We will be visiting France in December and will have 3-4 days to drive from Amiens (after visiting the battlefields of the Somme) to Tours where we will spend several days touring the Loire Chateaux. I would like to visit the beautiful villages of Noemandy like Lyons-la-Foret, Ls Anderleys, Couchons-en-Ouche etc. Does anyone have any feedback on an itinerary or route?

You might get the Michelin Green Guide to Normandy. Within it are very nice driving routes connecting various cities. We did the Route d'Abbaye from Rouen north toward Honfleur--up on a ridge along a road that connects many medieval towns and abbeys. There are others.

Beuvron-en-Auge is a charming Norman town that we drove through on our recent trip to Normandy. We just happened upon Le Pave d'Auge restaurant for lunch, and it was lovely. It was a bit fancier than we usually do for lunch, but we enjoyed our meal and the gracious ambiance in a beautiful half-timbered building. Upon returning home, I see in my Patricia Wells bistro cookbook that Le Pave is one of her few recommended bistros in Normandy. However, I wouldn't call it a bistro in the strictest sense of the word but more like a "true restaurant."

Besides Lyon-la-Foret and Les Andelys we visited Pont-Audemer and the nearby small town of Beuzevill, where we had a wonderful lunch at the Auberge du Cochon d'Or.

Your best bet is to follow the Route des Abbeyes, as Gretchen suggested. There are quite a number of picturesque villages along the way, and the abbeys themselves are well worth a visit--especially Le Bec Hellouin and Abbaye St-Georges de Boscherville.

The Route des Abbeyes runs mostly in a circle, starting outside Rouen, and makes for a very pleasant day of sightseeing.

Thanks so much for you advice. We've decided to wend our way from Amiens via Gerberoy and Lyons la Foret to Rouen, then via Route des Abbeyes to Jumieges to Le Cerneri le Gerei then on to Tours over 2 days. Maybe we can help someone in our turn later,

Judy