candj83

My husband and I will be staying 4 nights in Normandy this fall. We are wondering if we should stay all 4 nights in Bayeux or if we should spend 3 in Bayeux and 1 in Honfleur? We will spend the third day exploring the Route du Cidre so we thought it may work well to go ahead and spend the night in Honfleur...

Here is our itinerary for those days, showing 1 night in Honfleur:

(Fr Sept 18) Day 2: Arrive CDG 7:35am. Taxi to St. Lazare and catch earliest train possible to Caen. Pick up rental car in Caen, drive to Bayeux. Check into hotel in Bayeux, explore town and see tapestry and church.

(Sa Sept 19) Day 3: This day is a French Heritage Day so I'm thinking we could leave it "flexible" depending on advice from the TI and any postings that come up in August. As of now, we are considering seeing Mont Saint Michel the next day, along with Chateau Fort de Pirou, Villedieu-les-Poêles for copper kitchen goods, and the German cemetery at La Cambe (if it's not included in our D-Day tour). If we do decide to see the sights mentioned, would it be best to leave early in the morning (maybe around 8am) to drive to MSM to try to beat the crowds? Or, should we just try to see it later in the afternoon after seeing the other sights on our list?

(Su Sept 20) Day 4: Full day guided WWII - D-Day Tour.

(Mo Sept 21) Day 5: Morning market at Saint Pierre sur Dives, leisurely drive on Route du Cidre, exploring small towns. Calvados Pierre Huet Guided Tour at 2:30 (14:30). Drive to Honfleur for the evening.

(Tu Sept 22) Day 6: Explore Honfleur in the morning. Drive to Paris. Very interested in seeing Jumieges Abbey and possibly Chateau Gaillard along the way. Drop rental car and check into hotel. Would like to do an evening "get-acquainted-with-the-city" tour, or perhaps a Seine river cruise/tour.

PalenQ

On the drive out of Caen it is easy to swing by the Normandy Memorial/Museum of Caen - to me the best overall view is given here of any area museum - a huge relief map is a good way to orient yourselves to the whole D-Day area.

Crowds should not be much of an issue at Mont Saint-Michel in mid-September - I'd just go whenever is most convenient.

There is a classic view of the Mont far away across the sandy bay from Avranches - from the Bishop's Garden in the town center - whets your appetite for what follows.

StuDudley

Staying in Honfleur would be a good choice. Less backtracking, and closer to Paris. Plus, I think the town would offer some interesting things to do & see, instead of a fourth night in Bayeux (not one of our favorite towns).

I would probably drop the car off in Vernon and take the train into Paris instead of driving into Paris on a work day.

Stu Dudley

PalenQ

Very interested in seeing Jumieges Abbey>

Yes i found it poignant - some don't care for it though Stu recently said it did not do much for him so it is a subjective thing.

and check out Les Andelys too

https://www.google.com/search?q=les+...=1600&bih=1075

Robert2533

You might be interested in reading the following:

Haute-Normandie - http://tinyurl.com/nfpskzl
Basse-Normandie - http://tinyurl.com/pwxpcf9

HappyTrvlr

We stayed one night in Homfleur and four in Bayeux and it worked well for us. One of our days we drove to Mt St Michele from Bayeux.

kerouac

Rental car? Keep moving around.

candj83

Thanks to all the great advice, we have settled for a 4th night somewhere besides Bayeux. Honfleur sounds fantastic and very popular; I'd like to do a little research into Rouen as well.

PalenQ, thanks for the notes on the museum and MSM. We will just plan on going as the wind takes us that day. I personally have a thing for ruins so the Abbey at Jumieges is really intriguing me. Les Andelys looks very charming!

Stu, we really aren't sure WHERE to drop the car. I will have to look into dropping at Vernon.

Robert, thanks for the interesting links!

Kerouac, we will have a car for Normandy -- looking forward to having the freedom to do as we please.