CGS

Hello Fodorites: Husband and I are taking a 25th Anniversary trip to France in early September. One week in Paris and one week split between Normandy, Mont St Michele and the Loire Valley. I'll come back later with questions about the other regions, but today's question is about Normandy.

We have 4 days for Normandy and Mont St Michele. I'm worried especially about whether Day 1 may be unrealistic, and if so what to do about it. Day 2 is also packed with too much, but we can play that by ear a bit more.

Plan:
Day 1: pick up rental car in Paris (after spending week in Paris - not after international flight) see Giverny and Rouen, sleep in Honfleur. Would love to drive Route of the Abbeys on the way from Rouen to Honfleur. Worried about this day. Questions below.
Day 2: see coast of Normandy near Honfleur - Honfleur, Étretat, Fécamp. Very interested in seeing the cliffs and views and doing some hiking. Other possibilities for this day based on time allowances: Impressionist museum in Le Havre. WWII museum in Caen. May not be able to do all of this. Stay outside Bayeux.
Day 3: Full day D-Day tour. Stay at same inn as previous night.
Day 4: Bayeux. Tapestry. Any other sites/ museums we've missed and want to see. Depart early-mid afternoon for Mont St Michele. Would like to arrive before low tide, which is at 4:30 pm. See Mont St Michele and sleep there. (plan to leave the next morning after watching tide come in. High tide 10:30 am).

We plan to leave Paris very early on our departure day and try to be at Giverny when it opens at 9:30. Debating whether perhaps we should pick up our car the night before to avoid possible problems that morning, since early start is essential. Husband is opposed to this idea.

Really struggling with allocating our time the first 2 days. Husband is very interested in gardening and I love Monet, so I know we will want time in Giverny. 3 hours? More? I feel we're giving short shrift to Rouen, but don't have a good solution. I assume we need at least 2 hours even for just the highlights? More? (I realize some people spend several days there). The Route of the Abbeys sounds wonderful (and we love to see the countryside and out of the way places), and it's essentially on the way that we have to go. Has anyone done this drive? Is it possible to do all this in one day? Is it crazy? I don't want to arrive so late in Honfleur that it defeats the purpose of spending the night there. If only there were 30 hours in a day!

Appealing to the collective wisdom of the forums. Please give me opinions and suggestions!

miket123

"pick up rental car in Paris (after spending week in Paris - not after international flight) see Giverny and Rouen, sleep in Honfleur."

sounds like a bit too much for me. You can of course actually set foot in all these places, but I think just walking the main pedestrian-only street in Rouen, stopping into the cathedral, etc. on top of parking and getting oriented is going to take 4 hours rather than the 2 you've given it. And there is travel time between sites too.

"s ee coast of Normandy near Honfleur - Honfleur, Étretat, Fécamp." I spent 2 hours in Etretat and felt that was enough to walk up one of the cliff sides and wander a bit around town (not really all that much in town). Honfleur can easily take 1/2 a day on its own. So again, you can set foot in all these in 1 day but I think you're rushing.

apersuader65

I would suggest NOT getting the car in Paris. Train to Giverny (via Vernon then bus or cab) to see Monet's house. Return to Vernon and take the next train to Rouen. Arrive in Rouen, take your quick tour of the area and pick up your rental car in Rouen. Head to Honfleur then.

E.G. if you chose Thursday, September 7th (random day I picked), you would take the 7:18 train from St. Lazare to Vernon-Giverny and arrive there at a little after 8:00. That will give you plenty of time to get to Giverny by the Garden's opening time at 9:30. 2-2.5 hours later, get back to Vernon to catch the 12:49 or 1:07 train to Rouen (but don't be late, next train is 5:46!) Either of those get you into Rouen Rive Droite before 2:00 and you can get your rental car upon arrival, put in your luggage and go take the quick tour of Rouen. If you're still going to Honfleur that day, you will only have a couple of hours total, so walk to the Cathedral, see the Big Clock, Joan d'Arc's last stand, and maybe go back up to her museum.

Just a thought anyway.

HappyTrvlr

When in same dilemna, we dropped Rouen. Don't rush through Giverny.

CGS

Apersuader why do you suggest train rather than car? Is it faster? Won't we then have a problem with where to put our luggage while in Giverny? (By the way, that is exactly the day we are going! How funny!).

StuDudley

You may have been the person who e-mailed me to ask for my Normandy itinerary, & also asked if I would comment on your planned itinerary. As I recall, your Day 1 above was to occur on a Sunday. If so:
- Many car rental offices are closed on Sunday. Some train station offices are open starting at 7 or 7:30am.

- Most/all shops in Rouen will be closed on Sunday. Likely Monday morning also.

Stu Dudley

CGS

That wasn't me Stu, we're leaving Paris on a Thursday. Our Bayeux/Mont St Michel day is on a Sunday though. Do you foresee any problems there?

HappyTrvlr we have considered the same solution - drop Rouen. We get a bit "cathedral-ed out" and after an entire week in the city will be ready for some countryside. But the thought of skipping it gives me FOMO! Any thoughts from others on this? Would you have everlasting regrets if you skipped Rouen?

Mike we're not expecting to spend much, if any, time in the town of Étretat. We're interested in the cliffs and views. I feel like I can manage Day 2 - we'll skip stuff if we need more time for something else (although happy to have thoughts and opinions!). Day 1 is more challenging because of the traveling.

LSky

Bayeux might be a bit crowded but if your going to see the tapestry, it's quick tour. And they shuffle ppl in and out.

Sleeping on MSM, is a great idea imho. Most of the tourist are gone and you get to roam all you want.

StuDudley

>> Our Bayeux/Mont St Michel day is on a Sunday though. Do you foresee any problems there?<<

Nope. You don't go to Bayeux to shop. Just the tapestry & invasion museum.

>>everlasting regrets if you skipped Rouen?<<

Rouen is on my "top 6" large cities list. Last time we were there, we didn't even go into the cathedral. You'll see a lot more cross-timbered buildings in Rouen than you will see in Paris.

Here is my wife's Shutterfly book for our last trip to Normandy
https://stududley.shutterfly.com/33

click "full screen"

Cover is Rouen, and the Normandy portion is on pg 21 through 73.

Because of Shutterfly software problems, captions & titles are often missing or truncated.

If you would like to receive my 20+ page Normandy & Brittany itinerary, e-mail me at [email protected] & I'll attach one to the reply e-mail.

Stu Dudley

HappyTrvlr

When in same dilemna, we dropped Rouen. Don't rush through Giverny, gardens and home.There is also an adjacent museum Musee des Impressionismes in the town.

CGS

HappyTrvlr, how much time did you spend in Giverny? And did you go straight on to Honfleur from there or drive the Route of the Abbeys? Or something else?

Stu, thank you, I'll email you!

apersuader65

CGS:

I would be concerned about driving out of Paris with a car and the parking, especially in Rouen. While the drive times may be relatively comparable to trains, unless you know exactly where you want to go, and where the best car parks are for those locations, I wouldn't recommend the driving. Especially if you want to hit Giverny, Rouen and Honfleur in one day.

We've been to Rouen twice in the last couple of years ('15 and '16), once for a quick day trip, and next with an overnight. Given how tight it was downtown (our hotel was near the Cathedral) and the number of complaints from folks who drove to the hotel i spoke with at breakfast, I just wouldn't try it.

I cannot personally attest to the specifics of luggage storage in Vernon, but I have regularly heard there is a restaurant across the street that does. I did find this for reference though:
https://community.ricksteves.com/tra...age-in-giverny

A poster from January of this year states "the L'Arivee de Giverny café will store bags for 5 euros each".

apersuader65

As for your day 3/4 stuff, I can personally recommend the Ibis hotel in Port en Bessin. We have stayed there twice, with rental cars, and used it as our base. It was about a 15 minute drive to the Bayeux Tapestry, 6 minutes from the American Cemetery. We stayed there last May and used a tour company that picked us up at the front door. A day-long tour was really worth it for us as well.

As for the Peace Museum in Caen, it is, in my opinion, better than the Tapestry in Bayeux to see, but I'm a WWII history buff. The tapestry was certainly interesting, the Peace Museum was moving. Both times I've toured it I was moved to tears. In my humble opinion, it is the best Museum for D-day and the war in France in general there is bar none. It ranks above the National WWI museum in Kansas City for its clarity, which is a must see history museum, IMO.

StCirq

I WOULD reccomend driving, but your plans have you rushing around,which is not what one wants anywhere in France. Day 1 sounds horrible.

Early September there will still be plenty of things to see at Giverny (the website has a great calendar of what's blooming when).

It's Le Mont St-Michel, not Michele (he was a guy).

Apersuader has a good idea for you.

PalenQ

. Would like to arrive before low tide, which is at 4:30 pm.>

Are you sure there will be tides significant to make the Mont an island or even close - could be but those these days are not the usual. Pictures of tides rushing in may not materialize unless the ongoing dredging (or soon to begin) of the bay around it materializes as I understand now much of the bay around the Mont has silted up, making it harder for tides to surround it.

I may be wrong but if planning a schedule around it check it out!

Bayeux also has a fairly stunning cathedral as cathedrals go. Don't miss the Tapestry and Caen's D-Day (J-Jour in French) Memorial on the edge of town -no parking problem when I popped by there is the best first place to hit in the D-Day area -huge relief map lays it all out down in front of you.

Be sure to drive through Ste-Mere-Eglise, a small town southwest (I think) of Bayeux several miles - there you have the parish church where an American Paratrooper got snared by the church steeple or tower or some appendage and hung for hours whilst the battle raged for the town. Today the church has a stained-glass window portraying the dangling Yank.

In Avranches stop by the Bishop's Garden in the town center and see a neat view of the Mont from afar across the bay -imagining what ancient pilgrims who flocked there on foot must have been thinking when the answer to their miracles got closer and closer.

We went down to the bay in Avranches and looked flat across it to - the spector of the Mont hovering in the far distance.

From Avranches be sure to take the roads right along the bay with the Mont always enticingly in full view.

There is a gaggle of hotels opposite the Mont at the causeway junction with the mainland - great views of the Mont exquisitely illiminated at night across the bay. Of course it is neat to stay right on the Mont but still take a walk on the causeway towards the mainland to see the Mont all luringly illuminated from there.

The Mere Poulard is an iconic Mont restaurant known for its omelettes (from the official site:

<It was the secret recipe for her omelette which made a name for La Mère Poulard around the world.To comfort her guests after a long, often difficult journey, Annette kept the fire in the large fireplace alight at all times and made her famous soufflée omelette over an open fire.>

Mere Polard does not always get rave reviews on Fodor's though and some say it is really become a tourist trap treading more on its history than present presentation.

Finally if the Nuits des Mont Saint-Michel are still presented in evenings(like it was when I was last there long ago) we enjoyed this sound-and-light show with special effects spread thru the main building adjoining the basilica as much or more as the packed daytime tour thru them.

If adventuresome you can take guided walks or slogs across the usually sandy bay towards Tombelaine and maybe to this interesting island which once graced by a posh famous hotel long long ago has now been turned into a nature preserve with remains of the hotel I believe still there.

Guides are needed to be able to walk across the sands without hitting the infamous quick sand sink holes the bay is known for.

Mont-Saint-Michel - the most visited site outside of Paris I've read and for good reason.

Even in early September the main narrow gauntlet leading from the access gate from the causeway spiraling up to the basilica topping the island could be elbow-elbow as it inevitably is in peak summer periods- come early or come later- bus tours materilize by mid-morning ejaculating their loads onto the narrow street.

PalenQ

For help with MSM accommodations and other practical info:

http://www.ot-montsaintmichel.com/fr...int-michel.htm

Also forgot to mention whilst driving Bayeux to the Mont you probably pass thru Coutances - a larger regional town and it has a really neat cathedral for a short brake.

kja

It really depends on what YOU want to see and do. FWIW:

I felt hard-pressed to see Rouen in just 1.5 days. And I adored it – not just it’s cathedral (and other fascinating churches), but also its museums and interesting streets and squares….

I was fascinated by watching a spring tide come in at Mont St.-Michel. I don’t know what it will be like when you are there, but I got to the ramparts about 2 hours early and got a rampart-side position; within ½ hour, people were layers deep and many were shoving and pushing to try to get further forward. Plan accordingly!

I had no problem picking up a rental car in Paris and driving – with my TomTom – to Giverny. And yes, finding a place for your luggage could be a problem if you don’t have a rental car, but maybe that restaurant will work?

I arrived in Giverny one weekend day in May, 2011, at about noon – AFTER the masses of people who reached Monet’s gardens “in time” to be there when it opened or as soon thereafter as they could. Many of them stood in line to get in for AGES. I was not far behind the last of the “early” arrivers, and there were relatively few people who came in after me. SOOooo there were crowds ahead, but lots of space with relatively few people where I was. But I’m sure that varies….

If it helps you plan, I spent about 3 hours in Giverny, including Monet’s house and garden (a bit under 2 hours), the museum and other gardens in town (under an hour), and a quick coffee break. I drove part of the Route of Abbeys, and spent about 45 minutes at Jumiege.

I was not rushed out of the Bayeux tapestry, and I’m glad I had time for the cathedral there, too.

If I understand, you are facing a dilemma that many travelers experience – what to cut to fit things into the time you have. (I hate that part of trip planning!) And I don’t think there’s a right answer – just LOTS of room for personal preference! As a rule, I try to choose options that limit my travel time so that I can maximize my time on the ground, and in this case, I’d be inclined to cut the Loire Valley so I could see a bit more of Normandy. But that’s just me….

kja

Oh, and yes, give yourselves enough evening and daytime hours to enjoy Honfleur!

joannyc

I spent 2 nights each in both Rouen and Honfleur and a few hour stop in Giverney. I did drive the route de abbayes. I would not have given up any time in each of those places, there is so much to see... Even in little Honfleur!

VolCrew

I loved staying at a working farm in Normandy: La Ferme Du Pressoir near Villers-Bocage


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