We are going to France in May. DH and I spent a few days in Paris nearly 30 years ago, DD studied in Tours a few summers ago, DS has never been to France at all. So we%26#39;re pretty much first timers. Our hotel budget is about 200 Euros a night and either a quad room or 2 double rooms is fine for us.
I have about 8 different guide books from the library, have been reading posts like crazy, and have come up with a tentative itinerary. Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
We arrive in the morning on Sunday, May 17th. We plan to stay in Paris until Saturday, May 23rd. We would then like to see the following places:
Rouen - cathedral and see the town
Honfleur - church, harbor, maybe a boat tour
Caen - Memorial Museum (will see while staying in Bayeux)
Bayeux - tapestry, cathedral, Battlebus tour (full day), British cemetery
Mont Saint-Michel
Tours - base to see Chenonceux, Chambord, and maybe Cheverny, also meet DD%26#39;s host family
Chartres - cathedral
Our return flight is on Sunday, May 31st and we plan to spend Saturday night back at the airport (CDG). So we have 8 days, 7 nights after we leave Paris and I%26#39;m considering allocating them like this:
Saturday 23 - train in am to Rouen, rent car, tour city
Sunday 24 - tour Honfleur, drive to Bayeux
Should I spend Saturday night in Honfleur or Rouen? Hotel suggestions?
Sunday 24 - Bayeux
Monday 25 - Bayeux
Tuesday 26 - Bayeux part of day, drive to MSM and stay nearby. Hotel suggestions for MSM vicinity?
Wednesday 27 - tour MSM early to avoid crowds, drive to Tours
Thursday 28 - chateaus or meet host family
Friday 29 - whatever we didn%26#39;t do previous day
Saturday 30 - early start, drive to Chartres, see cathedral, drop off car, train into Paris CDG, stay at airport hotel
Sunday 31 - flight home
Does this make sense? Are we trying to do too much?
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Hi MSU,
My only suggestion would be to consider renting car at airport, since you are arriving early that day, do your tour, and spend the last few days in Paris, without a car. This way you may be able to convert your last night at the airport to a night in Paris, which may be a nicer way to end your journey, as well as save time with car drop returns and pickups.
Have a great time !! May is a beautiful time of year, with very long daylight hours.
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Id youre spending so much time in Bayeux, why not visit Mont st Michel as a day trip. You don;t have much time, and 2 1/2 days in Bayruex isn%26#39;t the ebst use of yout time. It%26#39;s only a small town, and once youve seen the %26quot;tapestry%26quot; and the D-Day beach (about 1/2 day each, you could be struggling for things to do.
Mont St Michel to Tours is a proper 1/2 day drive unless you stick to teh Autoroutes all the way. The problem with doing that is you will see no scenery. (trust me on that - the road is one of the dullest in Europe)
I would:
23rd drive Paris - Honfleur, o/n Honfleur
25th drive to Bayeux: Tapestry, then D-Day beaches
26th day trip to Mont St M. via western D-day beaches
27th drive to Tours Arrive mid afternoon, Tour Tours on the little train thing
28th Two Chateaux (don%26#39;t try do any more, you wont remember anything)
29th Host family (or the other way around
30th - Chatre,
etc etc etc
Your budget for hotels is generous. I usually plan on spoending between 40€ and 60€ per double room
Simon
http://daysontheclaise.blogspot.com/
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Hotels outside of Paris cost a great deal less than do those in Paris. Wiz is correct, you can save money here.
Another way to save money is to pickup a car rental in Paris, near your hotel and drive to Rouen. Picking up a rental in town is not only cheaper (you%26#39;ll avoid the train station, pickup surcharge) but the gas you%26#39;ll use will cost a great deal less than the train tickets you%26#39;ll buy. Driving out of Paris on a Saturday with a well chosen route is not the same thing as driving around Paris, something I should strongly discourage. Exiting Paris (particularly on Saturday) really is not a difficult task.
For your car rental:
1. check rates at:
http://www.autoeurope.com
2. request a diesel, they cost less to operate. Diesel fuel is widely available and cheaper than gas.
3. Purchase a spiral bound map of France like this one:
bookdepository.co.uk/WEBSITE/…
4. For hotels and restaurants at any price level, consult the Michelin Red Guide. This is a valuable resource.
5. For route planning, refer to:
www.mappy.com
www.viamichelin.com
Same for the return to Paris, just drive to CDG. Everything is well marked and Saturday traffic is minimal. Just take A6 to A86 to A1 and you%26#39;ll pass through the metropolitan area and be at CDG in a flash. The whole process is so simple that I would spend the night in Orléans and drive to CDG in the morning (depending upon your flight departure time).
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Thanks for the info everyone.
Wizard, the reason we are spending so much time in Bayeux it that the only must do for DH is the full day Battlebus tour, we%26#39;ll spend at least half a day in Caen doing the Memorial museum and then there%26#39;s the tapestry. So that%26#39;s 2 full days of activities while based in Bayeux and we also want to see the Cathedral and stroll around town.
Anyone have hotel recommendations for Rouen, Honfleur, or in the MSM vicinity?
As far as the car rental/train thing, I thought it was cheaper to avoid the airport for car rental. Is that just for picking up the car?
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It might be more, I guess you can do search with all the rental outfits to determine for yourself, but the ease of operation, should you choose, could be more time efficient and beneficial.
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%26lt;%26lt;%26lt;Is that just for picking up the car?%26gt;%26gt;
Yes,
There is no charge for dropping a car off at either a train station or airport. There should be no one way fee either. The only company in France (of which I am aware) charging one way fees is Hertz.
Additionally, the contract you have with a rental car company may not include all of the fees you may need to eventually pay. There is usually a road tax fee (about 10 euros per rental period) and often the pickup surcharge (if applicable) is not listed.
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We have rented from Hertz a number of times and I do not remember paying any drop fee in same country.
We did CDG-Nice twice, no extra charge.
We did Milan-Rome no charge, so please check it out.
if you pick the car first, enter CDG return Paris, or vice versa.
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You can stay right on the island at MSM which is a bit of an experience, just don%26#39;t stay in a room with a view over the village or you will have noise all night as the truck the rubbish out and the new supplies in. We stayed at the St Pierre and the town is much nicer when the bulk of the tourists have gone home. I might add I have NEVER seen so many cars parked in one place, just acres of bent tin on the far side of the causeway. If you can show that you are staying on the island they let you park close.
Chartres is magnificent. Try to catch a tour by the English guide. His knowledge about how to %26quot;read%26quot; the stained glass and sculpture is astonishing and enlightening. He used to do two different tours a day, one in the morning and one after lunch. The website say this
Tour Guide for the Cathedral (English Speaking): Malcolm Miller
Guided lectures in English
12 noon and 2:45 p.m. (not on Sundays)
Minimum : 12 participants.
Meet in the cathedral at the gift-shop
After, do visit the medieval town below the cathedral. Very unusual architecture and pretty houses and churches.
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