Northern France travel ideas for 9 to 10 days

We visited much of these cities while in France this past spring, but not quite as long. If you decide to take the Eurostar from London; you can take it to Lille and pick up your rental car there. It's not very expensive to return the car to a different location but within France.

I highly suggest 3 nights in Bayeux as it is so charming and close to all of the WW2 sites. We also stayed a couple of nights in Rouen.
Driving between Rouen and Bayeux we drove and stopped at several small villages on the cider route, and spent the afternoon in Honfluer. Made for a lovely day. For our visit to Mont St. Michel we stayed in Pontorson for one night, but it would also be fun to stay on MSM or make it a day trip from Bayeux. We only used Lille as a stop to drop off our rental car and then take the train to Belgium, so I can't speak to it beyond that.

Most efficient is taking the Eurostar to Lille and pick up the car there. Both Calais and Dunkirk are not really of interest, unless there is a specific reason. Dunkirk is best known for the blockbuster or also as Operation Dynamo. Close to the beach is a little museum and a monument commemorating the evacuation. But damaged heavily during WW2, but if you are looking for that both cities miss the charm to make them worth visiting to my opinion.

Further WW2 related places of interest are La Coupole and Le Blockhaus, two former V2 launch bases near Saint-Omer west of Lille. Closer to the coast are the four huge gun batteries near Audinghen, one of them is a museum. If WW1 is of interest Vimy Ridge north of Arras and the battle fields around Albert and mainly the Somme east of Amiens. You can also think about visiting Ypres / Ieper in Belgium too, not that far from Lille.

Lille is certainly a charming place to walk around. It’s a mix of French and Belgian architecture,the latter especially in Vieux-Lille with it’s cobbled streets. There is a huge museum of Fine Arts and an annex of the Louvre in Lens south of Lille.

Depending the route you want to follow both Arras and Amiens are worth a stop. The first for it’s unique two main squares and the latter for it’s famous cathedral and adjacent charming streets.

Driving along the coast:

Cap Blanc Nez for it’s magnificent views, you can see the White Cliffs of Dover if the weather is clear.

Boulogne-sur-Mer has still it’s medieval walls. The historical part of the town is not ouststanding, neverhteless worth a stop in case you are in the neighbourhood.

Le-Touquet-Paris-Plage, the seafront is ugly but found it charming around the casino. It’s a bit faded glory but the old fashioned villa’s give an idea how it once was.

Saint-Valerie-sur-Somme, lovely little sea resort at the Bay of the Somme, there is a steam train too.

The best part of the Atlantic coast north of the Seine is to my opinion around Étretat with tiny but very lovely places like Plage de Saint-Pierre-en-Port, Yport and Vaucottes. The coastal road between Fécamps and Étretat is very scenic. And if you like hiking, there are many stunning views along the trails on top of the cliffs.

Have to say this part of France with some exceptions is not the most outstanding, but with good planning, depending your interests a worthwhile itinerary is certainly possible. Places like Rouen, Bayeux and MSM are much discussed here, so I keep my contribution limited to what is to see north of the Seine.

I suggest also Amiens, Lille, Arras, Albert, plus Soissons, Cambrai, Compiegne, St. Quentin and Maubeuge, if your historical interests lie in WW1, all these towns were battle field areas with various degrees of devastation.

"...not typically in guide books." ....Bravo ! These places fit that description.

lindawk,
I can't speak to the cities north of the Seine, but the route between Bayeux and Rouen is lovely (along the smaller roads). It often follows right next to the river. At Villequier, for instance, there is the Victor Hugo Museum. Best of all is following the Route des Abbayes, with several Abbey ruins to explore. The Abbaye de Jumiege is spectacular.
Bayeux, as stated above is worth two full days, one for the town with its cathedral and tapestry and museum, and one full one, at least, for driving around to some of the beaches and museums. Some here can easily spend a week there, but I haven't felt the need to visit every beach and museum and cemetery. What you choose to see depends on your interests. I do highly recommend visiting the American cemetery later in the day and being there for the flag-lowering ceremony. It is very moving. And since you will be in the area, be sure to see Mont St Michel. There are hints on this forum for the best way to avoid the most crowded times. In spite of the crowds, it is unique, and you should see it once in your lifetime.
With your time frame, I would head straight for Rouen for 2 nights, then Bayeux for 3 nights, then Mont St Michel for 1 night. Since you mention Amboise, I take it you want to visit the Loire Valley. Amboise is recommended by Rick, so gets a lot of visitors. There are any number of places to stay in the Loire area. I would probably opt for 2 nights in the western end to visit Chenonceaux and 1 or 2 more chateaux, then head toward Orleans or Chartres for the last 2 nights. Then off to the CDG for the night before the flight home.

To recap:
Nights of Aug 1 and 2 - Rouen
Nights of Aug 3, 4, 5 -Bayeux
Night of Aug 6 -Mont St Michel
Nights of Aug 7 and 8 -Loire Valley (Amboise?)
Nights of Aug 9 and 10 - Orleans or Chartres
Night of Aug 11 -CDG hotel

This, of course, doesn't allow for stopping at say, Honfleur or Entretat. You will have to research a bit to pick and choose your must-sees and eliminate what you can't fit in. I try to avoid the autoroutes if I can so as to enjoy the countryside more, but drive times are slower. It's up to you. Have fun planning! Amusez-vous bien!

P.S. The drive from Mt St Michel to Amboise will probably be your longest one, as well as your first day's drive, depending on where you start.

I'm just back from a 4 night, 3 full day, stay in Amboise so will respond a bit to that. Above advice is great!

Amboise itself has 3 chateaux that are all visited - Royal Chateau, Clos de Luce (DaVinci's final home), Galliiard. The last is newer as a tourist site - smaller and less well known than many of the more prominent chateaux of the Loire. I enjoyed it - the garden was designed by a prominent figure of the time, Mary Queen of Scots honeymooned there, first orangery in France - so there is some history. However, I think most would agree that the site pales a bit in comparison to the larger Loire chateaux such as Chambord or Chenonceau. Spending one day wandering Amboise and seeing two (or 3) of the chateaux is easily done - compact central area. I would agree with anyone who finds Amboise "touristy", but that didn't impact my enjoyment. I don't know what crowd levels to expect in August.

If you are interested in the chateaux of the Loire, they do differ and travelers have many different interests. I found the Michelin Green Guide to the Loire Valley very helpful 40 years ago on my first trip to the area and still found it helpful for planning last month's trip. There are also online guides. Taking a look at some might give you an idea of what appeals to you - monumental architecture, furnished interiors, gardens, etc. Lots of options that are in close proximity.

I know you said that you wanted to end in Paris, but I wanted to mention that there is a train from Tours St Pierre-des-Corps station that ends at CDG Terminal 2. Car rental agency directly across from the station. Not everyone is aware of that as an option when in the Loire Valley and think they must return to Paris to easily access the airport. Of course, driving to CDG and dropping off there is also an option depending on your final itinerary.

I would concur that staying in Bayeux for at least a couple of days (making side trips) is worthwhile. The Bayeux Tapestry is well worth a visit, and the city has a nice church. If you are into farmers' markets they have a nice one in the city. It is a very walkable town. If you have time, I agree that you should make a trip to Mont Saint Michel. Peter

If you are defining Northern France from north of the Seine straight up to the Franco-Belgian border, this is one area of France I find captivating, intriguing, as regards culturally, sociologically, and above all, historically. You get a different feel here, the Somme region and Nord Pas-de-Calais.

Over the years I have spent a good deal of vacation time here, an area totally off the US tourist/visitor radar. The only anglophones I've seen are British and Canadian visitors in bus groups. Visitors here , if any, are local. The urban centers Amiens, Arras, and Lille gets the British visitors.

Choose among the small places if time permits, ie, Cambrai, Douai, Albert, Lens, Bethune , Peronne (since you are motorised).

Hoping we might get some suggestions for France that are not typically in the guide book

Borrow the RS guidebook and Fodors guides from the library, take note of the Normandy cities/towns mentioned. Then buy the Michelin Green Guide to Normandy which covers in varying detail just about every town of tourist interest in Normandy. Visit the ones from the Michelin guide not mentioned in the other two. Voila!