We've been thinking of spliting a nine day visit to France between the Loire Valley and Normandy. I thought 3 days in Blois and then driving up to Mont Saint Michel and the D-Day beaches via Rennes and Digne. Then Harfleur and Rouen. Is that too ambitious? Should we choose one or the other? And if so, which?
Posted by
Anaheim, CA, USA
1455 posts
John, I was there last week for 10 days and we did a one night trip to Normandy. From Paris we went to the War memorial, which took about 3 hours to get there. From there we drove to Omaha Beach cemetary, which was about 1/2 hour, and cut across to Mont St. Michel, which took about 1.5 hours and spent a night at a chateau 15 min from MSM
The next day we left to Bayeaux, saw the tapestries and drove back to Paris.
We did not stop at any other locations, but hopefully this will help if you're looking at times and distances.
If you do have the time, I would take an extra day and do both. The country is so pretty and relaxing.
PS: It also helped that our car had a GPS.
Posted by
Brisbane, QLD, Australia
37 posts
I can't comment specifically on your chosen route, but we spent 3 days in Amboise, then drove to Dinan for one night, then went to Mont St Michel. From there we drove to Bayeux for 4 days of seeing D-Day beaches and Normandy sites.
I don't think your trip is too ambitious, as long as you are being selective about which sites you want to see and how you want to see them. It might be easiest to get on a full-day tour for the beaches, then you can hit all the highlights in one day without worrying about the driving.
Posted by
Gig Harbor, Washington, USA
1863 posts
We just completed an 11 day circuit drive from Paris to Calais by way of Chenonceaux, Carnac, Trebeurden, etc. Here's my impressions---we do move along at a pretty steady clip...
Two days of the Loire were plenty for us--I keep thinking about starving peasants when I see gilt furniture. We saw Chenonceau, Clos de Luce (Leonardo's home), Loches (ruins), Chinon, Fontrevaud Abbey. We focused on Carnac for the Alignments, loved Pont Aven, enjoyed Quimper, saw one parish close, Cote Rose, Emerald Coast,Beaumont Abbey (beautiful flower covered ruin!), St. Malo, Dinan, Paimpont Forest (Merlin legends), Mont St. Michel, Omaha Beach, the American Cemetery, Bayeux Tapestry (superb), Rouen, Richard's Castle at Les Andeleys (excellent ruin), Giverney, Honfleur, Etratat, then headed up to Calais for a White Cliffs of Dover crossing. Over night stops were 2 nights each at Chenonceau, Carnac, Trebeurden, Dinan, Les Andeleys, then one night near Calais. If you only want nine nights, skip western Brittany, but do include Dinan and St. Malo. This is the route I came up with after a year of intense planning. I suggest getting the AA atlas of France (available from Amazon) which was more helpful than the orange Michelin maps which we also had. We did fine without a GPS.
Posted by
Anaheim, CA, USA
1455 posts
John,
Cynthia is right... GPS isn't required, but it is definitely a bonus to have. I think we did rely on it a bit much.
Most new cars have a GPS, btw.
Posted by
Boston
4132 posts
I think you can have a very satisfying trip along the lines you suggest. There's enough to see and do for longer, obviously, but I don't think you are rushing.
I would suggest one overnight at Mt. St. Michel, then basing yourself in Bayeux for a few days before moving on to Honfleur. You can probably return your car in Rouen, then take a train to Paris, if that is your next stop. If pressed for time you could see the highlights of Rouen as a day trip--drive there in the morning, continue to Paris in the late afternoon.
The old fortress in Fougeres makes a nice lunch stop coming from the Loire. Not a whole lot to see, but the ruins of the castle are nice and you can get gallettes and cider close by.
What are you gong to do in Rennes?