Hey everyone! Need some advice/insight on my upcoming trip to France in early May. My dad and I will both be together, exploring the regions of Brittany and Normandy (we are both French-American dual citizens and have our international driver's so language, driving, etc. will be no trouble). We currently live in NJ and our entire french family is based in Alsace, thus we wanted to explore some other regions of the country we don't know so well. We have approximately 1 week of time and are flying into CDG from EWR. The current itinerary so far:

Day 1: arrive early morning in Paris and take the train from Saint Lazare station to St. Malo
Day 2: spend the day exploring St. Malo, spending the night in the city
Day 3: pick up a rental car in the morning, drive up to the Mont St. Michel for a quick visit (I've been before and wasn't too impressed honestly, but my dad has not and is insistent on going), and then drive down to Dinan where we'll be staying overnight
Day 4: explore Dinan
Day 5: drive from Dinan to Beuvron-en-Auge in Normandy and spend the day there either relaxing in the village or driving the Route du Cidre (though I'm afraid adding more driving to this day will be too tiring). Overnight in Beuvron-en-Auge.
Day 6: drive to Rouen early in the morning, drop off the rental car, and then spend the day exploring the city and its museums. My dad is a huge medieval history buff and loves all things Jeanne d'Arc so he should be in heaven. Overnight in Rouen.
Day 7/: Take the TGV from Rouen back to Paris around noon, drop our bags off at my uncle's apartment there, and spend the rest of the day relaxing/taking it easy in Paris. Spending the night at my uncle's before flying out of CDG the next day.

That's the tentative plan so far; however, I'm wondering if this itinerary has too much driving and not enough time spent in each/any of the locations? The hypocrisy is not lost on me when I ask this after the previous sentence, but should I spend the entire fourth day in Dinan or take a day trip to either Fougères, Vitré, or Josselin? Should I add in a quick lunch in Saint-Suliac before heading to Mont St. Michel from St. Malo? I suppose I want to cram as many sites as possible because I'm afraid of missing out on a beautiful location, and, as my dad is getting rather old, want to maximise the trip with him (seeing nice places). I'm not so sure how many road trips he has left in him. On the flip-side, I'm also worried with all of these locations that we won't be able to fully appreciate each one well enough. Any thoughts/suggestions would be absolutely appreciated. Merci beaucoup!

You are right to suspect that you are overwhelming your plan with driving here and there rather than being somewhere. Trace your pproposed route on a map and see the zigzagging.

That could be a great trip, but as you note, the number of moves could be a snag. Personally, I don't mind relocating every night or two, but most people abhor that type of travel. Remember that each change of location means checking in and out, at least some packing and unpacking (I leave most things packed) and getting oriented ... and all of those things can become more wearying and more wearisome with age. How does your father feel about it?

If you decide to pursue this route (or anything simiilar), I'd urge you to make sure you have parking at each hotel (or other lodging) so you don't need to drive around looking for a place to put your car or walk long blocks from your car to your lodging.

Make sure you have good estimates of the time your drives will take. For example, I find that google maps underestimate driving times by about 1/4, even if I correctly enter the start date and time (and doing that is critical!) ... and that doesn't count stops for breaks, getting gas, etc. I think michelin is more accurate, but I can't swear to that. As AJPeabody has suggested, make sure you plot a route that is as efficient as possible given your goals for the trip.

FWIW, if Mont St. Michel is a priority for your father, you might want to spend a night in or near it. It can get unpleasantly mobbed by day-trippers; anything you can do to ensure visiting before they get there would be worth considering, IMO.

You and your father are fortunate to have this time to travel together! And you are wise to wait some time before picking up a rental car -- kudos!

Good luck with your planning!

Either stay close to Mont St Michel, or just do a drive by. Like you I was not that impressed with the actual Mont, even though I went very early. Looks great as a drive by, close up meh.
You will need a Crit'Air sticker for Rouen. Your rental car may not have one.
If you want to do more from Dinan then drive west along the coast.
I am not sure there is enough to do in Beuvron en Auge. It is a a couple of hours drive from Dinan, and indeed you could do your Mont visit on that day instead.
The route du cidre is not very long. I don't recommend tasting along the way though - drink driving limits are low!

Maybe start in Rouen and work west, getting the train back from Rennes or Le Mans rather than zigzagging around the area? So maybe Rouen, Beuvron ( if you must), MSM, Dinan, Rennes, skipping St Malo?

The Chateua-Musee of Crevecoeur en Auge is only a 12 minute drive form Beuvron, definitely worth seeing. Gorgeous.

We cycled all this years ago. We loved Cancale, Dinan, Dinard, and Rouen. St. Malo, not so much, except for another fabulous Ker-Y-Pom stand*, something we discovered in Dinan.
We totally "get" your reaction to Mont St Michelle but also understand it's a bucket-list thing for your father. We had a hotel room just above Cancale where we could see it in the distance, and that view was probably more of a highlight than the "close and personal" visit.
I'm sure you will tweak all of this delightfully. Have a great trip!
AZ
*It's hard to believe that years ago I could NOT find a recipe for it anywhere online.

I seem to be an outlier here, but FWIW, I found being on Mont St. Michel after daytrippers had left to be an absolutely magical experience. That was when it was connected to the mainland by a causeway, so maybe things have changed.

Like AlessandraZoe, I was not all the impressed by St. Malo. Or to put it differently, I enjoyed other parts of the area MUCH more.

I know many people think MSM is amazing. Just not my thing
If OP changes his route order as I suggested, and drops St Malo they could stay near MSM and either visit early or late to avoid crowds.

I would switch out Honfleur for Beuvron-en-Auge.

Fougères is good but I think it's only worth half a day, perhaps on the way to somewhere else. Rouen is really good and deserves all your time, even an extra day. Lots to see. Maybe you can squeeze a bit more into the second part-day.

Lavandula

Kja--You put it accurately I think--it was more of a matter that we enjoyed other areas around St. Malo more. And in addition to the Ker-y-pom stands, St Malo had a petite train. I LOVE those things and I'm not ashamed to say so. My daughters and husband were always embarrassed by my fondness, but they always seemed to hop on-board without much persuasion.

As to MSM, it had been on my personal bucket list ever since I saw a picture of it in my 9th grade French conversation book. Seeing it glowing in the distance from the window of our hotel room (the Château Richeux) 30+ years later was a memory we'll cherish. Seeing it in person--not that exciting. Heck, we even got to see it without crowds because our group had a quiet break-of-dawn early entry and thus only encountered "the horde" as we exited.

I think I just had too high of expectation. But then again, had I NOT seen it, I would still want to do so, and I think the OP is right to allow for his father's preference for sure.