I will be visiting Pais in late April and would like to spend 3 or 4 days visiting Normandy beaches, Mont Saint Michel & a few chateux (Chenonceau, Usse are 2 I'd like to see). I know I will need a car. I like some suggestions on: 1)the highlights to see in these areas in just a few days; 2) the best route & means of travel, i.e. all auto, auto train etc... & 3) inexpensive but nice hotels (for 2).
I received a lot of help for my trip to Italy & know I will again.

A few years ago I took the train from Paris to Caen, then rented a car there. Didn't rent the car in Paris because I wanted to skip driving in Paris; car rentals options in Bayeux are limited and it's a small town, so Caen was a great compromise - it's only a short drive to Bayeux. Stayed two nights in Bayeux, the last night in Caen, and for me that was plenty of time to see the highlights of the D-day stuff. I found driving in Normandy very easy, once I got out of Caen.

Not everyone stays in Bayeux as a base for the D-day beaches but many do - tha tapestry is there also. Most people find the little town charming but I found it a tourist trip and actually preferred Caen, which I found vibrant and alive after sunset, whereas Bayeux is mostly tourists after dark. There are other bed and breakfast options in the smaller areas where you can also stay.

I used Rick Steves for the hotel in Bayeux (forget the name now), and the hotel I got out of there was fine. I'm sure he's got decent options for Mont Saint Michel too but I didn't go there.

The Normandy countryside is beautiful. Look for all the roadside memorials to fallen American soldiers. As for the other D-day stuff, the American Cemetery is of course a highlight and you can walk down to Omaha Beach from there. I also did Utah Beach and St. Mere Eglese, just to see the dummy hanging by the parachute as the soldier supposedly did early on June 6 1944. The only museum I did was the Caen Memorial, but I'm not much of a museum person.

Andrew

Thanks Andrew. My plan is to get to the Caen/ Bayeau area in the evening, & see the Normandy beach sites the next day. Drive to Mont Saint Michel in the late afternoon/ evening, stay the night. See the sites in the morning & then drive to the Loire Valley. I'd like to see as many chateaux as is reasonably feasible starting with Usse & then return to Paris. Can this be done & when do I take the train & when do I drive? Not sure where I'll be staying in Paris. Probably the left bank because my daughter is at the Sorbonne or maybe the Eiffel tower area. So, I'll need to know the best station to use if I take the train. Thanks.

I stayed at the Hotel de la Digue when I went to Mont St. Michel. It is on the other side of the causeway, about a 20 minute walk and one big advantage was that we got look at Mont St. Michel from a distance. It is just magical in the evening. If you are staying on the mont, you won't see that view. We walked to the mont for dinner and it was great, no crowds several restaurants to choose from. IN the morning we got up early to try to beat the crowd. I recommend that you find out what time the monastery opens and get there close to that. It gets very crowded when the tour busses get there.

We stayed in Chinon (can't remember the hotel) the day we visited Usse. From there we visited Brissac and then to Mont St. Michel. We left Brissac at 3:30 and were to Mont St. Michel in plenty of time to check in and wander to and on the mont and have dinner. A couple hour drive maybe?

Driving in the Loire was great - so pretty and I loved see the chateaux. I think getting to and from MSM by train is not as easy as car. You take a bus from the nearest train station if I recall. But driving in the Loire is beautiful and I would recommend it.

If you plan to visit the Loire Valley, I would recommend spending a night there. Otherwise I don’t see it being workable.

Mappy.com shows 322km from MSM to Usse and an estimated driving time of 3.5 hours. I always consider these estmates to be minimums.

Loire to Paris the options are dropping the car somewhere [Tours comes to mind] and taking a train, or driving in. There are pros and cons. Personnally I would drive to Paris and return the car to the Gare de Lyon.

I don't think you have enough time to do what you're planning. If you get to Bayeux (unlike another poster I found this to be a far more charming town to stay in than Caen, though I, too, took the train to Caen and picked up a car there) in the evening, you really won't be able to see all the D-Day sights AND get to le Mont St-Michel the next day. The Mémorial musuem in Caen alone could easily occupy half a day, then there's the many beaches, the American Cemetery, the Arromanches museum, Pointe du-Hoc, etc. And then it's not a short drive to le MSM.

By the same token, you need more time than you've allotted to drive from le MSM to the Loire and actually have time to see anything.

You originally said you wanted to spend 3-4 days doing this trip. You NEED 3-4 days to do it, so your original plan was a good one.

I did omit staying the night in the Loire Valley. I'd appreciate suggestions of places to stay. The 1st night would be in the Bayeau area. The 2nd in or near MSM, & the 3rd between Usse & outside the Tours area. I look for a place that has atmosphere over luxury & is inexpensive unless it is something that is an experience in & of itself. Thanks again for the help.