I would stay in Paris...sounds like you are already doing a lot of traveling.

Not sure what you have seen in Paris...we love Ste Chapelle. The towers of Notre Dame are worth climbing ( not too bad), the view is wonderful and you get up close views of the gargoyles. We also thought St Denis was fabulous (burial site of French Kings). In the outer part of the city, but still accessible byMetro. A stroll on the Promenade Plantee is a great way to walk off one of those pain au chocolats you will no doubt enjoy, it should be in full bloom in summer.

If you are set on a day trip, I love Reims. The cathedral is majestic and a champagne tasting makes a great day. My dream day trip (that I have not made yet) is Giverny to see Monet's gardens. I would follow that up with a visit to the L'Orangerie to see the huge canvases by Monet. It's a small museum that is worth seeing if you love Monet...easy to get into, much fewer visitors than D'Orsay or the Louvre.

Check kerouac's TRs to find photos of a beautiful garden he visited last summer with his mother-simply gorgeous and not hard to get to if my memory is correct.

The trip to Giverny is something that I was thinking of - I love Monet - actually my favorite. Was considering going to D'Orsay. Will look into L'Orangerie as alternate. Also, considering visiting VersaIlles.

Thinking of getting an apartment in Paris for four nights. Looking into best areas and location near metro.

Rochefort-en-Terre is packed with visitors, but well worth your time just the same. It's a very pretty hilltop town with lots of shops.

Yves Rocher started his cosmetics empire in La Gacilly, which consequently is a prosperous little town. Lots of shops, an outdoor photographic exhibit each summer, flowers all over the place, a botanical garden.

I'm a big fan of Brittany and I've written trip reports (full of photos and descriptions) of the area around MSM/Dinan/Saint-Malo as well as the area around The Gulf of Morbihan. But first let me give you a link to a thread where I cover all the things you can see and do in the coastal areas in Brittany. You will also find a lot of practical general info in this thread about traveling in France (what maps to buy and how to use tourist office websites):

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187094-i1050-k5039551-A_week_in_July_best_base_to_explore_Brittany-Brittany.html#37748007

Here is my trip report about exploring the area near Dinan/MSM/Saint-Malo. It not only has photos and descriptions of the places I visited but is loaded with links to tourist office websites and other on-line web resources you can use to plan your trip in this area:

http://tinyurl.com/82azcyh

Here is a similar report about exploring the area around the Gulf of Morbihan:

http://tinyurl.com/8xuuryc

As for the second part of your trip if you are interested in day trips from Paris I've got a list of the most popular places to explore near Paris as day trips. There are dozens of other places you could also visit that are less well known and if you are interested in those I could tell you about some.

I haven't covered any of the places further from Paris that can be reached by TGV trains such as Dijon, Lille, Strasbourg, Metz, Nancy etc. nor have I covered other day trips such as D-Day beach tours, day tours to the Loire to see châteaux/do wine tasting or a day trip to Mont-Saint-Michel. I'm a personal believer that some of those places are better as at least overnight visits but to each his own. Here we go:

Here is a brief list that summarizes many of the most popular day trips from Paris. There are certainly many others you could also do but this list covers most of the biggies:

Provins (an authentic walled medieval town): http://www.provins.net/

Château of Chantilly (wonderful fairytale château, famous art collection): http://www.chateaudechantilly.com/fr/
http://www.chantilly-tourisme.com/

Senlis (small medieval town can be combined with a visit to Chantilly):
http://www.senlis-tourisme.fr/accueil-senlis.php

Reims (champagne tours, great historic cathedral, museums):
http://www.reims-tourisme.com/

Epernay (champagne tours): http://www.ot-epernay.fr/

Fontainebleau (former royal town with famous château):
http://www.musee-chateau-fontainebleau.fr/
http://www.fontainebleau-tourisme.com/

Versailles (obvious):
http://www.chateauversailles.fr/homepage
http://www.versailles-tourisme.com/

Château of Vaux-le-Vicomte (the château after which Louis XIV based his garden renovations for Versailles and IMO one of the most elegant château in France):
http://www.vaux-le-vicomte.com/
http://www.vaux-le-vicomte.com/en/visite_infos_pratiques_horaires_plan.php

Rouen (small city, lots to do, wonderful cathedral, medieval old center): http://www.rouentourisme.com/

Giverny (Monet's house and gardens):
http://www.fondation-monet.fr/fr/
http://giverny.org/giverny/giverny.htm
http://www.vernon-visite.org/rgb4/who_we_are.htm

Chartres (the famous cathedral and wonderful old medieval town):
http://www.chartres-tourisme.com/


Compiègne (château with museums, wonderful old town. Can be combined with a visit to the château of Pierrefonds): http://www.compiegne-tourisme.fr/

Château of Pierrefonds (Magnificent fairytale looking château. Reconstructed in the 19th century but magnificent nonetheless. Can be combined with a visit to Compiègne):
http://www.pierrefonds.monuments-nationaux.fr/
http://pierrefonds-tourisme.net/ot/Bienvenue.html
http://www.compiegne-tourisme.fr/Le-chateau-de-Pierrefonds.html

Troyes (lovely small medieval city):
http://www.tourisme-troyes.com/

Laon (medieval hilltop town with a spectacular cathedral): http://www.tourisme-paysdelaon.com/

Crécy-la-Chapelle (small charming renowned artists village):
http://www.cc-payscrecois.fr/Crecy-la-Chapelle,203.html

Moret-sur-Loing (charming walled medieval village/artists village):
http://www.ville-moret-sur-loing.fr/rubrique.php?id=189

Auvers-sur-Oise (Van Gogh and other impressionist art history):
http://www.auvers-sur-oise.com/heading/heading899.html

Malmaison (château of the Empress Josephine and a nice old downtown. On the RER A line and could be combined with a visit to Saint-Germain-en-Laye):
http://www.chateau-malmaison.fr/
http://www.rueil-tourisme.com/

Saint-Germain-en-Laye (former royal town with a wonderful château now home to the national museum of archaeology. On the RER A line and could be combined with a visit to Malmaison):
http://www.ot-saintgermainenlaye.fr/en/
http://www.saintgermainenlaye.fr/en/loisirs/culture/musees/

Barbizon (famous artists village, can be combined with Fontainebleau):
http://www.barbizon-tourisme.fr/

These are the most popular day trips and all are worthwhile but there are many other less popular and equally worthy day trips. I could easily list a couple dozen more but only if what's on this list doesn't interest you. A good guide book for the Île-de-France region should give you more ideas.

You'll need to take a train from Paris to do these day trips. For info on trains in Paris and the nearby suburbs (métro and RER trains) use the website www.ratp.fr. Parts of this website are in French so you can use an English language companion site www.parisbytrain.com. For trains that go a bit further out in the Île-de-France region use the website www.transilien.com. For trains that go further beyond the Île-de-France use the website www.voyages-sncf.com (in French only) or www.tgv-europe.com. A great website to learn about trains in France (and Europe) is www.seat61.com if you have any train questions/problems.

Paris and many of the places nearby in Île-de-France are divided into zones, numbered 1 through 5. Paris is in zone 1 and areas outside Paris are in zones 2 through 5. Some of the destinations I mentioned are in zone 5. For these journeys it will be more cost effective to buy a one day Mobilis pass for just over 14 euros for zones 1 through 5. This will be cheaper than the point to point tickets round trip. Plus, this pass is good for unlimited travel on all public trains and buses for one day in zones 1-5. Buy it first thing in the morning before your first métro ride and it gets you to your train station, your round trip tickets, any buses you need to use at your destination and any traveling you'll do in Paris when you return. Before you use the ticket make sure to write your name and the date on the ticket. Don't forget to stick your ticket in the composting machine (ticket validation machine) before getting on your train. You can buy these passes from the ticket machines in métro/RER stations. Sometimes these machines have an English language option. If so, look for the one day Mobilis pass option. When you get to the screen that lists your zones to choose from press zone 1 and then press zone 5. You can also buy them at any ticket counter or stores that sell RATP tickets. They are good for 60 days so you can buy it in advance if you want to be prepared. It's not valid until you write your name and date on it and validate the ticket on your first métro/RER trip or at the train station.

Some of the day trips I mentioned will require a bus transfer once you arrive at the train station. If you choose one of these I can help you with bus info.

Lastly, I've written trip reports about visiting many of the day trip destinations I've mentioned above if you want to have a look to see what these places have to offer.

Pierrefonds and Compiègne: http://tinyurl.com/7edejbz

Crécy-la-Chapelle: http://tinyurl.com/dx8kr39

Fontainebleau, Barbizon, Moret-sur-Loing:

http://tinyurl.com/4bduunh

Laon: http://tinyurl.com/3co8u28

I never understand why people who don't really know Paris very well want to see everything around it.
First, I wouldn't bother going into Paris on your arrival. Rent your car at CDG and save yourself a day. You can go to Rouen--you could probably stop in Giverney on the way.
Drive on to BAyeux and stay your second night. The original plan to train to Caen, rent a car and see all the Normandy sites and THEN drive to MSM indicates not having even looked at a map or a guide book. Sorry to be so negative, but don't even bother with Normandy if that is to be your plan.
An at the very end, you have 3 whole days left--stay in Paris.

I agree with Gretchen because what you've stated below is just totally impossible:

<<6/29. Take early train from Paris to Caen. Rent car via auto Europe.Drive to Normandy and tour major sights
When finished, drive on to MSM.>>

FMT - thank you for the wealth of information and the reminder of the information that you posted. I have actually saved this information when I read it several months ago and will review in detail again.

Gretchen - upon arrival to Europe from US, my husband and I like to stay put for one night. There is a train that leaves @ 7 am ( we are early risers) arriving at approximately 9 am. This should put us in Bayeux by 10:30 am (an hour to find rental place & pick up car w/33 minute drive). We plan on taking a four- or five- hour tour - they start at 12 and 1 pm. That puts us back on the road and at our hotel in MSM by 8pm. I realize this is a very tight itinerary.

I will work on the last days of the itinerary, staying in Paris and seeing the sites of the city. If there bare any off-the-beaten-path sites to see, I would appreciate the input.

For off the beaten path stuff in Paris you might get several ideas from this recent Fodors thread:

http://www.fodors.com/community/europe/paris-for-the-repeat-visitor.cfm

And check the AnyPort website in the Paris forum:

http://anyportinastorm.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=paris

I see you've got a guided tour, which will work out well. With a guided tour, you will have no problems at all, IMO. We completed something similar one year ago, although we did Caen peace museum after training directly from CDG via Gare St. Lazare - with a two hour nap on train for most of the family - then had an early night on the coast (Port en Bessin). Next morning, we did the American Cememtery, then Pointe du Hoc, then MSM AND then back to PEB that night. You can self cater if you wish, but your method of guided tour will certainly work.

Based on suggestions from Fodorites, I have made changes to our itinerary:

6/27 Depart PHL, USA

6/28. Arrive Paris (CDG) @ 7:55 am. Take the 10:10 am train from Paris St Lazare to Caen(~ 2 hours). Rent car w/Eurocar at station. Drive to hotel (Inter-Hotel de France) & check in or drop off luggage dependent upon room availability. Visit Memorial Musuem (WWII)

6/29 Drive to Bayauex in morning and take 1/2 day American tour with "Normandy Site Tour A-1." Tour ends at 12 Noon - then lunch and tapestry in Bayeux. Drive to MSM. See MSM at night. Stay over one night @ Les Vieilles Digues Hotel 70 euro

6/30 Up early to see MSM before hordes of crowds arrive - hoping to be on our way no later 10 am
Drive along the Emerald Coast toward St Malo (suggestions for places to see are appreciated) and then heading South to Plumelec (home base) Our pace and stops will depend upon how we feel at the time. Anything we miss, we can return on a day trip as the area is about 1.5 hours from our home base.

7/1 to 7/6 - day trips in and around area - any suggestions are welcome.

7/7. Head to Rennes train station to drop off car and head to Paris.

7/7-11 - Apartment rented: Bastille le Marais on Rud de Che - Has anyone stayed here or know of this apartment? It is $517 for 4 nights-total.

Instead of day trips out of Paris, I will be looking at suggestions made by those of your contributing. As soon as I have this together, I will repost. I do want to take a trip to Governy and would appreciate recomendations on tours to the gardens.

Question:

Gretchen - >>You can go to Rouen--you could probably stop in Giverney on the way<<

After Gretchen suggested the town of Rouen, I researched it and am very interested in visiting it. It took a lot of convincing to get my husband (S) agreement on taking the train from Paris on the day of our arrival. He agreed to Caen but not Rouen. He was also adamant about not driving on our day of arrival - so that is out.

I would like to visit Rouen on our way from Plumelec to Paris. We will be dropping our rental car off at the Rennes train station. My thought was to train to Rouen on then to Paris. However, the trains I have found go from Rennes to Paris and then to Rouen (4 hr 45+minutes). Does anyone know if there is a train that goes from Rennes to Rouen?


FrenchMystiqueTours - I am looking forward to reviewing your Paris - off the beaten path information. And, of course, your Brittany and other information is fabulous.

StuDudley - Thank you for sending me your itinerary on Normandy and Brittany. I am looking forward to eating at some of the restaurants you mention.

We had 2 family emergencies that took me away from this trip planning so I need to catch up.

Thanks everyone for your very helpful suggestions.

Two things:

1. In your original post you said you were going to be a zombie on Day 1, and that presumed just arriving at CDG and staying in Paris for the night. Now you are arriving in Paris, going to the Gare St-Lazare, taking a train to Caen, picking up a rental car, and going to the Mémorial Museum (which isn't in town, by the way - you'll need to drive there unless you picked a hotel right by it, which I don't think is possible). The Mémorial Museum takes a few hours to visit - it's not a place you just scoot through. So whether or not you're a zombie on Day 1, you've got a really jam-packed day to get through.

2. What does the half-day tour from Bayeux cover? A half day seems really meager, given the amount of territory and number of sites to cover. Once you've settled in n Brittany, do you plan to get back up to see more of the DDay sites? Perhaps they're not a priority for you - just curious.

Checking the SNCF website, the only way it appears possible to get from Rennes to Rouen on the train is to go back to Paris, change train stations, and then out to Rouen OR go from Rennes through Le Mans and Mezidon (two changes of train), then to Rouen. A 4- to 5-hour trip no matter how you choose to do it. So if you want to see Rouen, you'll probably need to drive there.

I agree with StCirq. I'm not certain you can arrive at CDG and catch a train from Gare St Lazare in only 2 hours 15 minutes.

I'm not sure you can expect to be on a train leaving Gare Saint Lazare 2 hours after your plane touches down. It usually takes us an hour just to get through the airport and pick up our baggage. We've never taken the train, so I hope somebody who has actually done this chimes in to say whether it's realistic.

You can find recent photos of the newly renovated Gare Saint Lazare, taken by kerouac, on this website:

http://anyportinastorm.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=tips&thread=5838&page=1#134138

I missed the 2 hours 15 minutes bit - no, that's not realistic. I do a lot of trips that involve landing in Paris, then getting to a train station to go elsewhere, and I never plan for much of anything under 3 hours between landing and boarding a train (and I've even missed one or two over the years).

We do not check luggage - we only take carry on. With that in mind, do you think it is doable? I was under the impression that when I saw Paris airport that the station was in or very near the airport. I should have checked that out. Am I mistaken?

There is a station in the airport but it is not Gare St. Lazare. You would have to travel into Paris to leave from that station.

When I searched for trains, I entered Paris airport to Caen. When the schedule came up, in the box to the top left it said Paris airport to Caen. I then made the mistake of assuming that St Lazare was the airport station. When I try airport to Caen again, it still states SL. Do trains from CDG railway run to Caen? Or must I go to the SL station? If the answer is SL station, I see (obviously a little late) that the taxi ride is approximately a 32 minute drive with traffic adding another 15 minutes. If we get in on time, get through customs within an hour, jump in a taxi, and get to SL by 9:55 am, we should be ok? Of all of the stars are aligned? If not, we can hop on the next one.

stCirq. I will answer your questions soon.

Thank you all for pointing this out.

StCirq - The tour is half day and includes Omaha Beach, Point du hoc, and the American Cemetery. II realize that it is a much abbreviated tour and not satisfy many. However, it works for us. Not really a priority.

We changed overnighting is Paris on our first night to Caen because we wanted to do the early Omaha beach tour and couldn't get there early enough for 8:30 am start time.

You are probably right about the museum being too much. If we feel like it, we will take a taxi to the museum efficiency and safety reasons. Even if we see some of it, we will be happy.

I never check luggage, either. The reality is that it can take a half-hour or more to even get to your gate after you land at CDG. Those plans seem to take everyone on a grand tour of the airport grounds. Then another while to actually get off the plane (depending on where you're seated). Then another half-hour or more to get through immigration (incredibly crowded in the morning). Then, depending on traffic, and how you plan to travel there, might even an hour or more before you get to the Gare St. Lazare, which is nowhere near the airport. There are only commuter trains (RER) running into Paris from CDG. It's highly unlikely the stars will be aligned. But yes, you can make your way to the Gare St. Lazare and buy tickets for the next train to Caen.

Has anyone taken the Viator Giverny/Versailles tour? Our these easy places to visit on your own?

Since you are staying near St Malo, I highly recommend the restaurant Le St Placide. It is one of the best meals I've had in France.
Also, you could consider taking the ferry from St Malo for a day trip to one of the channel islands.

Versailles and Giverny are quite easy to visit on your own if you do them on separate days. Take the RER C from Paris to Versailles. From most RER C stops it's about a half-hour journey. Get off at Versailles Rive-Gauche and it's about a 10+ minute walk to the château. Buy your tickets ahead of time. You can get all the info on the château website.

For Giverny, you take a train from Gare Saint-Lazare to Vernon (45 minutes) and then take the bus from there to Giverny. You could also rent bikes at a place across from the train station and cycle along the bike trail to Giverny (about 5km from the train station). Again, all the info is on the official website.

If you want to see both these places on the same day then a tour bus is your best option. I wouldn't want to do these places in one day myself but that's a personal decision.

Just a couple of other thoughts on your itinerary. Everything you need to know about the good day trips near Saint-Malo can be found in my trip report, including places I didn't visit. You can not get from Rennes to Rouen in less than 4-1/2 hours by train.

Keep in mind that if you buy advance tickets for Saint-Lazare to Caen they are not exchangeable so if you miss your train you have to buy more tickets. On your arrival day (6/28) why don't you take the 12:10 train from Saint-Lazare to Caen?

FMT makes a good suggestion regarding the later train. You can always have a coffee and something to eat at a cafe near Gare St Lazare and not have to worry and rush.

If you take the RER (train) in from CDG, get off at Gare du Nord and follow signs to transfer to RER E. It ends at Gare St Lazare.

If you take day trips to Versailles and Giverny at the end of your trip that will only leave you with 1 day in Paris... ;^(

FMT and PA - thank you for the advice and information. I changed my itinerary so that I would have more time in Paris and I am again trying to squeeze too much into a short time. We will choose either Versaiiles or Giverny. I like the idea of taking the train and then biking to Giverny, so I am leaning toward that idea. I will definitely check the website for exact details.

I will make a note of the restaurant suggestion you made PA Any other restaurant suggestions are appreciated.

We arrive from Rennes rail station into Paris Mont @ 1:23 pm on 7/7. We cannot get in any earlier as the rental car cannot be dropped off before 8am on A Saturday. There is a Fat bike tour at 3pm. Do you think we would be able to make the tour at that time or I am I doing it again? There's a 7pm night tour but we prefer the day trip as the night tour won't end until late. The tour meets at the South leg of the Eiffel tower. Our hotel is at 11ruedu Chemin

What's your hotel address? Seems truncated above.

Tough to get to your hotel, check in and then get to the ET in an hour and a half. But... Fat Tire will look after your luggage so you could go straight to their office. It's close to the ET and not hard to find at all: http://g.co/maps/tz4w8 If you choose to do this let them know so they aren't waiting for you at the ET.

Or contact http://www.parischarmssecrets.com Perhaps one of their tours is better timed for you. My daughter and I did a tour with them and it was wonderful.

PA - Thank you. I checked ParisCharms and the timing didn't work out. I am waiting to hear back from Fat Bike Tours. They don't seem very responsive.

Planning to take a cruise on the Seine and went on the Vedette website. It appears that you purchase the tickets online without a given date or time. Is this the case? Is this the best way to go?

Thinking of taking the train to Giverny and renting bikes in Vernon. Are the bike rentals just off of the train? What would one estimate the time to allow for this trip?

After taking your advice into consideration, I changed my train tickets and we are booked on the 12:10 pm tain to Caen. ( I realize they are easily purchased at the train station but I am someone that likes to have them in my hand.). The 10:10 am tickets were 100% refundable with a 7% processing fee = $9.94. I will take PA's advice and grab something to eat in a nearby cafe' at the train station.

Thanks Judy, st cirq, Fmt, coquelicot and parisamsterdam for mentioning the time issues and other suggestions. Much appreciated.

We have booked a tour with Michael Osman for our first full day in Paris and are excited about that.
We will do a 3 hr cooking class as well.

Also reviewed information that Kourec posted regarding night life. Hopefully we can stay awake late enough to check it out.

Only less than 2 months to go. We are very excited.

Just a thought......leave time to stop and smell the roses. It sounds like your trip is packed...but.....part of the enjoyment of France...and especially Paris..is relaxing in a cafe and watching the world go by. Don't be in too much of a hurry and don't worry if everything does not get done.