Thoughts on our itinerary.....Any major issues?

If you are using a guide for the D Day tour why do you need a car?

We rented a car as we are going to stay one night on Mont St. Michel ans wont have a tour guide for that day/night.

Mind the jet lag! Driving on the first day can be a problem, particularly when driving a long distance to a strange place in a strange car. Believe me, I have travelled extenjively for many years!

Not a "major" issue but if prices are similar I would go London > Paris > Rome to avoid flying out of London.

I think your itinerary looks fine. And I personally would not switch the order of Paris and London. I'd pick a flight out of Gatwick over a flight out of Paris any day. The train from Paris to London is only 2.5 hours. Even with the time getting to/from hotels, you should have time to either see something in Paris before you depart or something in London after you arrive.

Remember when going to Mt St Michel to check the tide tables so you don't get your car stranded or flooded....

Looks like a great trip. For Rome, if you do the Rome walk as mapped out in Rick's tour book, you can see Pantheon, Spanish Steps and Trevi all in one stroll. Just have to get to the Pantheon when it's open. Have a great trip!

Don't quite get the car from CDG to Normandy either. I would take a train, about 3 hours from airport to Bayeux and rent a car there for the day to Mont St Michel. Bayeux is one choice among several, but since it is a good choice for the area and is the starting point for many DDay tours, it works. As the Mont St. Michel is the second day, walk in Bayeux view tapestry, etc on arrival day. Tour day 2. Rent car day 3. Train to Paris day 4.

We have been on two similar trips. (One trip involved Paris, Normandy, Rome and Northern Italy, the second Paris, Normandy, the Dordogne and Loire valleys and London.) We drove from Paris to Normandy both times and that worked well. I agree with the other poster's concern that I would not be able to make that drive after an overnight flight with major jet lag. Both times, we have spent a few days in Paris to get oriented before driving out into the country. (Picked up a car at Orly when we were ready to leave Paris as I would never want a car in Paris.) We stayed at a rural B and B in Normandy both times, the Ferme du Pressoir. It's in Rick's book and I highly recommend it. We stayed overnight on Mont Ste Michel which was very nice: quite peaceful in the early morning. I agree also with the suggestion to see the Bayeux Tapestry if you have an interest in that period of history. It takes under an hour and reminds me of a long, political cartoon. Good English audioguide provided and the kids audioguide is quite funny. We did one of the tours of the Vatican Museum. (Don't know if you're going there or not.) I'd definitely rec. a tour the first time as it's enormous and overwhelming. Your days in Paris and London are going to be really packed. We did fewer things each day but were traveling with kids and teenagers and needed more downtime. Train Paris to London was great, quick, relaxing. Hope you have a great trip!

We spent Sept in France and picked up a rental at CDG and drove directly to Reims. I found it very difficult to stay awake and alert and we both agreed we wouldn't do that again. Take others advice and use the train.