Traveling from London to Normandy then Paris. Help with planning.

Posted by jojolew (Memphis) on 01/27/25 11:29 PM

My husband and I are planning a trip for September beginning in England and ending in Paris. We'll spend the first week in England then plan on taking the Eurostar across the channel. My tentative plans are:
Day 1. taking the train to Lille and renting a car there then drive to Honfleur for the first night. (Is this better that going in to Paris first?)
Day 2. Exploring Honfleur the next morning and exploring while driving to Bayeux.
Day 3. Doing a full day tour of the area
Day 4. Revisiting a few places where we'd like to spend more time
Day 5. going to Mont St. Michel

I'd like to go to Mont St Michel so should we stay another night in Bayeux or move closer to MSM? Then we want to drive back via Chartres, probably turn the car in there and spend the night before going to Paris the next day.
This puts us at 1 night in Honfleur, 2 or 3 nights in Bayeux, maybe a night around MSM and 1 night in Chartres. What do y'all think? (and yes, I live in the southern USA)

Posted by CJean

Ontario, Canada

01/27/25 11:56 PM

5691 posts

Sounds reasonable. But I'd spend a night either on MSM, or beside it on the mainland. Time things so you can spend the evening and early morning hours there, thus escaping most of the day trippers.

Posted by KD

01/28/25 01:11 AM

1026 posts

It sounds fabulous. We did that part of France trip last spring (except the other way around). Picking up a car is very convenient at the Lille train station. Without knowing if your Day 1 falls on a Sunday, keep in mind that car rental pick up/drop off time is very limited hours. Any other day is very easy and normal hours.

Driving is so easy in that part of France. The roads are nicely paved and green rolling hills everywhere. Driving to Lille from Rouen, we encountered a couple of toll roads; just tap in and out with your credit card.

If you have time on your drive from Honfluer to Bayeux (Bayeux is so charming and a great place to stay) stop at one of the villages along the cider route, such as Beauvron-en-Auge. Make sure your accommodations in Bayeux has parking.

We did not stay on MSM, so we stayed in Pontorson; a very short drive to MSM.

Don't forget to pick up an International Driver's Permit at AAA before your departure. It's really to show to law enforcement in the unlikely event, but our car rental agency asked to see it as well.

Enjoy!!!

Posted by Cat VH

London

01/28/25 07:24 PM

75 posts

This itinerary sounds lovely. I definitely agree with CJean- staying overnight on MSM is absolutely magical, you have the island basically to yourself in the evening, and in the morning you can get up and walk along the sand. It's expensive but I think it's worth it.

While Lille is further away from Honfleur than Paris, I personally wouldn't want to rent a car/drive in Paris so I think what you are doing makes sense. Beyond what's already been mentioned, there's also a very good WWIII museum in Caen if you're interested in that, plus obviously the D-Day beaches. One of my favourite parts of being in Normandy was having dinner in lovely little towns in the Pays d'Auge, like Cambremer. Good luck with your planning!

Posted by jojolew OP

Memphis

01/29/25 03:03 AM

24 posts

Thank you all for your responses. I decided to take the train to Lille because it’s a hour less than to Paris but the drive from Lille is an hour longer so it’s a wash plus no Paris traffic!
It looks like we might arrive in MSM on Sunday afternoon. Is that a problem with services or anything? Any recommendations for where to stay on the island? We do need a larger bed but I imagine it’s hard to find an American king size.