flygirl

Well, I've got my second base in Normandy/Brittany settled out, so now to find interesting stops along the way!

I would consider Giverny but it's out of the way, so we might try that on the way back from Bayeux.

Thoughts on villages/ gardens/castles on the way to Fougeres? Or just hit the road and go?

Thanks!

cigalechanta

If you love horses, 15km east of Argentan on the N26 is the famous
stud farm Le Pin-au-Haras.
There are tours that last almost an hour(commentary is in french)
In that area, on the N158 is the
Chateau d'O, on it's farm is a restaurant.

iris1745

Hi flygirl; Vitre is very close to Fougeres. Another great French village. www.ot-vitre.fr/ ENJOY Iris

StuDudley

If you check www.viamichelin.com you'll see that the fastest route passes by Chartres and les Mans. Either would be an excellent stop, although make sure you don't visit them during lunch when shops will be closed (but not the cathedral in Chartres).

Vitre is straight south if Fougerres, so it would not be a stop-on-the-way.

Don't miss Rennes - one of my top 5 cities in France. There was an article about it in the current 'France" magazine.

Stu Dudley

iris1745

Hi; Stu is correct, as Vitre is about 18 miles south of Fougeres, but still worth a visit. And Stu, France magazine is such an interesting subscription. Great article on Rennes. www.francemag.com ENJOY Iris

Coquelicot

Are you driving from CDG to Fougeres and want an overnight stop en route? Or would this be a break during the day?

Mortagne-au-Perche is pretty nice, a small hilltop town with a good Saturday market and a colorful formal garden by the mairie, with a nice view over the surrounding valleys. Lunch at nearby Les pieds dans l'eau is very good, in an old farm building by a fishing pond. There are neat manor houses in this area (le Perche) if you take the time to travel the back roads. We really enjoy a B&B near Tourouvre, Le bois Gerboux. The boulangerie makes the best croissants we've eaten in France!

Southwest of Alencon is a tiny hilltop village, one of France's officially Most Beautiful Villages, St Ceneri le Gerei. There's a garden, La mansonniere, which we haven't seen.

If you aren't in a rush, take as many green roads as possible. You'll see the best part of France.
Also check out the website
les-plus-beaux-villages-de-france
.org. We've loved every one we've visited.

I think I read that the Haras du Pin was closing--visitation was way down--but their website looks current, so maybe check with the France Tourist phone #.

Vitre is really neat. Try the Vitreais and Vitreen (one's a pastry, one's a type of bread).

If you can time your visit to coincide with a town's weekly market, you'll see it at its liveliest, though of course parking is more of a problem.

flygirl

Thank you so much everyone!

Stu, immediately after I posted I googled the route and the shortest one does go through Chartres - so a stop there is a good idea. It may be lunch though, helas.

Cocquelicot, this is just during the day - something to break up the drive. I am betting we will be on the road by 1030 AM or so which should still give us a good 10 hours of sunlight left that day. A stop in Chartres and some side road/villages would be great. In the two nights we will be there we will definitely explore the area too - not just MSM but Fougeres itself. The day we leave we will have a meander up to Bayeux and have most of the day to do it so we can see Vire, St. Lo (my Mom's uncle was there on/after D-Day) and then Ste Mere Eglise and so on.

We will have 3 nights in Bayeux and then the drive back to Paris.

NaxosTravels

My suggestion is not "on the way" but is nearby....Dinan is well worth a trip - very attractive and I agree Vitre makes a nice stop too (the castles exterior is great - though the interior was nothing to write home about). I dont' know the details of your itinerary but st. Malo is easily accessible from Rennes, Fougeres, Vitre etc. and I think it was one of the highlights of my time in Brittany - not surpassed of course by Mont St. Michelle (in the off season preferably).

Enjoy Fougeres! A lovely town - quite stunning the day I was there.

Naxos

StuDudley

My FIL passed through St Lo a month or two after D-day. He said it was nothing but rubble. My Michelin Green Guide seems to say it is currently a post WWII "modern" town. You might ask others if it worth visiting. We by-passed it when we spent a week in the region.

Stu Dudley

flygirl

Hi Stu

Thanks - I've actually been to St. Lo before. There isn't much there of interest, but if we have time it is historical and Dad might like a look. But point taken - in limited time, there may be other things of more interest. I'll leave it up to Dad.

StCirq

Alençon is a famous lace-making town, if that happens to interest you. The lacemakers of Alençon originally came to France from Italy and ended up being lacemakers to the kings and queens. There's a museum there where you can see the various pieces they made for, among others, Napoleon, whose symbol was the bee. I haven't been there for quite a few years, and when I was, the lacemakers were almost extinct, but perhaps the practice has revived.

NaxosTravels

With regards to St. Malo, I didn't find that to be the case at all. Though St. Malo was blown to bits in WWII (there is an interesting exhibit on this in town by the by), the town has been painstakingly restored - which was quite a feat. Strolling along the walls with their wonderful views and wandering outside those very walls in low tide was a real treat. The restored core has many lovely nooks and crannies. Admittedly touristed but I was there in the off season so I'm sure this had a huge impact on my impression. I'll try to find some of my pictures so you have a sense....I would hate for anyone to think the place rubbish - but that is the fun of diversity here-lol!

Naxos

StCirq

Forgot to mention Bagnoles de l'Orne is (or used to be) a very nice little spa town - it would be just a bit out of your way.

And years ago when I first drove between Argentan and Alençon, I found myself in the midst of an area called the Val de la Misère, which was wonderfully spooky.

StCirq

St-Lo is not St-Malo, Naxos. Two different places.

NaxosTravels

Lol! Thanks StCirq - I thought maybe it was a slang - hip sort of abbreviation. I have never heard of St. Lo - I will have to Wiki it. Sorry about that.

Cheers,
Naxos

Padraig

flygirl wrote: "Thanks - I've actually been to St. Lo before. There isn't much there of interest, but if we have time it is historical and Dad might like a look."

I like St. Lo, but concur that there is not a great deal of interest there. The post-war reconstruction of the church had great impact on me: it was an intentional part-reconstruction, brilliantly conceived. The rebuilding of the ramparts was a big thing, too -- literally as well as symbolically.

They have a fairly typical Normandy occupation/liberation museum, the standard collection of bits and pieces retrieved after the war. But I had a real "gotcha!" moment there, when I saw Samuel Becket in a group picture of the Irish Hospital. I had not heard of the Irish Hospital, let alone that Becket assisted it.

But if you reach that part of Normandy, Sainte Marie-le-Mont is far more interesting: several of the scenes in "The Longest Day" reflect incidents that happened there.

flygirl

Padraig

My last visit to Normandy (in 2004 - this year will actually be visit number four for me) I visited St. Lo and saw the church and visited the TI which had a number of photographs on exhibit and naturally several veterans milling about. One old vet was looking intently at the various photos and the guy with him (I assume his son) said it was his first time back since the war. I'm guessing he was back to say goodbye to old friends one last time.

Going back for the anniversaries, especially the 5-year ones, is very poignant because of the number of vets who come back - and it's dwindling each year.

flygirl

ps. Mellen, thanks again. I'll have my list of things to "try to see" and refer to it on the fly.

flygirl

Cocquelicot

I reserved at the B&B you mentioned - thank you so much! It looks lovely.

Coquelicot

Good! I believe you and your dad will like the place and the people at Landean.

There's a Michelin "two coins" (their symbol for a meal less than 18 Euros in 2007) restaurant in the village, Au Cellier, whose menu looked good but our timing was off so we didn't eat there.

I wanted to make clear that the eyepopping village of flowers is Juvigne, not to be confused with Juvigny sous Andaine.