Overwhelmed. Mont St Michel/Normandy Area and travel plans Can you help?

My sister and family just went to Paris for a week in October. After much back and forth about renting a car they decided to take a Normandy day tour from Paris. It was a little pricey but worth it she said. They did Giverney by train, no problem. They also went to Verailles by train. They did not make it the MSM because of time.

Here's a possible way to arrange this itinerary. I have added a couple of other places of interest along the way, in case you would like some more stops. You can easily skip them, however.

Take a train to Saint Malo, a very interesting town. Rent a car there and start driving east. For some reason, Google maps is refusing to enter MSM, but it is about thirty miles east of Saint Malo. Using Google maps, enter these stops: Saint Malo, Dinan (slightly out of the way), MSM, Bayeux (tapestry), Honfleur, Etretat, Rouen (cathedral Monet painted), Les Andeleys (lovely situation on the Seine), Giverny. Not sure where you would return the rental car - two possibilities are Chartres, Versailles, For overnight stops, I would pick Saint Malo, Honfleur, Les Andeleys. I would not double back for another night at MSM. We thought it was loveliest viewed from a distance - lots of souvenir shops once you get on the island.

Mont-Saint-Michel and Étretat are on opposite ends of Normandy (3-hour drive). And Giverny is even further from MSM, and closer to Paris than either Étretat or MSM. Although MSM is technically in Normandy, it is practically in Brittany (right across the river). So in my mind it makes no sense to leave MSM in the far Southwest of Normandy, drive to the far Northeast of Normandy, and then drive back. If you really want two nights in MSM (most people don't), make them consecutive. MSM is wonderful, and I have been twice. But I'd almost consider it a separate destination from the other sites in Normandy.
Bayeux, and the landing beaches of D-day in Normandy are maybe half-way between the destinations you mention, and may be something you'd be interested in seeing en route depending on your interests.

Ah! Okay, now we are getting somewhere. I agree, all that back and forth travelling doesn't make any sense. I may be making it al overly complicated and be trying to add too many things in. In doing some more research it looks like maybe taking a train out of Paris to Renne and then getting a car might work? Then explore those areas and take a train back in to Paris

Here's an alternative.

Take the Eurostar to Lille and rent a car. Drive to Etretat and Honfleur and spend the night there.

Then spend the day touring the coast, with a possible stop in Bayeux, ending up at MSM in the afternoon.

The next day you can return the car, and catch the train, in Rennes.

See Giverny as a half-day trip from Paris, by train.

Another piece of the plan to consider:
The Hotel Churchill in Bayeux runs a shuttle to MSM in the morning, gives you 3 hrs there, and then drives you back for 65 euros. We found it was enough time at MSM.
http://www.hotel-churchill.fr/en/shuttle-bayeux.html

If I am reading this right- you would like to see MSM, the Normandy beaches? and Giverny? maybe Honfleur?
You have 2 nights for all of that??

You also have a week in Paris.
It sounds like you are not really comfortable at all with the thought of driving. So maybe don’t?

Prioritize, because you are a bit all over the map.

I’m planning our France trip now, so these are just suggestions from what I have researched. We’ve been to Paris but not Normandy/MSM.

Is staying in MSM 2 nights important?

Get a map or use Google Maps.
Forget the rental car.
Take Eurostar to Paris (arrive Gare du Nord) then train to Bayeux (leave Gare Saint-Lazare)
Stay in Bayeux 3 nights.

Bayeux Shuttle has shuttle/tours to MSM, Normandy beaches, etc. They get very good reviews.
http://www.bayeuxshuttle.com
1 day do Normandy beach tour, next day do MSM shuttle

You mentioned Honfleur and Etretat. Honfleur is 2+hours from MSM. Not a day trip. Etretat is 3 hours.

Take train back to Paris from Bayeux for your week stay.
Do a day trip to Giverny from Paris. I know that is very easy ;)

You could also consider taking a direct flight from London to Rennes or Dinard, it allows to arrive directly in Brittany, relatively close to Mont St Michel. You could hire a car, visit Normandy and for example drop off your car in Rouen before taking a train to Paris.

Okay, lots of good thoughts here.  Perhaps I am trying to cram too much in to my timetable.  Now that I am clear on how far apart everything is, I think some adjustments need to be made.  We are in London the 23rd until the morning of the 29th.  We could either take the eurostar to Paris and then get a train out from there, or fly direct to Rennes and go from there. (less expensive than eurostar and train from paris to Rennes) If we take the train from Paris we would still stop in Rennes.  What do any of you know about Rennes?  Are there things we would like to explore there?  I'll have to do some research.  We could meander Rennes for a few hours then take a bus on to MSM and get settled in there for the night.  We have two nights booked there. I know everyone says you don't need much time there.  I don't know though. We could change that, but I have looked at it as such a magical place for such a long time, and I want hours to wander and walk around it at sunrise and sunset and sit in a cafe and relax and walk for miles.  I must admit though, I'd really like to see another part of Normandy.  Le Havre, Etretat, Omaha beach, and Giverny are all on my list but they are so far from MSM I don't think they make sense. Are there any other villages anyone would recommend that we could go to during our second day there and then return to MSM that night?  Thoughts?  Thanks so much!!

Seems like your guidebooks and maps aren't giving you much help. MSM is actually, as pointed out in posts above, closer to Brittany than it is to the heart of Normandy. There are many possible lovelies and interestings between MSM and St-Malo that are easier to reach than the Normandy spots you have in mind. If, as another poster pointed out, you can fly to Dinard, do that as it puts you close to MSM. With your short period of time, you may have to give up Normandy in your 2 days allotted. You can make an easy visit to Giverny as a day trip from Paris.

My personal preference is to get close by train then use a car. I took a train to Rennes and rented a car from a rental agent at the station. After looking around Rennes, which has a very large medieval center, I drove to Etretat area and stayed a night. After that I skipped Honfleur (only because I'd see port towns in Brittany later), drove to Bayeux then MSM. I recall MSM was an hour and a half drive from Bayeux but can't recall other driving times. I'd plan at least one more night in the area. Then turn in your rental car, in either Bayeux or Caen, the next morning. Train back to Paris stopping at Vernon/Giverny on the way. It's on the same train route as the Normandy stops. You can hop off, visit Giverny, then catch a later train into Paris from there.

As far as driving goes, the roads are fine and fairly easy to navigate. The only difficulty I had was with toll booths. They always seemed to be a little difficult with my American cards. Most times a second try worked. Once, only once, after trying everything in my wallet twice, I had to pay cash. It's good to keep some cash on hand. Getting gas won't be an issue at any staffed gas station. Ask your hotel where to fill up. You can also fill up at the rest stops on the A routes, they're always staffed (but cost a little more).

Since Mont-St-Michel is so critical to you, I'd focus my time in that area. I would not go to the D-Day area just to wander around for a few hours. For me--unless you are a military historian yourself--it's an all-day van tour or nothing. The tours are so much more efficient and informative than trying the do-it-yourself approach.

As Brad said, Rennes has a sizable historic district, definitely worth some wandering-around time. I found St-Malo so incredibly touristy that a few hours there were enough. Dinard (across the river from St. Malo was a bit less touristy. I also liked Dinan and the very picturesque Vitre and Fougeres. The latter two seemed to have fewer tourists, and very few Americans. I did all my traveling by train and bus, but I had considerably more time in the area than you do, so you'll need to pick and choose.

As for time on Mont-St-Michel: I've never been there so this is not based on experience, but I think you'll find two nights unnecessary. Go to Google Maps, enter Mont-Saint-Michel and zoom in. The entire Mont is not much larger than 500' by 500'. It's not that it would be unpleasant (at least in early morning and evening when the day-trippers are gone) to be there for 1-1/2 days; it's that the time you spend walking the same very short streets over and over could instead be spent seeing some additional places.

" I found St-Malo so incredibly touristy that a few hours there were enough. Dinard (across the river from St. Malo was a bit less touristy."

How the times change. 15 years ago, I stayed over a week in St-Malo (outside the walls) and made day trips from there so the few tourists were gone by the time I got back. This, too, was before Doerr's book "All the Light We Cannot See" which has probably been a tourist magnet. I spent hours in Cancale eating fresh-shucked oysters to my heart's content.

I'll chime back in again. I have been to Normandy seven times, and Mont-Saint-Michel during two of those trips. My recent trip was last September. I took a train from Paris to Rennes as you suggested, rented a car there, but left it at the Hertz office and walked into Rennes. I spent a lovely few hours there walking the half-timbered old section of Rennes, and having a nice lunch at a café in an old, open square. Afterwards I drove to the American Cemetery at St. James en route to MSM (not to be confused with the cemetery above Normandy beach, but very stirring and contemplative with fewer visitors). Then I drove to MSM for the late afternoon/evening. After a nice dinner overlooking the bay, and spent the night on the island. The next morning I had breakfast on the island, walked out the causeway to take more photos, and was among the first visitors when they opened the Abbey in the morning.
Both times I went to Mont-Saint-Michel, I only spent one day/night. It is a wonderful place—particularly early and late. But I can't imagine being there over two nights. There really isn't a "sitting in a café" culture there. Just mobs of tourists during the day, and quiet and contemplative in the evening. I left MSM the next morning and drove to Avranches for a nice lunch and walk-around before driving to my place in Bayeux for two days. Avranches was a great stop-over, and it has historical connection to MSM. The rest of Normandy, particularly the Normandy beaches, is my true love, and a topic for many other posts on this forum. I have not yet been to Honfleur, Giverny, or Rouen. But there will be more visits to Normandy...

Hello there,
If you're interrest, I went to Brittany with my wife a year ago to see the Mont Saint Michel mostly.
We choose to base in a small town called Dol de Bretagne. It's a charming little city, medieval looking, and most importantly close to everything.
If I remenber well, it's at 20 minutes from Dinan and Saint-malo (by train) which are beautiful cities with castle for Dinan and huge ramparts facing the seas for Saint-Malo. You're at 20 minutes from Mont Saint-Michel (by bus) as well and you probably can rent a bike to go there if you want to. It's near Combourg too, where stand the castle of Chateaubriand.
Dol itself is a town worth visiting, its cathedral, its dolmen site (I think it's called "Menhir du chant dolant" or something), its streets...
If you're not sure about renting a car it could be the perfect place for you. It'd been for us that's for sure!