loire, mt st michel, bayeux, rouen, paris

Mt ST Michel is fabulous. you will need a car. we stayed one night, get there early. do as Kent suggests.

We normally don't like to drive, although we will rent car from Amboise to get around efficiently to chateux. Will get GPS to help us out.

First choice was train from Loire to Mt. St. Michel, then train to Bayeux and get car again in Bayeux to efficiently see D-Day Sites and then train on to Rouen.

Getting the feeling train connections to Mt.St. Michel are not that convenient.

So would this work? Train from Amboise or Chinon to Bayeaux, see tapestry and city then then rent car for D-Day sites and carry on with car to Mt St Michel and spend the night and then drive back to Bayeux to drop off car and train on to Rouen. This is sort of doubling back though, and would consider this if training to Bayeux is better than Mt. St. Michel.

I suppose we could get car in Amboise and drive throughout Loire and Normandy, but thought it might be more relaxing to train that part of trip.

Any more thoughts? thanks in advance

WOAH! Kent is advising someone to DRIVE!!? It MUST be the best way! (just kidding around, Kent).

The best times to be at Mont St. Michel are when the daytrippers aren't there. Its probably hard to hit those times unless you drive and stay the night.

Driving will make this excursion so much easier, especially with a GPS. A hint - when you are ready to climb to the top of Mont St. Michel, go to the entrance around the corner to the left near the police office. The climb is much more wide open and the views are spectacular.

We stayed at this beautiful B&B less that 2 miles from MSM:http://pagesperso-orange.fr/bbnormandy/Welcome_at_Dax.htm

We did your route backwards once. Based on our experience I suggest keeping the car to get around Normandy, unless you don't want to explore or see the beaches and are sure of your train connections.

I also suggest spending the night on Mt St Michel (controversial since there are better cheaper options on the mainland) so as to enjoy the freedom of the place in the evening and morning.

Finally, depending on the timing of your drive I suggest a lunchtime stop in Fougeres on the way from the Loire to le Mont--gallettes and cider next to the ruins of the old chateau.

Whether or no, you can't really go wrong in the area--have a great trip!

looks like we should look into getting a rental in Amboise and keep it until at least after seeing beaches/cemetaries around Bayeux. Thank you all for your advice

We were there last October, arriving just at dusk for the most incredible sunset. We drove down from Bayeux (staying at an incredible b&b there) The shops were closing, so we didn't have much of an opportunity to shop, but were able to wander all over and get a sense of the majesty of Mont St. Michel. After spending a few hours looking around, we drove back to Bayeux...a very easy drive both directions, would highly recommend driving in the French countryside. After reading so many negative comments, we were amazed at how easy it was to get around. It felt like driving here in Oregon (okay, so we don't have the beautiful old chalets)
I hope you enjoy it as much as we did :)

Drive! The roads are great, the signs are clear, no problem. You will have the flexibility to go to the beaches, or the museum, or to Bayeaux for the incredible tapistry. We were in MSM in March, cold and windy. We stayed on the mainland. Few tourists so we walked to the island and wandered all over for several hours, toured the castle and left. The highway system is wonderful and so clean. I get Michelen maps but they are so detailed to be too much sometimes. We loved Ambrosie, Chenenceau, Cheverny (dogs!) and Chambord. Honfleur was nice too. Avoid major cities at rush hour - like here!