Paris to Normandy to Bastogne to Paris?

Hello Juan,
Thank you for your interest in Rick Steves' Europe. You could do this itinerary in 16 days. The Ardennes is next to Bastogne. A sample itinerary could look like this...
Paris 5-6 days
Normandy 2 days (you could day trip to see Mont Saint Michel near Normandy)
Bastogne/ Ardennes region 2-3 days
-You would likely have time to stop in Verdun on your way back to Paris from Bastogne to check out some WWI monuments... and/ or take a few days to check out Bruges.
The train from Normandy to Bastogne would be 7-8hours and a lot of train changes.
If you drive keep in mind that if you drop the car outside of the rental country you will be charged large fees. There can also be road tolls, high gas prices and traffic infraction cameras ready to take your info and give you a big ticket when you get home. So factor these aspects into your budget when you price your transportation. I hope this helps!

As a military history buff you can include Waterloo near Brussels, next year the new visitor centre will be opened. (around the 18th of June there will be lots of activities as the battle will have its bicentenary then, loads of crowds expected though. www.waterloo2015.org and www.waterloo1815.be (select English))

To my opinion you can start with 2 days in Paris and if its not a hassle to arrange it, to decide during the trip how many days you want to spend at the end of it there, giving more room for visits to (the) other places. I think the 16 days will be for your suggested planning enough, but a lot of unknown things will certainly trigger your interest once on the move, so flexibility will get the best out of it.

Welcome! In in my opinion, you have plenty of time to spend a couple days in Paris at the beginning of your trip as well. This would help you get over your jet lag before you drive. Normandy is beautiful, have fun

Just want to thanks everyone who responded. I'm really excited about the trip, ans the planning always seems to be as much fun for me as the trip itself.

I'll be back with some additional questions.

Again, Merci!
JM

Hi,

If you decide to go to Waterloo, which I heartily suggest depending upon your level of historical interest, go by car to do the place justice. You'll need to spend at least a day and half in order to track down the monuments, plaques, the farm house, etc. With a car I only had seven hours and felt rushed.

Depending on how much time you're putting into Belgium and the Ardennes, see Dinant and Sedan. North of the Somme is the Great War museum in Peronne, ...that place you need the car to get to, and also the war museum in Meaux.

Good that in Normandie you'll have the car to see the towns, such as Bayeux and Caen (and Villers Bocage) and their respective museums on WW II. The sites in the area west of Bayeux you'll need the car. You plan this trip well, organise it logistically, you can be sure you'll get to many, many of the war sites.