Normandy itinerary

Honfleur could be done as a stop enroute to a Rouen. It's only an hour from Bayeux, then another hour to Rouen. So I'd recommend 1 night in MSM, 2 nights in Bayeux, and 1-2 nights in Rouen (depending on how much you want to see there. )

I agree with CJean!

I agree with the gist of the earlier responses.

The D-Day tour is a full day. There's a lot to see in Bayeux itself (tapestry, excellent invasion museum, cathedral, old town), and you might catch the walking tour organized by the tourist office. I spent a full day in Bayeux.

You'd need to get an early start and step lively to cover Honfleur and Rouen in one day. I remember an interesting small museum in Honfleur and three museums in Rouen, plus the walking-around time. Rouen's (rebuilt post-war) historic center is gorgeous. Three days is 4 nights and I haven't mentioned Mont-St-Michel. It seems to me you really need 5 nights, but I travel by train and bus, so I don't have a great sense of how fast you can move with your own car. Of course, I also don't know how much time can be required to find a place to park said car.

We'll be taking the train to Rouen from Paris and renting the car there. So it looks like 4 nights with 5 days. Thanks everyone. So, now I"m thinking, 1 night in Honfleur, 1 night in Bayeux, 1 night in Aranches, & 1 night on MSM. Drive back to Rouen, drop off the car and take the train back to Paris.

Four nights doesn't give you five days. It gives you three days and some hours on the day you arrive in Normandy. No hours on the day you leave unless you hang around for a while before you head back to Paris.

Thanks everyone. So, now I"m thinking, 1 night in Honfleur, 1 night in Bayeux, 1 night in Aranches, & 1 night on MSM. Drive back to Rouen, drop off the car and take the train back to Paris.

This makes you move between hotels a lot.
Honfleur is easily visited in 2-3 hours on your way from Rouen to Bayeux, so I would skip the Honfleur night and spend it in Bayeux.
I would also skip the Avranches night and either add it to Bayeux, or to Rouen at the end.

I believe there is a myth that all of old Rouen was rebuilt after the war. Yes, there was damage, and a few buildings in the old quarter were damaged or destroyed, but the bulk of the damage and destruction was down by the river and the industrial areas. The RS guide book and his videos makes it seem like everything you are looking at is a reconstruction, and that is just incorrect. There are many old buildings and churches that are basically as they were pre-war.

sue, PharmaPhil is so right! Rouen seems to not get its props! The cathedral and old town are beautiful. I don't think Rick Steves gives it as much respect as it deserves. And acraven is correct on times. Four nights gives you three full days and maybe two partial days. Perhaps you might have a rethink on your itinerary, allowing for travel times between places, checking in and out of lodging, finding parking, etc. Five nights minimum is required for what you want to do, in my opinion. Whatever you decide, have a great trip!

Thanks, PharmerPhil, that's good to know. Rouen is really stunning.

I plan to visit Normandy from Paris, but with only one overnight. My initial thought is to get to Bayeux and take a 1/2 day D-day tour, spend the night in Bayeux then travel to St. Milo and Mont St. Michel the next day, returning to Paris that evening. I read that tours meet in the morning at the train station in Bayeux, so no car needed for that portion. I'd appreciate any advice or recommendations on these options: (a) early train Paris to Bayeux, rent a car in Bayeux to travel the second day, return car in Bayeux and hop back on train to Paris versus (b) renting car in Paris and driving to/from Bayeux. One the one hand it sounds nice to have a car for the whole trip, on the other hand I've never rented a car in Paris and the logistics may be considerable?? Or the train may be so convenient
and/or affordable that it's well worth it. I'd love to hear any pros/cons. Thanks in advance!

159 nimitz, please start our own thread. Your situation is very different from Sue's.

Go here: https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/france and click on "Start a new Topic".

Please allow us to help you. I think you're trying to do too much in the time you have available.

What acraven said.