From the Loire Valley to Mont St Michel to Paris...
 

I'm planning a trip from July 9th-17th and trying to figure out how we're getting to each place and where to stay there.

We'll be doing the Loire Valley on the 14th and 15th (do you think there will be trouble getting there from Paris cause of Bastille Day?) and figured we'd rent a car after taking the train out to Tours or something so that we can see more in our limited amount of time and also stay at a chateaux at some point (suggestions for a chateaux?). We also figured we'd rent a car because we don't want to have to backtrack to Paris to get a train to near Mont St Michel, and figured we'd just drive up. Do you know how long a drive this would be? And would you recommend a nearby city to stay in once we're there? We figured we'd be able to see Mont St Michel at night if we drove. The next day we'd probably head back and maybe check out somewhere along the way and drive back to the airport for our 5:30p flight. Is there anywhere along the way you'd recommend checking out on the drive back (maybe Giverny)?

So do you think it's worth renting the car for the fees and gas charges so we have the freedom vs trying to figure out trains? Is there a way to get to Mont St Michel from the Loire Valley otherwise? And in terms of the Loire Valley, how many chateaux (thinking Chambord, Chenonceau, and Cheverny...maybe the gardens at Villandry) and wineries do you think we could fit in to such a small time frame? Is that possible? I want to see too much!!!

Thanks for any help!

We spent 6 days in the Loire and you can cover 2 cheatuex per day - unless you do a son et lumiere in the evening (but then you just see the outside).

I would doubt you could rent a car on Bastille day - check the agencies and see - but I think you need to rent the day before. Also -rent in paris and drive from there rather thena ll schlep on a traina nd then rent and then drive.

If you mean leve Paris on 14, see chateaux, drive to Mt St Micel, spend night of 14 there, see it early on the 15th and then drive back for an afternoon plane - tht's way too much for 2 days. (You need to allow 4 or 5 hours to see the Mt, climb to the top etc - all before dark - you would have no time for the Loire.)

Also check out whether the châteaux will be open on le 14 juillet. Certainly not much else will be.

Ok cool. I thought most things touristy remained open, but maybe not...

And we'd be leaving Paris on the 14th, sleeping in the Loire Valley that night and the next, and then drive up to MSM on the 16th. I read that early evening is a better time to go because there are less people there, so I figured we could drive to some city to check into our hotel and the drive up to MSM, and maybe see one more thing in the Loire Valley or on the way up before driving up that day.

We stayed overnight at MSM at La Jacotiere b&b. It was not on the mont but there are hotels on the mont where you can stay.

We then drove our rental car from MSM to Amboise in the Loire Valley. It was an easy drive - forget how many hours it took for the drive. I would recommend driving to MSM rather than going back to Paris and going by train/bus.

From the Loire Valley we drove to Orly Airport and left the car there and took a taxi into Paris. Orly Airport was easy to drive into from the Loire Valley.

We stayed at Manoir de la Maison Blanche in Amboise in the Loire Valley. You should select this b&b take the ring road around Amboise when going to the b&b - it is easier than trying to dive through Amboise.

Well, 2 nights is somewhat more doable, but a couple of points:

Do check on Bastille day - the chateaux may not be open
I wouldn;t arrive at Mt St Michel that late since 1) you want to see the tides and need to check the schedule and 2) if you start up too late the abbey at the top will be closed and you will have missed a major part of the sights

If the chateaux are open you might want to consider spending a couple of nights in a private chateau. We stayed at the Chateau des Reaux - near Chinon - 15th century with a moat and uber thick walls with arrow slits. Very reasonable and esp fascinatng if you're there one of the nights they offer dinner en famille. We ate with other guests from the US, Canada, Australia, Argentina and Russia - a chance to get a lot of different perspectives on a lot of things - and sample great local food and wine.

I'd say go for it. Both areas are worth seeing, even for a short visit. When we visited MSM (Aug) we arrived about 6 pm. It was still a bit crowded but it emptied out within the hour. It is fantastic to stay overnight on MSM because it's all lit up and you can exlpore after dinner and have it almost all to yourselves. The hotels on MSM are generally not fancy but perfectly adequate (we stayed at La Vieille Auberge). Then you can get up early and tour the abbey before the crowds come (can't speak abt the tides since they were not active the day we were there so there was not much to see--I think there is a timetable on the MSMwebsite). We ended up checking out about 11:00. The drive from Amboise was about 4 hours as I recall.

We stayed at Manoir Les Minimes in Amboise whihc we found was a great base since it is so close to quite a few chateaux (Amboise, Clos Luce, Chenonceau, Chambord, Chaumont and Cheverny).

I don't know how long the drive would be from MSM to Paris but keep in mind it is part of a holiday weekend so there may be more traffic than usual (although the 17th is a Saturday and not a Sunday which should help). Also leave enough time to return the car (I had a hard time finding the right spot to drop it off at CDG) and if the line is long and you are trying to catch your flight it might be less than ideal.

GOod luck!

We actually hired a car from Paris and drove down to near Tours for our visit through the Loire Valley and then drove on down to Le Mont St Michel and stayed the night on MSM. We then drove back to Paris via Rouen.

We found it to be extremely easy driving all around France and experienced no problems even though it was on the other side of the road to what we're used to.

I would highly recommend spending the night on the Mont - we were really thrilled that we did.

Thanks for all the tips!

It's really tough because I keep wavering between whether it's worth all the driving to see MSM vs just taking it a little easier in the Loire Valley and spending more time seeing stuff there or in Paris. The car is just so expensive and we'll be coming off of 9 days in Russia before our France part of the trip and MSM would be at the very end before the flight back to NYC and then a bus the next morning to DC...so all that driving might be a bit too much. But MSM sounds so incredible from what you've all said...it's so tough!

Any opinions on if it's worth all the driving considering or if we should just chill out a little? I'll check out those chateaux and b&bs you mentioned. Any other recs would be great too! And do you know a good resource for finding wineries to visit in the Loire Valley? Can we just show up there for a tour or do we need to call in advance or take a group kinda thing?

Thanks again!!

Hi Littlerose,

Different strokes for different folks but our night on MSM was one of the highlights of our France trip.

You might consider taking a car from Paris to Giverny, maybe spending the night in Honfluer, and then on to MSM and back to Paris. Save the Loire for another trip.

If you had rather see the Loire, then I would save MSM for another trip. Three days is really only enough time for one area or the other. I would guess any of these places will be very crowded on a holiday weekend which will make travel slow.

There are many things to do in the area south of Paris and not far from the Loire Valley.
For instance, Vezelay
http://www.sacred-destinations.com/f...vezelay-church, Chartres to the Cathedral, Gien to the china factory.

There is a castle being built according to plans from the 13th century. It is being built using the tools and methods available then.
http://www.guedelon.fr/

MSM is awesome so for me it would be a toss up between MSM and the Loire Valley but guess I would chose MSM and leave the Loire Valley for next trip. Just my opinion.

I think you need to be mindful of the drive you'll have from Mont St Michel to CDG on the day you'll be departing.

Google maps puts the drive at 3 hours 40 minutes. It would actually be over 4 plus you'd also need to allow time to gas up the car and find the rental return area. You also need to be in the airport at least 3 hours ahead of time.

Adding a bit of extra time in case of traffic delays or taking a wrong turn would be prudent as well. Let's say an hour.

So 4:15 hours to drive
1 hour leeway
3 hours before flight
---------
8 hours 15 minutes

Your flight leaves at 5:30 so you'd need to be
on the road before 9:15 AM.

Having done both in the past, if it was me, I'd do the Loire only and save MSM for another trip.
You might decide on MSM... but I'd only do the one in the time you have available.

I always worry on departure day (and I am NOT a worrier by nature) because I know if I miss the flight it's going to cost me thousands of dollars. Just something to think about...

Rob

Yea, I've thought about it a lot, and we're going to just nix MSM for this trip and hopefully be able to fit it in some other time. We're thinking of switching around our entire schedule now so that the Loire is done by Bastille Day so that we can enjoy that in Paris without having to worry about things being closed we need for travel and can use that as our off day.

So now one other question: Is it worth going to Versailles on Saturday to see the concerts and fountain show, or should we go another day when the crowds will be tamer?

Do you need to stay near MSM, I just want to recommend this lovely B&B:

http://chambresdhote.freeiz.com/chambredhote.htm

Hope you find the best way for you.