Hi all. Many of you have helped me before, and my trip has evolved a lot. In my original itinerary, I wasn't driving. Now I am. I'm traveling this summer with my 13 year old son. The first half is pretty well set, but the second keeps evolving, and I need someone to set me straight. Even though this is for summer, things are already filling up, so I would really love to get this settled. I can't even properly book the rental car, because I keep changing the date and place on which I will give it back.
Arrive in Paris, taxi to train station, TGV to Normandie -- three nights in Bayeux. Will do a day long WWII tour, and see Honfleur, etc. Will pick up car our first morning there in Caen. Drive to:
Bretagne - two nights St. Malo. Explore Dinan, Cancel, etc. Drive to:
Mont St. Michel -- one night. Will probably get there later in the day and leave earlier in the morning. Drive to:
Loire Valley -- three nights in Amboise. Will stop in Fougere on the way there. See chateaux, etc. Drive to:
Vezelay and Semour-en-Auxois on way to Beaune.
--- THIS IS WHERE IT STARTS TO GET CONFUSING. My original plan was three nights in some combo of Beaune and Dijon, but especially after the sleepier stop in Amboise, I am fearing that Burgundy will not sustain his interest for three days. To be clear: we aren't expecting this to be a go-go-go city trip, and I would look for accommodation with a pool, and am not opposed to relaxing. But I still feel like this might not be the best idea. So, instead, perhaps:Beaune -- one night. We can check out Beaune the afternoon we arrive/a little the next morning and the next morning drive to Dijon (possibly stash the luggage somehow and do the Owl Walk), leave the car and take the train to Lyon?
Lyon (if we go) would be two nights. The Roman history and food are big plusses. It wouldn't be a lot of time because the day we leave, we would leave pretty early via train for Paris. Lyon was originally in my trip. Then it was out because everything was too rushed and it was too far away. But with the ability to take the TGV there direct from Dijon and the TGV direct from there to Paris .... maybe it makes more sense?
last two nights in Paris. This has evolved as well. My original plan was to get to Paris the day before our flight and spend the night at a CDG airport. I however have a hard time going to Paris without going to Paris and ultimately felt like we had two days at the end available once I decided to rent a car for other parts of our trip and ditched some of my earlier plans for stops. That said, we could add a day to Lyon and take a day away from Paris, but then the justification for staying overnight in the central city thins, but the ability to stash luggage all day before we go to CDG also becomes a logistical issue ...
Does any of this make sense? In case the night in Beaune makes no sense, here is my thinking. There is no good way to get from Amboise to Lyon. The drive is too long for me for a day. There isn't a direct train and I don't want to be switching trains with my luggage. This way, we get to see a teensy bit of Burgundy, plus the towns on the way there ... and then we are back in TGV land in terms of getting to Lyon and Paris.