Sorry, must have hit the button. Anyway...west(Normandy), east (Strausburg) or south(Loire Valley).
Any suggestions are helpful. I am very flexible. Just trying to please everyone with at least one personal interest and not all cities.
Thanks!

Also, Viajero2, or anyone, any suggestions for hotels in the areas you suggested?

I think you're smart to plan 4 days in Paris. We were overwhelmed by the city on our first trips there so starting with a small dose should be fine. Normandy is so much more than WWII sites--seaside villages, country roads with cider and cheese shops, half-timbered houses, gardens, chateaux, just a great place. So is the Loire with all of its lovely chateaux and so is Alsace with its darling villages and geraniums outside every window. You can't go wrong with any of these. No matter which you choose, I think you'll be happiest with a car. It will give you so much more flexibility and let you see the rural areas which are so lovely. Why not take the teenagers to your local library or bookstore, go to the travel section, select travel books with pictures, look over the ones from Normandy, Loire and Alsace and see what everyone finds most appealing. It will be a hard pick and I'm guessing you'll want to do them all--so get ready to plan your next trip after you finish this one. Enjoy.

Three days in Paris is just not long enough to get yourself oriented and truly enjoy the city. And even if others' experience is one thing, it may not be yours.
Also, how are you planning to go to Brugges? Once you rent a car are you planning to drive? A car for 5 adult folks with luggage will need some planning ahead. And you always want to rent/reserve cars before you get to France for better prices. AutoEurope is an excellent rental agency.
Have you considered renting at CDG when you arrive, tour NOrmandy for 3-4 days, go to Chartres, see the Cathedral, turn in the car and train to Paris. Then train to Brugges when you leave.
The poster who said Normandy is much more than the WWII beaches is correct. A LOT of history and wonderful Norman architecture. The Bayeux tapestry.

Just stay in Paris & then onto Brugge. You shouldn't need a car, in fact, that will be more of a detriment while in the city. Use the train system, it is wonderfully easy. There are many day trips from Paris if you feel the need. Chartres, Rouen, St. Germain-en-laye, Versailles...etc.

Thank you everyone, again. We are spending 4 days/3nights in Paris. We would not get the car until after Paris.
I am leaning toward Normandy and surrounding areas and then on to Brugge. Our travel agent felt we should do Paris first and then move on. We are ending in Brugge for 2-3 nights. Any hotel suggestions for the Normandy, Rouen, etc..areas (would need at least 1 triple).
Also, we have a flight at 1:15pm home from CDG. Can we leave from Brugge that morning and get there in plenty of time or should we stay at the airport the night before?
We could do Normandy and that area first, drop off car, go to Paris and then train to Brugge I guess? Then we would have to train back to CDG for our flight home. How much time is needed for that??

Three days in Brugge is alot of time to spend there to me unless you are going to visit other cities which would be nice as Ghent and Antwerp are very close by train.

The train from Brugge to Paris by high speed train (Thalys) is a little over two hours. There are direct trains from Brugge to Paris with a few stops along the way.

I agree with francophile that 3 nights in Brugge is a lot and think your teenagers might really like Antwerpen, which rivals Milan as a design center, is Europe's center for the diamond industry and also has fantastic cathedral and fantastic food.

I have almost tolerance for risk when it comes to flight times. You will need to be at the airport by 10:30 to pass through security for a 1pm flight. Personally, I would overnight at the Paris airport.

Has your "travel agent" done this him/herself so is knowledgeable in advising this?
How are you seeing Normandy? Where are you renting your car? How are you getting to Brugges? With all due respect, you are only months away from this trip. Do you have some hotel reservations made, at least tentatively?
As for "4 days in paris", it will be much more like 3 (and rushed) by the time you get to your hotel on arrival day and check out on departure day--plus, I assume dealing with renting a car and getting out of Paris. Have you considered this part of getting out of Paris?
One reason for renting the car at CDG at the head of your trip is to consolidate your time so you aren't chasing around making connections and moving in and out of hotels.
Think that is a long time in Brugges also.
If you want an inexpensive hotel in Bayeux with large rooms, we stayed in one. How are you "headquartering" your Normandy portion?

Thank you again.
I know it is late to plan this. I appreciate all auggestions. I don't want the hassle of the car. I am thinking maybe we should get the car first, travel around drop off car and go to Paris and then end in Brugge (2 nights).
I don't know about the "headquartering" in Normandy yet, because this is a new plan. We were originally going to Strausbourg.
I do have to decide today about the timing for Paris because the travel agent is booking Paris today!
There's always a monkey wrench in the plans, just when I think it's all set.
What do you think of getting the car at CDG, driving Normandy and region, dropping it off somewhere outside of Paris, and doing Paris and Brugge, and back to CDG by train??

Gretchen...what is the name of the hotel in Bayeux?? Thanks

Also, Brugge for two nights is our "down" , "chill out" time before we head home. It also has sentimental value for us. But, we could go some other place that is similar to end the trip, if Brugge seems to be the out-of-the way destination that is throwing off the trip.

Strasbourg would have been a good idea, are you sure you can't get a room? Have you thought of staying in a town close to Strasbourg, but not where the Tour de France is? That could be nice, it is easy to get there by train from some surrounding towns, like Nancy, COlmar or something, but maybe that is too much to think about.

Normandy should be nice, though, I think that's a good idea, it's just in the opposite direction.

I'm sure you'll like Bruges, but I don't understand why you are flying back from CDG then, instead of Amsterdam? That would make a lot more sense. This way, I guess you are going to have to move for that last night's stay somewhere. Actually, this trip is planned a little inconveniently, I think. It would make more sense to go to Bruges, and then maybe go back to France to stay in a place where you could get to the airport by train easily.

Brugges is easy to get to from Paris--no problem.
What hotel is your travel agent bookinng? It is SO easy to book hotels yourself and not pay the agent. Please don't let him/her book your auto--do it yourself and save.
The hotel in Bayeux is, astonishingly, Hotel Bayeux. It is a very plain pipe rack place, squeaky clean, a nice car park next door and 5 minutes from the Tapestry and the Cathedral. 45€/night a couple of years ago. The rooms and baths were quite large. I would be pretty sure they would have a triple for your children.
It makes so much sense to get the car first. A car for your party will save money over the multiple train fares, which can really add up. If you do go to Normandy I suggest the Michelin Green Guide to Normandy plus the full size map of Normandy. From CDG you could go to Rouen for your first night--just a short drive.

The train to/from Brugge was as much fun as going to Brugge itself. We left Brugge at 9am and were at CDG by shortly after noon with a conection in Bussels. IC train Brugge to Brussels and Thalys to CDG, Very Comfortable ride. Allow about 110 minutes prior to deprature time for getting through check-in security etc. The Belgian train agents are very helpful and knowlegeable about hoe to get stuff done, whereas the French train website is a bit confusing.
2 full days in Brugge is just about right. I'll post again in a day with more info. Again, Brugge was a highlight of our trip. It is totally safe, everyone speaks English and the shopping/eating is very good - a good value and very tourist friendly. Renting bikes for brief soirees to the country side and/or Zeebrugge is feasible, cause the terrain is flat..
I'll post more later.

Since you've already found some very perfect destinations, my suggestion is to look up on Google images picutres of the places (eg: Normandy) and even the streets of the cities and villages (eg: Strasbourg streets), because often (every time for me) I decide just by viewing things visually after narrowing down my options to a few.

trishready:
WE stayed at a really nice B&B called "Number 11" look up www.number11.be on the web. Mrs. DeGraave, the innkeeper is very helpful and her email is listed on the website. For the catacombs, they at at the Denfert-
Rochereau metro and RER station, immediately south of the Luxemborg gardens. When you come out of the metro, you'll be looking for a small green metal building. It is very inauspicious looking. Best time is mid-afternoon. be careful exiting, you'll be lost, be sure to learn how to ask "how does one find the neareest Metro station?" in French. If you do Versailles (I'm not saying you do, but "if you do," because you can't do everything) then a nice itinerary is to try to make Versailles before ten, spnd about 3 or so hours there, then return to Paris via the Versailles-Chantier rail station. This will require about 5 extra blocks of walking. This train station has trains going to the Paris Gare Montparnasse. From there you take Metro line 4 to Denfert-Rochereau. A word of advise: Don't overwhelm your kids with too much of "and now we gotta do this and then we gotta do that" As much as I tried to avoid such sticking to an itinerary, and tried to build in down time, the kids said after 6 days that they were getting burned out. Street markets were appreciated. That was why Brugge was such a welcome change. We could just turn them loose and let them explore Brugge at their own pace.

I just re-read all the replies to this message and I'll put in another 0.02 euros worth. I think the idea of getting a car at CDG, proceeding to Normandie, then dropping the car off at an outside city, such as Rouen or Chartres and proceeding the rest of the trip by rail is sound. You do not want to drive in Paris. (unless you've done it before and think you can hack it.) Getting lost there would be no fun, and working the metro system is part of the fun of a visit to Paris. This game plan allows you the flexibility of getting into Paris a day early if you find Normandie is not your cup of tea. I think catching an early train out of Brugge and getting to CDG by 1100 is feasible, especially on weekdays. Good luck and Bon Voyage!

The other alternative to dropping the car outside and training in is to take it to Orly which is an easy car drop. You walk out of the rental garage and cross the street to the taxi queue. It is about a 20€ cab fare from there so even if this family needed two cabs, it would be more economical than the train.

trishready,
Glad to see you'll be in Paris 4 days instead of 3. I'm sure you'll be glad of another day. Our first visit was 4 days, and it was not enough to see all that we wanted to. Now, when go back, we stay for 7 days, and that's never enough We've never felt overwhelmed by Paris. It's very easy to get around. Even though we were only there for 4 days, the first trip we purchased a Carte Orange transportation pass for Zones 1-2. It was still a savings over single ticket prices and worth it in terms of convenience. It's good for unlimited travel on bus and Metro. You do need a small photo -- an extra passport photo will do nicely -- to purchase a Carte Orange. You can also purchase a Mobilis pass, which is good for a day of unlimited travel on bus & Metro. No photo needed.

For day trips, I recommend Chartres, Versailles, and Giverny. You could drive there or take the train. Chartres is about an hour on the train, from Gare Montparnasse. Giverny is about 45 minutes on the train -- take the train to Vernon and go to Giverny from there -- and Versailles is only about 20 minutes, as I recall. You can get a combined RER ticket and ticket to Versailles or use the Paris Museum Pass and just purchase your RER ticket to Versailles.

Sandy