macgyv13

Hi everyone,

Thanks in advance for any suggestions you might have to offer here. My wife and I have tickets to and from Paris and our original plan was to go to Warsaw for a conference, stop in Krakow for a few days then head to Prague for eight days for another event before making my way back to Paris for a week, and finally heading home. The event in Warsaw has now been cancelled, so I have 6.5 days and 6 nights available in between arrival in Paris and when I need to be in Prague. I've been to Poland numerous times so don't feel the need to go there again at this point and would like to explore outside of Paris. We've been to Paris a couple of times but not to the country side.

So... here's what I am thinking for the six days/nights, I would welcome feedback or alternative suggestions. We're in our 50s and love old historical places, exploring sites on foot, the cafe culture, things like that. We plan to rent a car from CDG and return it there.

Day 1: Giverny (morning/lunch) and Rouen (afternoon/evening)
Day 2: Juno Beach (Canadian military memorial) and rest of day/night in Bayeux
Day 3: Mont St-Michel (hotel nearby in Ardevon area as the hotels on Mont St-Michel seem to have blehh ratings)
Days 4/5: 2 nights in Tours/Loire Valley/Amboise, hotel in Tours?
Day 6: Chambord/Chartres, night in Versailles area
Day 7: Visit Versailles in morning then head to CDG for a late afternoon flight to Prague

Thanks, all.

bilboburgler

do you like driving?

I'd use the time to visit Normandy and Britanny before adding in all those other places.

Like Honfleur, Dinan or Fougeres

Tours is hardly worth visiting

I've never stayed on StM, I would do it just for the experience. I do know the hotels on the south side of the causeway are dumps.

macgyv13

Yes, we'll be picking up a car. I'm a big fan of exploring via car.

The hotels on StM are all in the 7.1 to 7.4 rating range with some reviews describing insect infestations. There are a number of B&Bs about 5-10 mins south of the causeway that are highly rated, so I might do that instead of staying on StM even if the experience wouldn't be quite the same.

StuDudley

We've visited MSM 3 times as a day trip from elsewhere. Once we drove there & arrived at 8am before the mobs descended. This was in the early 1980s. We thought it was OK, and worth a visit. In 2019, we stayed overnight on the Mont - and it was magical. Totally different experience in the early morning when the crowds are not there. By 10:30am when we departed - it was a mob scene again.

Tip from a 74 year old guy who has visited Europe (mainly France) twice a year for 1 month each trip since 1999 - VISIT PLACES FOR THE SITES - NOT FOR THE HOTELS. it is a completely different experience when you can wander the ramparts at 11PM all alone (except for my wife).

Attached is my Normandy & Brittany itinerary. Look for the details on MSM

Also my wife's Shutterfly book of the MSM portion of our visit.
https://stududley.shutterfly.com/57
Click "Full screen"

Stu Dudley

joannyc

I stayed at the Mercure MSM hotel very nearby. Across the road, the free shuttle to MSM had a stop. The hotel was quite fine and I’m pretty much a hotel snob! LOL! It has free parking and free Wi-Fi.

No elevator in the hotel so if you have a problem with stairs or luggage, request a room on the ground floor.

I arrived at MSM about 3pm and it wasn’t very crowded in September 2019. So that may be a better time than in the morning or early afternoon.

aliced

I too would switch out what you listed for Days 4/5/6 and spend more days in Normandy: Dieppe, Honfleur, Bayeaux, Etretat, Deauville (not in any driving order), leaving MSM for next-to-last day before cutting down to Versailles and heading to CDG, the Citizen M Hotel there is a fun, modern scene, very reasonable too. Loire/Burgundy is another itinerary for another trip IMHO.