Bonjour,
This is our tentative itinerary for a trip to France in August for 10 days. Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions of what to see and how long to stay in each place or skip a place altogether is much appreciated. We are renting a car so we are flexible. Want to spend a few days in Paris at the end of our trip.
Arrive Paris by train
Chartres
LeMans
Rennes
Mont St. Michel
Bayeux
Paris
Do you mean you want to see the six listed places, including Paris, in ten days? Have you been to Paris before? Or do you want to allocate ten days to the five places you've listed other than Paris?
If you have just ten days for the whole France trip, and haven't been to Paris before, I'd suggest spending most the time in Paris, with a day trip to Chartres, and, if you really want, an overnight to Bayeux. No car necessary -- Chartres and Bayeux are easy train rides -- unless you want one in Bayeux to visit the beaches or elsewhere.
If you mean ten days for the five non-Paris locations, it still seems like a rushed trip. I haven't been to LeMans or Rennes so I can't help you with them. I'd suggest the train to Chartres, rent the car there, and drive to the rest, planning to spend one night at MSM and at least one or two in Bayeux. Then drop the car in Bayeux or nearby Caen (where the rental office is near the station) to train back to Paris.
1) Continue by Train to Chartres, see the cathedral and spend the night.
2) Drive to Rennes, stopping in LeMans for a few hours. I'm not sure what you want to do in Rennes, but I'll assume you want to spend 2 or 3 nights. Otherwise you could just drive to MSM.
3) Spend the night at MSM, on the island. Note: It is not to early to think about reserving a room for August.
4) Drive to Bayeux for 2-3 nights. D-day beaches, tapestry, cathedral.
5) Drive or take the train to Paris. (I'd opt for the train.) No less than 3 nights in Paris
I don't know what your priorities are or why you selected these cities, but I think the itinerary works better if you go from Chartres right to MSM, with a late lunch in Fougeres. Then you've got 8 days to divide between Bayeux and Paris, and you've covered a lot of ground without going crazy.
If Rennes really is a priority, another option would be to continue on by train (they are fast) and leave an extra day to see Chartres as a day trip from Paris. it works very well as a day trip.
