bornintheusa

Okay now you have given me too many options and I need to narrow them down.. Looking at Chartres and/or Rouen and/or Honfleur. Know we can't do all 3 in one day without killing ourselves so we need to pick one or 2--there are so many great things to see in all 3 places. Which one or 2 will have more for us to see that will give us a new experience after 7 days in Paris. We pick up the rental car at Gare de Lyon in Paris and have one full day of driving and sightseeing on the way to Mont St Michel ..This will be the only day we can stop and see sights on our way to Pontorson where we are spending one night--the return trip to Paris has to be a straight drive from Bayeux with no stops in order to make our train to Brussels. Here are the driving times according to viamichelin--help me to narrow down this one day of driving. Thanks

Gare de lyon to Rouen to Honfleur 3 hr 5 min 222 km
Gare de Lyon to Honfleur 2 hr 30 min 198 km
Gare de Lyon to Chartres to Honfleur 3 1/2 hr 285 km
Honfleur to Pontorson 2 hrs 189 km

kja

IMO, the greatest contrast to Paris of these three (Chartres, Rouen, and Honfleur) would be Honfleur. As a rough guide, I'd say to give Honfleur a few hours, more or less depending on your specific interests.

Too, if "a new experience" is your criterion, consider stopping in Giverny for Monet's garden or Les Andelys for the Château Gaillard or drive the thatched cottage route -- all of which you can do on en route from Paris to Mont St. Michel, but I doubt you can do them all in that one day. If you pursue this option, decide what interests you and be mindful of the time so you have time to visit Honfleur before reaching Mont St. Michel.