You've got 12 nights before Paris so here's my itinerary:

Day 1) Amiens and then overnight in Rouen as you planned.

Day 2) Visit of Rouen in the morning. Stroll the old town, see the cathedral and Joan of Arc church. Visit Honfleur in the afternoon and then head to Bayeux for your overnight.

Day 3) D-Day Tour

Day 4) Tapestry museum in Bayeux in the morning and Caen museum in the afternoon.

Day 5) See whatever else you want near Bayeux and head to MSM for an overnight. The Mont is magical at night and you'll have it to yourself after the tourists are gone. It's a 1-1/2 hour to 1-3/4 hour drive from Bayeux to MSM.

Day 6) Visit the MSM abbey in the morning then head to Saint-Malo. Head to Dinan after Saint-Malo and overnight in Dinan.

Day 7) Finish visit of Dinan in the morning and then use my report as a guide to visit other places in the area. Overnight in Dinan again.

Days 8) Head to the Loire and spend the rest of your time there before heading to Paris. Or, spend one more day in Brittany before heading to the Loire.

There will be a new shuttle bus system in place starting April 28th for MSM. The car will park be on the mainland and then you walk a few minutes to a shuttle bus to get to the Mont. Here is a link about the new shuttle bus system:

http://accueilmontsaintmichel.fr/english/index.html

And the official website for MSM:

http://www.ot-montsaintmichel.com/index.htm?lang=en

I think an overnight stay on MSM is great, even though the hotels are pricey as are the restos, which have average food at best. I've done two overnights on MSM and enjoyed them both. However, you'll need to bring your luggage with you from the car park to the shuttle and then back again the next day so you've got that to think about. If you decide against an overnight on MSM then stay somewhere nearby, like Dol-de-Bretagne:

http://www.dol-de-bretagne.fr/

Or, if you don't want to stay in Dol-de-Bretagne then find a nice cozy B&B near the Mont and stay there.

A terrific place to stay off the Mont is Chateau de Bouceel in Vergoncey. There are other Fodorites who have stayed here, too. It is one fabulous place! If you click on my name, you can see my Normandy report. We stayed there in 2007, but it still gets rave reviews on Trip Advisor. Give it a look!

We also have stayed at the www.chateaudebouceel.com The 'Count' is so interesting. Breakfast was a good French breakfast. The Chateau is 10 miles south of the Mount, with great old towns to visit in the vicinity.

http://www.chateau-de-sully.com/

If you get the "urge to splurge"...we loved this elegant chateau, just two kms. from Bayeux on the highway to the beaches. Classically beautiful grounds..excellent restaurant and bkfst buffet. An experience!

Aussies allowed, with a letter from your PM.

Re Hotel d'Argouges - we were in the annexe and the rooms were nothing like as glam as those illustrated. Although 3 star there was no lift either. If you are not fit, forget it. The service was a tad surly at times and the breakfast less than fantastic for the price.

We loved our stay at the Hotel de St Croix. Rooms were just like the photos, very large and comfy. The hostess was warm, charming and served up a homemade breakfast that was simply one of the best breakfasts ever.

http://www.hotel-de-sainte-croix.com...e&name=accueil

Having only (in the 70s) visited Bayeux, Omaha Beach and Mont St Michel from Paris on a day trip (well not quite because I was caught out and ended up having to get a late night train from Rennes that got me back to Paris at dawn), for my next, more leisurely, visit I've bookmarked the highly regarded Hotel Churchill -

http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Hotel_..._Normandy.html

which I notice has an adjacent parking lot.

There seems to be lots of lovely accommodation options to choose from and I thank you all for your suggestions. Its great to get first hand knowledge.

"The Count" does sound like an interesting host and yes Chateau de Sully does look nice.

Mainhatten girl I had emailed the Hotel de St Croix yesterday and they have a vacancy.

FrenchMystiqueTours, your itinery suggestion was excellent We have been plotting them out on a map and they seem to work in well. More research on my behalf is now needed. Thank you for your time and links.

With what you are now comtemplating, I would not do Honfleur as a day trip from Bayeux--backtracking, if you are going on to MSM and the Loire. But it "is" on the way TO Bayeux if you wanted to stop for lunch at a lovely quayside cafe. You could even drive to Pegasus Bridge on the way to Bayeux, and see that interesting WWII site.

Don't forget to use viamichelin.com to get estimated drive times and remember the times do not consider any stops nor do they consider bad weather or bad traffic. Once you factor in those criteria I find them extremely reliable.