Normandy, Dordogne, and Loire Valley

Thank you Kent,
You are absolutely right, I didn't give a enough specifics. It is my husband and myself traveling to France at the end of May into early June. We are renting a car at CDG and heading for Rouen. We love Rick Steves guidebooks and follow them pretty closely. Our itinerary includes 5 days in Normandy, 5 days in the Dordogne, and 3 days in the Loire Valley.
Any information about "must see" adventures or that was the "best meal ever" or helpful tips would be greatly appreciated.

Lascaux II cave in the Drodogne region is not to be missed. We have visited twice. Try to go with a English speaking guide. Les Eyzies, the local village has an interesting museum of cave artifacts.

My friends Sally and Michael own a great B&B in Normandy. http://www.vacances-normandes.co.uk/

I might suggest one or two more days in the Loire. A rental car is the ideal form of transport for exploring this region, but because the chateaux are spread across a fairly extensive area, even with a car you may have difficulty seeing more than two per day. Enjoy your trip!

Kathy:

The regions you mention are all great and I am sure you'll have a wonderful time. My wife and I have traveled France extensively. Our favorite in the Dordogne is Hotel Pontet in Beynac (near Sarlat). The inn is very charming just beneath the old castle from the 100 years war. The restaurant in the hotel is an absolute gem.

In the Loire - try the Hotel Rosarie in Chenonceaux (just a couple hundred yards from the wonderful chateau) - the owners are very welcoming and the meal we had there in 2004 was voted by the family as our finest on our month long journey.

Have fun.

Normandy is my favorite part of France, I like it much more than the Dordogne. We've been to Normandy many times and have and could easily spend 7 days there and still want more. Kathy, I think your plan is perfect. In Bayeux the "Hotel D'Argouges" is wonderful (it's in RS book). I hope you get to Chenonceau, it's incredible, not just the chateau itself, but the grounds all around are wonderful. They have a little "village" there where all the workers lived and an enjoyable wax museum of some of the key figures of that time, and a very good cafe :)

This sounds like a great plan, Kathy. I wouldn't shift any time from either Normandy or the Dorodgne Valley, but then I just didn't like the Loire nearly as much as either of your other destinations.

Obviously, this is a personal decision. What would you do with an extra day on the Loire? Is it better than what you would do with your least-best day in Normandy? Etc.

My main suggestion is logistical: if you can fly home from Tolouse, you can minimize time in transit by going Normandy-Loire-Dordogne.

If you can travel without reservations (depending both on your travel style and the time of year), you could even resolve the issue of how much time to spend incrementally.

For example, if on Day 4 Normandy is feeling a bit done, leave for the Loire early. Whenever you get to the Loire, if it's better than you expected, maybe stay another day.

Have a really wonderful trip!

One caution about the Loire. In my opinion it's like the San Joaquin Valley with castles. It's very agricultural and I don't think it offers the interesting countryside that other parts of France do. But it has castles and a few interesting towns.