have a schedule that gets you there in time to pick up the car.

I would also have no regrets about just sticking to Paris and an easier daytrip to Versailles or other chateau. If you are taking the train to Caen, etc., why not leave earlier, to make the most of this limited time, and to arrive before the car agents close for lunch? I was also wondering why you wouldn't just take the train to Pontorson-MSM (4 hours from Paris) if that's your first destination. However, KG's report above is positive, train tickets to Caen are cheaper, and a 2-day car rental might be the same price as a 1-day.

Hi,
let me warn you, Normandy, the county of Normandy is huge.

wayne iNWI