Normandy - Is A Week Too Long??

You can spend two weeks just in Lower Normandy without going anywhere near the coast and not run out of things to see. Look at a Michelin Green Guide for starters. The whole world ain't in the BlueAndGolds.

Personally, I would have no problem spending a week in Normandy. I mean, I would not be bored. The question to ask yourself (not me) is this: Whats the best way to spend seven days for maximum pleasure / travel thrills / happiness, with my budget and tolerances? You might find the answer (for you) is a week in Normandy. Or 4 days in Normandy and 3 in Paris. Or a week in Provence. Or Italy. A car is a good idea.

Thanks for the fast replies. I suppose I should elaborate - this trip would be for a longer period of time, not just the one week. Paris may, or may not, make it into our plans. We have spent 15 nights there in the last 4 1/2 years and I will be there again for 6 nights in October 2011. Don't get me wrong, we love Paris more than any other city we have been to. We just want to experience other areas in France. We will be going to the south of France in addition to Normandy. I'm sure we will add more destinations when we really start our planning process. Would Bayeux be a good base?

Bayeux makes a great base, and it's a really charming town. We've been many times, staying a week, and have never run out of things to see and do. We've stayed at Hotel D'Argouges each time, and love it. It's like a manor house with a lovely garden. The owner (Madame Ropartz) and her staff are warm and friendly. They also have parking. It's located right off the main square which has a great market twice a week, and a laundromat.

A week in Normandy? Great pastoral scenery, orchards, farms, cows; The coastal towns- St Malo with it walls and fishermen, even as far south as La Rochelle; time to truly study the Bayeaux tapestry. Possibly even a few days into Brittany to roam around its ancient standing stone monuments; Mont St Michelle. I think a week may not be long enough.

If you think you'd like Normandy, a week would be GREAT! I'm envious...(sniffle) Definitely stay in Bayeux; I'll chat with you Sat on where, but 'downtown' near the cathedral...that's the area to be in. It's tight and compact; you can walk everywhere, and the FOOD! I could've spent - minimum - 2 full days in Bayeux alone, and 3 would've been nice. And I know you like to slow down and enjoy a place... So, yeah, I could find enough to do in a week! You can get your car there, Caen, or Paris. OK - that's it. I'm coming with you. And probably Sid, too. Get a big car...

St Malo is in Brittany. La Rochelle is in Poitou Charentes.

Hope you like Calvados!

With a car you can stay in the countryside near Bayeux. Check out www.bandbnormandie.com for a centuries old farm about 12 miles from Bayeux, just outside Villers-Bocage. With a week you can do MSM in an early morning, then drive around the bay to Cancale for a sumptuous seafood lunch with MSM on the horizon. Explore the D Day beaches and museums, take a tour to get the real insights, then return with your car to spend time at places you barely touched on the tour. Take a day and drive to the small towns and villages that make their own cheeses (Camembert) and Calvados. Explore Caen, Pegasus Bridge, and the battlegrounds including the big tank battle between the Panzer SS and the Canadians in Villers-Bocage. A week, you can find so much to do. Restaurants in Bayeux, Villers-bocage and Tilly-Sur-Seles are so wonderful and so inexpensive. Just drifting along the backroads in Normandy--heaven.....

Thanks for all the positive responses.

Ed said: "The whole world ain't in the BlueAndGolds." ::THUD::

Andrea, we just finished our Calvados a few weeks ago; be a dear and let me give you a shopping list...