where would you suggest a town to stay for two days that we could travel to Mont St Michel as well as the beaches of Normandie.
Try staying in Mont St. Michel- you can appreciate it better early in the morning and at night when the mobs of day-trippers have returned to Paris. You can easily drive to the beaches in about an hour.
We stayed in Bayeux at the Logis les Remparts and was very please with the town and B& B. Battle Bus tours of the Normandy Beaches are also located there.
http://www.lecornu.fr/homeEN.html
Bayeux is a very nice town.
Last year I stayed in Rouen and had a blast. It wasn't too far by car to any of the sites or other cities we visited like Honfleur and Giverny. Bayeux is another great choice. It is my favorite city thus far that is so cute and quaint. It is only 6 miles from the beaches by car and about 1h30min drive to Mon St-Michel. I am staying in Bayeux actually this year as well.