Multi-gen quickie Mont St Michel-Normandy
 

Will be in Paris for 5 days late June with 2 teen daughters + my parents (late 60s). Want to visit MSM and bit of Normandy, esp Juno Beach (we're Canadian). Considering taking the TGV early on a Monday to Rennes, renting a car, visiting Mont St. Michel for the afternoon/early evening, and then driving to Bayeux or area where we'd stay the night (or maybe better to stay right in MSM area and watch sunrise??) Next morning, we'd do some D-Day Beach touring and find a train back to Paris late in the day from some locale, perhaps Caen, though I would LOVE to get to Honfleur (there once before...beautiful) but perhaps it's too far...unless I dropped car in Le Havre and took train back to Paris from there? Am I nuts? Any suggestions for accommodation, trains, car rentals, restaurants en route appreciated! (Writing a travel feature.)

Yes, you are not thinking straight.Just because you "can" physically do something doesn't make it the best decision or use of time. Five people in a car plus luggage is also a consideration. Train back would be Caen, I'd think. To do any beach touring you'd better be in Bayeux for the next day. And then of course, there is the tapestry. Why do a drive by. Writing a travel feature? Recommending that others do this?

Well, it can be done as a single-day trip from Paris by car, as we did several years ago. It of course only gives a flavor of the area, but it worked for my (adult) kids. We did one day of Normandy beaches & Mont St Michel, and a second of Honfleur & Etretat. They were long days, but I would do it again. It's all documented in our phototravelogue at http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...localeid=en_US

twm, for accommodation etc suggestions, definitely do a search of the forums here. There is a ton of info on Brittany/Normandy/MSM.

As for the feasibility of your itinerary, where in your overall trip would this take place? Before your time in Paris? After? If it's after, how soon before your return to your home (or next leg of your journey) - and would that be via air? Knowing more of the specific particulars of your trip will help determine how much of your itinerary you can accomplish. :)

I can't imagine writing a "travel feature" having spent only a day in the area, unless the story is about how to totally skim the surface. Five days in Paris is very short to begin with, and yes, 5 people and luggage zooming to le MSM and back doesn't sound like fun at all. If you DO do this, though, yes, I'd plan to return by train from Caen. I don't see that you have enough time at all for Honfleur.

Semi-Mike what a wonderful way to do a trip report. Nice pix.

Julie, thanks - all my Fodor's trip reports are of this style. In what I do to match words to pictures, it in a way gives me a chance to take the trip all over again (and often learn something new which I did not know when I took the pictures), which is a great pleasure ...

Thanks to all for your input...especially SemiMike for your wonderful pics! Upon contemplation, I'm now considering staying solely in Paris with a possible day trip to Versailles since our time is so limited. We're staying in the 1st arrondissement, Les Halles area...restaurant tips welcome :)

And I hate to be a naysayer, but even Versailles might be not the best use of 5 days. Have you all been to Paris before? Restaurants don't "need" to be in the 1eme--Metro and bus take you anywhere easily. Good part of a travel feature.

Apart from the Ile de la Cité, and the Louvre/Tuileries area, the 1ère is basically the business/administrative district, not known for dining but rather department stores, business hotels, office buildings, and such. But it doesn't matter, as you can get just about anywhere on the buses or métro or on foot. With only 5 days, I would go to Versailles only if the weather is good and you have run out of things to do and see in Paris, which is hard to imagine.

Staying in the 1st isn't particularly quaint, or residential, or secluded - but it is *right* in the middle of things, and that's why I like to stay there on a shorter stay such as yours! Walking distance to Centre Pompidou, the Louvre, Opera, Notre Dame and St. Chappelle, even the Latin Quarter and into the Left Bank. A nice stroll to the Bastille in one direction or to the bottom of the Champs Elysees in the other (and that's just east/west). Plus, being so close to the Chatelet/Les Halles Metro station is a real benefit for getting quickly to other parts of the city!

Did you know that Les Halles is under renovation? kerouac posted a link to his evolving photos of the area here:
http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...s-in-paris.cfm

I agree that you'll likely want to find dinner a little farther afield; IME, the places in the immediate vicinity are very basic.

Oh, and I definitely suggest you start a new post more specific to your stay in Paris; you'll get all the Paris folks looking at it who might not peek at an MSM post. ;)

Awesome additional feedback! Will start new post re Paris suggestions :)