Paris/Normany Itinerary - pls comment!
 

Need help here. This is our first cut: day one: arrive Paris around 9:30am local time, see Arch and Eiffel tower that afternoon and evening; day two: see Louve and take the evening bike tour; day three: go to Versailles for the day; day four:see Notre Dame, Les Invalids and take Seine River dinner cruise that evening; Day five: shop on Champs Elysee, hang out. Day six: drive to Giverney and see one Chateaux on the way to Bayeux - arrive Bayeux in the evening; Day seven: see the D-Day beaches and cemetaries; Day eight: see the Peace Memorial/Museum and the Bayeux Tapestry; Day nine: go to St Mere Eglise and St Lo; Davy ten: drive to Mont St Michel; Day eleven: drive back to Paris and stop at one more Chateaux on the way; Day twelve: revisit what we liked in Paris or missed; Day 13: depart for home around 11am. Is this too much, will we have some downtime, are the sites in Normandy close enough to drive to one or more in a day; should we have a central base in Normandy from which to explore? We hate schlepping luggage on a daily basis...thanks! this trip will be in early August.

I would recommend taking the Seine River cruise around sunset and then dinner afterwards. Word on the street is that the cruise food is not that good. In August sunset may be too late, so you might want to take the 6 or 7 PM cruise then have dinner at a nice restaurant.<BR><BR>We did the Pont Neuf cruise (about 1 1/2 hours). Very nice.<BR><BR>Looks like you have given yourself more than ample time to tour Normandy.

Seems like a reasonable pace to me.<BR><BR> Keith

Only a couple minor things. I would do the Eiffel Tower first thing in the morning &amp; try to beat the crowds. Also, watch your days, certain things you want to see are closed certain days. Certainly take in the Marmottan, Rodin &amp; D'Orsay, time permitting.

Try to sqeeze in Honfleur. In fact, it might be a nicer place to stay the night than Bayeux. It is a lovely, lovely town with a beautiful harbor with restuarants with outdoor seating looking at the water, an old wooden church, lots of winding streets with great shops.

Have to agree w/gocats2000: I love Honfleur for its waterfront ambiance! Enjoyed the Bayeux tapestry and church, but didn't feel compelled to overnight there myself. So glad to hear you are going to St. Mere l'Eglise--the stained glass window of WWII parachutist hanging in the fingers of Mary is quite moving.<BR>The trip sounds great. Wish I was going. Bon Voyage.

Maybe it was just me, but I was exhausted after seeing the Louvre. It is huge. Are you sure you want to do a bike tour after it? (Though we did spend the entire day at the Louvre.)

Elize is right about the Louvre. You could spend all day in there.<BR><BR>We did a 4 day trip to Paris, and found this 3-hour tour of the Louvre on a web site, followed it, and it was great. We had to do a detour here and there because certain exhibits were closed, but all in all, we saw all the main attractions. You may have some particular portions of the museum you want to see, and you could do that also. The web site is: http://www.gettingaway.com/directory/europe/france/paris/louvre.htm<BR><BR>If you want to juggle your itinerary, I agree, Honfleur is very nice to visit/stay. Depending upon what you want to do, St. Mere Eglise should only take up about 2 hours of your time.<BR><BR>You may have your sights set on Bayeaux, St Lo, and St Michel, but I personally would chose Honfleur, Etretat, and Fecamp (home of the Benedictine Monks &amp; their B&amp;B). It's a personal choice.<BR><BR>Whatever you chose, good luck and have a wonderful trip!!! It's all great.<BR><BR>

For the opposite position:-) I think all day in the Louvre would be overkill, There are diminishing returns. Perhaps spend that much time in the Louvre over different days, but not hour after hour after hour.<BR><BR> Keith

Personally I wouldn't devote too much time to the Champs Elys�es - just enough to walk straight down the avenue from the Arc de Triomphe... The shops there are really not up to much - much of the Champs is taken up by airline agencies, banks, car showrooms, chain restaurants and a few chain stores such as Fnac, Virgin, Monoprix and Gap. <BR><BR>Much better shopping is to be found near the Opera house around the Boulevard Haussman (Galeries Lafayette, Printemps), along the Rue de Rivoli (Samaritaine) and for more upmarket, designer goods, the Rue St Honor�. These areas are within easy walking access of the Champs Elys�es...

I agree with Budman. Honfleur, Etretat and Fecamp (former two are must sees) rather than Bayeaux, St. Lo and St. Michel. Honfleur is especially fun and beautiful. The reflections in the harbor are c'est magnifique.