djsteach

I am traveling to Paris & Normandy for 2 weeks with my husband. Our itinerary is set for the week in Paris & the first few days in Normandy. My questions are these... After we leave the D Day beaches where should we go for the last 4 days of our trip? We will have visited Honfleur, Rouen & Giverny. So, Brittany as our next area? Should we use Dinard as a base for visiting St Malo, Mont St Michel and surrounding areas? We will need to drive back to Paris on Tuesday for our 5 pm flight. Or shall we leave Monday night, stay somewhere between this area & CDG so our drive isn't as long for our Tuesday flight. I've read lots of trip reports & am still undecided. Thank you all for your feedback.

socal

djsteach... We had a similar vacation schedule in July. My family spent 5 days in Saint Germain outside of Paris in a house rental. After we checked out I then picked up a rental car at CDG, returned for the family and then drove to our next rental home in Dinan. Enroute to Dinan on the A-13/14 , we drove a few miles north off the toll road on the N-13 and on into the center of Bayeux, where we attended their annual medieval folk festival in town and adjacent to the Catheedral. That's a great old town and well worth at least 2 nights. It's a short drive NW from Bayeux to the American cemetery and the landing beaches of Normandy. They have a D Day museum which is a short walk from the center of the town. It's also the home of the great historical Normand Bayeux tapestry. Make sure you visit their cathedral and order a galette, or a crepe with a cup of the local hard cider at a nearby restaurant. In regards to your question about Dinan as a base for side trips, the answer is yes. During our week their we drove to San Malo for a day trip as well as Mount San Michele, and 1/2 hr. drive to the castle at the port of San Malo and less than an hour to the monastery to see the tides come in at night. We also took a 1 hour drive over to Chombourg for a tour of the chateau and lake. We also took a bit longer drive to the nautical festival along the harbor at Saint Brieuc. We took the kids to the northern beaches at Cap Frehel with it's beautiful views of the ocean. Dinan itself is magical, and the walls around the Castle walls at night are amazing to walk around. Our 300 yr old rental house was half way up the hill on the main cobblestone street leading up from the harbor on the river Rance into the walled city.(Rue de Petit Fort). Restaurants along the river were inexpensive and delicious.


For a recommendation on your drive back question, I'd leave the day before your return flight and book a room at CDG. First drop your bags and then turn in the rental car and take the shuttle train back to your hotel. We stayed at the Hilton at terminal 3, but the Ibis and a couple of other hotels were cheaper and almost adjacent to the station where you hop on and off the free shuttle train to get back to your departure terminal. Hope that helps you a bit. Socal

PS.... Tolls are a pain in the butt. Signage is tough to read, they are expensive, they are also taxed, and if you use a credit card that has foreign fees, you'll be taxed again. Stay to the right when approaching a toll booth. That's where they usually have the credit card accepted booths are located. However, they are fast and I never saw a cop car or a radar check point although they may have been there. Hope you have a great vacation.

djsteach

Thank you for your response.

kerouac

Saint Malo is a wonderful place to stay -- so I would stay there.

Here is a report that I made in the dead of winter: http://anyportinastorm.proboards.com...1&page=1#97314

zorrosf

One of the real unique and unforgetable experiences of St. Malo is walking the ramparts at dusk or after. IMO, staying inside the walls (inter muros) is a real treat. Unfortunately, 10 years ago, there were no "nice" places to stay "inter muros." I don't know if that has changed, but if so, please consider this option.

zorrosf

I forgot to mention that I completely agree with the other poster's comments about Dinan. Highly worth a special trip.

zorrosf

N.B. Dinan is NOT Dinard.

kja

I thoroughly enjoyed walking St. Malo's walls at sunset, but was otherwise not very impressed by St. Malo.

I loved Dinan, but did not stay there. I didn't visit Dinard.

di2315

We walked the walls at St Malo early in the morning. We had tried to stop in St M the previous day, but finding parking was absolutely atrocious.

So we made sure we were there early the next day, and really enjoyed seeing the shop & cafe owners setting up for the day from on high, as well as almost having the walls to ourselves.

Do take notice of the tides on your way around . . . they change dramatically in that part of the world. Di

bilboburgler

dinan and st malo have walls, dinard has chichi shops. I wouldn't stay in St Malo in high season, but on the shoulder I'd stay there.