3.5 days in the Loire Valley, France
 

Hello!

My partner & I are going to be leaving for Nantes, France in 6 short days! We'll be staying with his brother who is teaching a semester over there in Nantes. They will be our home base. Initially I thought a reasonable itinerary was to tour Nantes Friday/Saturday then leave Sunday morning for Mont St. Michel. Perhaps try to stay overnight in Bayeux and on Monday see that area and the D-Day beaches. We fly back out on Tuesday out of Nantes airport.

The problem I'm encountering is the train schedule. I see no morning trains to head out to the Mont and once we've gotten there and looked around we didn't want to overnight within the walls of the Mont because the prices are twice that of other surrounding towns. We were hoping to then catch the train to Bayeux and stay here: http://www.hotel-dargouges.com/en.php. This way we could wake up and have the day to explore the D-day beaches and surrounding areas and then catch a train back to Nantes that late afternoon.

The train schedules are seeming to be what holds us back from getting that accomplished. I wasn't sure if this is just placing too much expectations on our journey and also if www.raileurope.com is not the only way to see train shcedules/fares.

Any input is greatly appreciated since we are now counting down the final days.

Thank you much!

I think you need to reconsider things at a very basic level. If you are based in Nantes and depending on public transport, then the Mont St Michel, Bayeux, and the Normandy beaches are very difficult. And you have a tight timeframe.

Why not re-orient and head eastwards along the Loire?

Try sncf.com. It indicates that the trip between Nantes and Mont St. Michel will take three hours, with a train to Rennes and then a bus to Mont St. Michel.

Thanks Padraig, yes I think that is probably a good idea. It seems as if we are trying to hard to hit the other places when there are just as many other sites (old medieval cities etc.) that are closer to Nantes that won't make us feel as rushed.

I've just heard so many things about Mont St. Michel and the D-Day beaches that I wanted to check them out. But time/transport might hinder us this time around. We can always go back right?! :-)

Michael, thank you as well I couldn't find what I needed on raileurope.com. This other site, sncf.com is very helpful!

sncf is very much the right source (raileurope is a pain as it seems to take over access to other sites) The hotels to the south of the causeway at Mont St Micheal are a bit grotty, with a captive market. I'd try and find somewhere else to stay.

The beaches are still beaches and while they can be very emotional "Pegasus bridge" etc I'd have a look at the various WW2 museums along the coast (or just inland) and try and visit a few, read a few diaries etc and be impressed (though of course the D Day landings were bit of a side issue in WW2) still, people died.

The St Martin village is worth a visit, not for the parachute hanging off the church or even the weird first pillar the americans cast by the church (and repeated as they travelled) but the story of incompetence as the troops held out waiting for delivery from the coast filling up every house with dead bodies ("the longest day" gives you a good idea).

Why no mention of renting a car? That would be the easiest way to see MSM and the D-Day beaches. Intercity public transit in France is great... not so much to small and out of the way places....

Whatever you do, make sure you save some time for Nantes itself, a fascinating place with a really rich history. I just finished Armel de Wismes's book, Nantes, and loved it.

You can easily do this if you rent a car - not sure if you don;t want to drive in France - but that would solve all this to and fro on the train.

In my recent trip to France I covered MSM, the D-Day beaches as well as the Loire Valley on a coach tour. The photos in my trip report below may give you a taste of what you will see to decide which area is more appealing to you. Renting a car will be the best option to give you the flexibility.

Ronald
http://my-tourdefrance.blogspot.com/