I'm planning a trip with my family (wife + two small kids) to northern France at the end of July though the first week of August. I have planned the following rough itinerary:

Day 1 (Thu) - arrive, drive to the Impressionist Museum in Giverny, drive to Normandy (Bayeux?) for the night
Day 2 (Fri) - Normandy beaches, etc.
Day 3 (Sat) - Drive to Mont St Michel, drive to Chinon
Day 4 (Sun) - Chinon
Day 5 (Mon) - drive to Amboise for the DaVinci house, drive to Reims
Day 6 (Tue) - Reims Cathedral, champagne
Day 7 (Wed) - drive to Paris
Days 8-9 (Thu-Fri) - Louvre, Eiffel tower, etc.
Day 10 (Sat) - fly home

I really like historical sites (too bad the Bayuex tapestry is unavailable) and parks/outdoors. Wife loves art, especially impressionism. We both like wine, so a couple stops are mandatory (Chinon is one of my favorite regions). The older child must see the Mona Lisa (also the reason for the stop in Amboise) and the Eiffel Tower.

Any thoughts on the itinerary? Other places to stop or stay?

Welcome to Fodors.

A few quick comments:

1) If you are arriving after a long haul flight do NOT drive on your arrival day (plus CDG > Giverny > Bayeux is at least a 4 hour drive so even a worse idea)

2) Bayeux > MSM > Chinon is a 5+ hour drive plus a few very crowded hours at MSM would make for an extremely long/tiring day.

3) Chinon > Amboise > Reins is another long drive (almost 300 miles/at least 5 hours without stops)

You say two 'small children' - I don't see much here geared to little ones.

With a young family I'd personally be less ambitious both re distances/time in the car and number locations

Reims seems a bit out of the way compared to the rest of your itinerary. While it is definitely worth a visit, I'm not sure if it fits on this trip.

Yikes, in high season and at the hotest time of the year you want to race around north France, a bit better but I'd see how much of this could be done by train

I'd drop the Giverny
1 ) Train to Reims (after a flight, take the train and keep the faimly alive)
2) Car to Amboise
2) Car to Bayeaux
3) Car to Chinon (MSM is be rammed), stay in Chinon another day and visit say Saumur or Angers or any one of a number of lovely places by car or train
4) Car to Paris (or train)
5) VIsit Musee d'Orsay for Impressionists

I agree with the others -- do not try to drive for at least 26 hours.

For Impressionism in Paris -- the Musee d'Orsay and the Orangerie.

Too much moving about, too little time to actually see anything. I urge you to seriously trim your wish list.

Good luck!

sorry Amboise in a in a silly place in the sequence, visit from Chinon. My mistake

I agree with everyone else. Too much driving too little seeing anything. Could stop in Paris first if you want to see the Orsay, Monet etc. Need to be at MSM really early to beat the crowds. Seeing WW2 Normandy probably best by tour given your lack of time. Really need to simplify your trip IMHO. There is a really nice Zoo near Ambrose that your children might like.

Drop Reims. Not in the same ballpark. No lack of huge Gothic cathedrals elsewhere and taking small kids to tour Champagne houses is declassι. This is a horrid itinerary, but it's your vacation.

In Normandy, Chateau de Vendeuvre has a surprise water garden and Chateau de Cleres doubles as an animal park. Beuvron en Auge is one of the most gorgeous villages in France.

For the landing beaches, my four favorite spots are:
Museum of the Atlantic Wall (great for kids)
Pointe du Hoc
Arromanches
The American Cemetery at St Laurent sur Mer.

I would not take a tour to D-Day sites with small kids. They'll be trapped in a van with a bunch of strangers.

No need to stay in Bayeux. If you have a car, stay in a village. So many choices.

Thanks for the feedback so far!

Distances aren't much of an issue for us. We're used to driving around (two hours each way is day trip distance), and it serves as nap time for the younger one. It's also why I plan to stay multiple nights in each place, to give a break.

I'm trying to keep Paris to the end to avoid splitting stays and make the trip to the airport easier.

I'll reconsider Reims. Any suggestions for alternatives? Brittany? More Loire?

Also, any specific suggestions for the kids? Would like to avoid zoos, etc., that we have plenty of at home, but special museums or parks would be great. (We took them to the adventure park in Turku and Children's Town at the Helsinki City Museum last year and they loved them.) To clarify, we have one in primary school and one in preschool.

To escape the crowds, you might want to look into the incredible WW1 sites and cemeteries around Arras and going up to Belgium.

You don't give the ages but with at least a pre-schooler, sorry but I think this is not a good plan (at all). Sorry, just isn't IMO. Since you mention 'primary school' and 'preschool' which tend to be North American terminology it seems like one is maybe under 11 yo and the other under 5yo.

You didn't say if you are flying in long haul or not. Assuming so - If so, the comments re not driving on arrival are more than mere suggestions. It is a must. Between microsleeps, jet lag and arrival formalities, driving after an overnight flight is as bad a driving drunk. Correct me if you are just coming across the Channel, which would solve the driving problem.

This really doesn't come across as a 'family trip' but more an adults road trip for wine, art, cathedrals, and WWII sites and the kids are just tagging along in the back seat. That may sound harsh but that's how the plan reads.

Paris + Normandy - or - Paris + the Loire - or - Paris + any other nearby region is PLENTY for the eight free days you have (not counting arrival and departure days which will be eaten up with arrival and departure 'stuff')

We spent four days in the Bayeux area when our boys were 13 and 15. There is so much to see and one day won't allow you to scratch the surface.