"PalenQ, the hike from Vernon to Giberny sounds interesting. If the weather's not too hot, I will consider it."

We almost did a forced march a few weeks ago on this. We had to get back to Paris to catch the Eurostar and were afraid we might get bumped off the first bus and might miss the train back. There is a huge gap in the afternoon return train schedule. It looks like a pretty long walk, though the terrain is flat.

depends what you call long walk - three miles for some is a stroll - for others a forced march.

Has anyone been to Locronan or Rochefort-en-Terre? They are recognized as the most beautiful villages in Brittany.

I was not particularly impressed by Rochefort-en-Terre. But when would you possibly cram a visit to either of these places into your trip? Again, I hope your question will not serve as an invitation to trolls or to their feeding.

Kja, I'm not sure they can be reached by public transport or even guided tours.

A taxi from the train station to Giverny doesn't cost that much, it's only 5 km. So if you miss the bus schedule and don't want to walk, it's not a major expense. There are plenty of taxis there, of course, at least there was when I went. I wouldn't pay for one to wait hours for me to tour it, though, that would be very expensive.

I don't know if you'd want to count on this but they might have luggage storage at the Bar Tabac de la Gare at 4, rue de la Gare (or 138 rue de l'Albufera) They have a sign on the side door glass saying "Luggage Deposite" (sic) which you can see in the Google street view photo dated Sept 2016. It's about a block away.

You could email Giverny to ask about bag storage but I rather doubt they would have major luggage storage, it's not a major museum at all, of course. Even some smaller museums in France don't have vestiares. I have never been in any museum in France that did not allow a small bag, actually, if that means something like a regular sized purse. Many don't allow large backpacks or suitcases, of course.

They are recognized as the most beautiful villages in Brittany.>

By who?

Christina, thanks I will look into that. PalenQ, by the association Les Plus Beaux Villages de France.

Guys, I'm thinking of adding an overnight in the Loire valley, possibly in Amboise. Enough to see Chenonceau, Chambord, and Villandy? Can someone recommend a good minivan tour from Amboise?

Found an agency called Accoodispo tours.

This tour sounds interesting: Villandry(gardens), Azay-Le-Rideau, Chenonceau, Chambord.

It will take a half day.

Whoops I meant to say a full day.

Loaker on my thread apersuader said he believes that L'Arivee de Giverny cafe will store bags (although I don't think he's certain) and he provides this link to another forum: https://community.ricksteves.com/tra...age-in-giverny

Maybe that will be helpful to you.

Those are the very chateaux we are hoping to visit in the Loire (plus Chaumont for the Garden Festival). We assumed that would take us two days, with perhaps a little time left over for strolling around Amboise or the river.

with perhaps a little time left over for strolling around Amboise or the river.>

check out the troglydyte houses on a street south of the Amboise chateau:

https://www.google.com/search?q=trog...w=1920&bih=950

Cross the Loire bridge to the island and have a wonderful view of Amboise chateau.

And of course the Clos du Luce- a small chateau as it is called (but not really much of one) in Amboise where Leonardo da Vinci spent his last days and many reproductions of his inventions are on display.