We have a loose itinerary with nothing but flights booked thus far.

Fly into Paris and immediately take train to Dijon.

Rent car and stay 3 nights in Dijon.

Drive to Chinon (or somewhere near there) and stay there for 2 nights.

From Chinon, drive along west coast to Dieppe for two nights.

Drop car in Dieppe and take train back to Paris.

Stay in Paris for 6 nights.

Further to my last post, what I neglected to ask is whether this route and this timing seems reasonable. Many thanks.

Looks OK to me.

I assume you have looked up the train schedules and suggest you check the driving routes on viamichelin and/or mappy.

Why Dieppe? At least just south of Dieppe, "driving along the coast" does not give you a view of the cliffs and the water except occasionally. I would think that Rouen would be a better drop-off point for the car, and I suspect that the town is more interesting. If you insist on Dieppe, you might be interested in the B&B we stayed in overlooking Pourville sur mer. I only gave the phone number in my report (http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34444403) but it can be cross-checked on the Gites de France Normandy web site (http://www.gites-de-france.fr/eng/index.htm).

We were hoping to visit the Canadian war cemetery near Dieppe, but if the town itself isn't that intereting, we could certainly stay elsewhere. Is there a better (i.e. more interesting) route from the Loire Valley to the Dieppe area?

I'm always happy to see Dijon as a destination so welcome! if you need help, please ask

Happy travels!
coco