Pat_in_Mich

We are going to France in May. DH and I spent a few days in Paris nearly 30 years ago, DD studied in Tours a few summers ago, DS has never been to France at all. So we're pretty much first timers. Our hotel budget is about 200 Euros a night and either a quad room or 2 double rooms is fine for us.

I have about 8 different guide books from the library, have been reading posts like crazy, and have come up with a tentative itinerary. Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

We arrive in the morning on Sunday, May 17th. We plan to stay in Paris until Saturday, May 23rd. We would then like to see the following places:

Rouen - cathedral and see the town
Honfleur - church, harbor, maybe a boat tour
Caen - Memorial Museum (will see while staying in Bayeux)
Bayeux - tapestry, cathedral, Battlebus tour (full day), British cemetery
Mont Saint-Michel
Tours - base to see Chenonceux, Chambord, and maybe Cheverny, also meet DD's host family
Chartres - cathedral

Our return flight is on Sunday, May 31st and we plan to spend Saturday night back at the airport (CDG). So we have 8 days, 7 nights after we leave Paris and I'm considering allocating them like this:

Saturday 23 - train in am to Rouen, rent car, tour city
Sunday 24 - tour Honfleur, drive to Bayeux
Should I spend Saturday night in Honfleur or Rouen? Hotel suggestions?
Sunday 24 - Bayeux
Monday 25 - Bayeux
Tuesday 26 - Bayeux part of day, drive to MSM and stay nearby. Hotel suggestions for MSM vicinity?
Wednesday 27 - tour MSM early to avoid crowds, drive to Tours
Thursday 28 - chateaus or meet host family
Friday 29 - whatever we didn't do previous day
Saturday 30 - early start, drive to Chartres, see cathedral, drop off car, train into Paris CDG, stay at airport hotel
Sunday 31 - flight home

Does this make sense? Are we trying to do too much?

Pat_in_Mich

ttt

Mamaw

Hi Pat!

I had the most wonderful trip last March to the same places you all are going.

We stayed at the Churchill hotel in Bayeux. It was a wonderful family hotel. The husband and wife team were amazing. The breakfast they serve with the room rate is fantastic.

patandhank

Some may disagree, but I think you'll have time to do what you want. We did something similar and thought it was fine. We spent one night in Rouen, did Honfleur in a day and spent 2 nights in Bayeux. Went to MSM and spent a night at Chateau Richeux which we loved. Went down to Loire and did see Chenonceux (didn't see Chambord) and hit Chartres on our way to Paris. We did our entire trip by rental car so I'm not quite sure how the trains will factor into your timing as we could set our own schedule. If you would like my trip report, feel free to e-mail me.

Fodorite018

Another vote for the Churchill in Bayeux. We also did the full day Battlebus tour and it was excellent. We were kicking ourselves for not doing the 2 day tour though, and this was 3 women (myself, my 16 yr old DD and my mother). Loved the cathedral there in Bayeux, and glad to see you have the museum in Caen on your list. That is a must see for everyone, IMO.

Pat_in_Mich

Thanks to those whoe repsonded so far.

Anyone have hotel recommendations for Rouen, Honfleur, or in the MSM vicinity?

For the car rental, would it be better/cheaper to just pick the car up in Paris and return it to CDG and avoid the trains altogether? I've heard that it can be more expensive to rent at the airport, does that just apply to picking the car up there? DH is a little apprehensive about getting out of the city with the car which is part of the reason that we thought we'd do the train for the 1st and last leg.

bratsandbeer

Mont St Michel
http://www.bedbreak.com/lajacotiere/

I emailed this b&b directly. It is just a mile or less from the village and you can see Mont St Michel from their backyard. I don't remember what the price was.

The couple that own the b&b recommended a small restaurant not far down the road from La Jacotiere. There were many locals eating there. We had omelets. The food was so good and reasonably priced that we ate there the second night.

You can drive to the mont as there is parking. We parked near the mont the first time we visited it and when we went back the second time we parked in the field just before the road to the mont begins. We walked the 2 miles to the mont so we could take photos. Was a very enjoyable walk back and forth.

From MSM we drove to the Loire Valley and from there to Chartres to see the cathedral. Then on to Vezelay and Auxerre. We returned the car to Orly Airport.

http://www.lamaisonblanche-fr.com/
[email protected]

We stayed at this b&b in Amboise. it was very convenient to go to the castles you want to visit. If you should decide to stay at La Maison Blanche and are driving please notice the highway that goes around the town - D31. Do not drive right into Amboise expecting to find the b&b.

We drove around the town on D31. There is a map on the website and you can follow the roads from D31 to the b&b. Very easy to get there if you don't drive into the town.

Both of these b&bs are on Gites of France and also tripadvisor.

patandhank

Pat - because we had Paris as our last stop, not our first, we picked our car up at the airport and then dropped it in Versailles before we went to stay in Paris. A lot of people have taken the train to Rouen and picked up their car there, did the driving trip and then drop it outside of Paris and take the train back in. Since you'll aleady be in Paris, I'm not sure I'd go all the way to the airport to pick up the car and might opt to take the train to Rouen to get it. The Hertz office is literally right out of the train station's doors and down one block in Rouen.

We stayed at the Mecure in Rouen. Our first time using that chain and we were impressed with it and loved the location. They have an underground parking garage right on site so the rental car was secure. We then walked everywhere before leaving Rouen. Very reasonably priced. We used the same chain for Honfleur, but frankly were not as impressed with the hotel itself, although again it had parking right behind the building which was nice and you could walk to the port area easily. Already mentioned where we stayed in MSM, but I think that might be above your 200 Euros a night budget. It was one of our "splurge" stays. I would check Trip Advisor's site for some hotel recommendations.

yk

Pat -

Re: Car rental
In 2007, we returned our car in Paris at Gare Montparnasse. It was so bad (rush hour) that my husband swore that he'd never drive into (or out of) Paris again.

So, for our 2008 trip, I decided that we'd spend more money to take the train from Paris out to Angers (got cheap PREMS tickets) and rent the car from there.

I don't think there's charge for return at airport. No charge either if you pick up your car in Paris (as long as it's not at a rail station).

I think Amboise is a nicer town to base for Loire Valley. If you're only meeting the host family for one day, you can certainly drive to Tours from Amboise. We stayed at Le Clos d'Amboise and it's a nice B&B. If you do a search here you'll find very positive reviews of that place.

MAP

Hi Pat,
I highly recommend seeing Chenonceaux, and while you are there, have a fabulous, reasonable lunch at La Roseraie. The couple who owns it also has the hotel, and it looked just charming. Look at trip advisor and at their website
www.charmingroseraie.com. It was the best food we had in a month in France....not fancy but just delicious. Rooms look cozy and nice, too.

MAP

Pat, I just looked at trip advisor....what fabulous reviews La Roseraie gets. We stayed in Amboise at the Manoir Les Minimes, and although the hotel was lovely, it was a good deal more expensive and we found Amboise very touristy.

mermaid_

Pat, we went to Normandy this past September so I will tell you what we did. Maybe it will be useful to you. We took a look at Rouen and towards the end of the day we drove to a wonderful small town on the Seine south-west of the city. It's called La Bouille and it's a little jewel box of a town that I'd go back to in a heartbeat. After a bustling busy day in the city it was a relief to get into the calm quiet of the countryside. La Bouille sits on the edge of the river, straddled between it and the high cliffs. We stayed at Le Bellevue Hotel, http://www.hotel-le-bellevue.com/index_uk.html, and enjoyed an exquisite river view and an even better dinner in the restaurant that night. My brother and sister-in-law, who live in England, found out about the hotel from a travel article in one of the London newspapers. It was a real find.

The next morning we got off to a leisurely start and drove up-river a bit and took the ferry (free, though you have to wait for it) across the Seine to get to the ruined abbey of Jumieges. Definitely worth the detour!! We must have been there two hours at least. It's one of those places where you can't stop taking photos. From there, off to Honfleur for lunch and a walk around, and in the very late afternoon, off to Bayeux.

We stayed in Bayeux two nights. One day we got up early and drove to Mont St. Michele, stopping in the charming town of Avranches first. There's a garden there that must be seen. You'll get a far-away gorgeous glimpse of the Mont from one of its vantage points. When you're in Mont St. Michele, do go on the tour! There's one offered in English, it lasts at least an hour, and there's no extra fee. It will make a world of difference in your impression of the abbey if you have all the nuances explained to you as you walk along. We were lucky enough to be guided by an older gentleman who was not only informative but had a great sense of humor to boot. After leaving Mont St. Michele we drove back to Bayeux by way of Coutances, which has a wonderful cathedral. It closes at 7 pm though, so be mindful of your time if you want to see it.

Second day at Bayeux we explored the beaches and the cider country, most notably the "most beautiful" village of Beuvron-en-Auge, which has a bakery with the most delicious apple tarts I've ever tasted in my life.

Hope this is helpful to you!

hopingtotravel

Several on this board liked L'Ecrin in Honfleur. Rooms, staff, and garden--all nice.

aliced

From Paris we split your itinerary into two trips-- one heading north and west, another heading south into Loire. In Normandy we stayed at 3 private manor homes/estates, (could not call them b & b's, they were gated, on acres, etc)all found through French Tourism Board brochure, following pretty much the itinerary you plan; the rooms were gorgeous, breakfast provided, and wonderful hosts. In Loire, visited Chambord, Chenonceaux, Amboise (see the DaVinci Museum there or near there) and stayed at a lovely small hotel right across street from entrance to Chenonceaux. On all our trips to Paris we rent a car last day in the city (twice from Invalides neighborhood) and return to airport without problems-- it is not that hard leaving the city really. We are away from home now so cannot provide specific names, sorry.

grandmere

La Cour Ste Catherine in Honfleur is a very nice B&B. Large rooms, modern baths, breakfast included in this old house with a lovely garden. We stayed here in May of 2005; it was recommended by someone on this forum.

www.giaglis.com

axelrod6

We also traveled a similar path a number of years ago. Near Rouen, we stayed at Auberge de L'Abbaye in Le Bec Hellouin. It is a bit southwest of Rouen. It is very delightful small town; the inn is cozy, and the food at the restaurant was the best we had in France. When they say that they make the best apple tarte in France, believe them. There is one review on TripAdvisor from 2008 and it is every bit as glowing as the one I would have written if TripAdvisor had existed when I went. I recommend reading it and then looking the town up on Google. The only website I have is in French www.auberge-abbaye-bec-hellouin.com.

I think your trip is very doable. We went to Paris for 4 nights, took the train to Rouen, got a car and drove to Le Bec Hellouin (now accorded "one of the most beautiful villages in France" status (one night), drove to Bayeux (2 nights), drove to a place I would not recommend near Mont Saint-Michel (1 night), did the early morning visit to Mont St. Michel, then two nights in Western Loire Valley and two nights in the Eastern Loire, dropped the car and then took the train back to Paris for 2 final nights. Best of Luck.