Normandy to Paris & beyond by car

Are you doing this all in one day? From Bayeux (in Normandy) to Giverny and on to Paris, is about 3 1/2 hours of driving time. You can use the website www.viamichelin.com to calculate the time and cost. It would be a really full day to tour the Normandy area then visit Giverny and then on to Paris. So, it would be good to know how much time (how many days) you are planning.

When you say Normandy, what area of it do you mean? It is quite a large region that includes Giverny. For example, you could be driving to Paris from the D-Day beaches, Caen, Bayeux, Deauville, Le Havre, Rouen, etc. and people might suggest different highlights depending on the your departure point.

We'll be staying two days at Chateau de Sully in Burgandy and touring the D-Day highlights in Normandy. Never having been in France, I had no idea the Normandy area was so spread out. We leave the Chateau the next morning for Paris with a stop at Giverny. Since we'll have a driver, I'm thinking this can't be a very long drive and maybe they'll be other sights heading to Giverny and from there to Paris.

Chateau de Sully is lovely place in the Calvados department in Lower Normandy. I was thrown for loop for a second when you said Burgundy because that would be a long drive to Normandy. You could stop in Bayeux and see the Bayeux Tapestry and/or the Cathedral unless you did that while staying at Chateau de Sully. Have you purchased a map of France so that you can orient yourself? As mentioned up thread, you can get a sense of the length of the drive from viamichelin.com. Without stops, it is about 3 hours to Paris from the hotel.

I've heard about the tapestry would definitely like to see it. What can you tell me about the Chateau?

I have not stayed at the Chateau so I know only about the restaurant and the grounds. The food is good with a strong emphasis on fresh local produce but for the price I expected absolute perfection -- like best meal ever perfection and it was not that. Lunch for one was in the range of 60 euros which I do not usually spend for food for one person so I may have expected too much. The location is absolutely beautiful with wonderful manicured outdoor areas. I happen to really enjoy looking at and walking in gardens and landscaping and did not ask to see a room. I like formal landscapes just as much as informal but if you want an informal place, this would not be the one. The restaurant might be Michelin starred -- I don't remember -- but I would not be surprised if that is the case.

I consider the Bayeux Tapestry to be a must-see. When you mention a "tour," I wonder whether your driver is contracted only for the specific Giverny/Paris itinerary, or a certain number of hours, or whether you have the flexibility to request other stops en-route, which the travel agent should clarify.

We left Arromanches (near Bayeaux) around 8:30 and got to Giverny around 11:30. We did a few more back roads getting on to CDG from Giverny as I wanted to stay away from the bulk of the city, so that took a few more hours.