We have gone thought most of France, except for the northen (normandie) and Alsace region. WE are thinking going there next year and considering Honfleur, trouville, Dieppe, St-Michel, St Malo as of now.
I would apreciated any comments, suggestions and places not to miss.
It would be Paris from Montreal, then going north by car.
Great list. On Dieppe, I'd stay in nearby Varengeville-sur-Mer instead. I find Varengeville a more charming place to stay. The total is a 2-week trip minimum. (Lastly, Mont St Michel and St Malo are more west - YES, DAVID, WEST!!! - than north.) Bon voyage.
One of my favorite towns in the area you're considering is Dinan, a lovely town of half timbered buildings, surrounded by pretty countryside. St. Malo is quite sprawling and busy (the fortified part is just a teeny portion of the town) and I don't think it's anything special. The drive along the coast between St Malo and Cancale is very pretty; definitely stop in Cancale if you like oysters or other shellfish. A stop in Bayeaux is worthwhile for the tapestry.
Last September we based in Honfleur for four days, and thought it was a good spot from which to explore. The weather was beautiful - sunny but comfortable, and cool in the evenings.
Honfleur is a pretty town, and easy (maybe best!) to navigate on foot. Its picturesque harbor is probably its most recognizable feature, but we liked the narrow little streets and colorful shopfronts almost as much.
One day we drove across the dramatic Le Pont de Normandie bridge north to Fécamp (enjoyed the tour of the Benedictine liqueur mansion/museum and the manufacturing process), and Etretat. The beach at Etretat was a surprise to me - the beach was covered with small, round rocks that made the most wonderful clacking sound when they rolled with the incoming waves. (I have a sound recording of it I need to upload ... )
Another day we drove south to the D-Day landing beaches and the American cemetery (heartbreaking to see the rows and rows of graves). From there we headed to Bayeux, specifically to see the 11th century tapestry. We LOVED the tapestry, the cathedral, and the town. We'd have liked more time there -- in retrospect, probably should have split that trip into two days.
We found Normandy to have more beautiful and dramatic scenery than we expected, and I am definitely planning a longer return visit.
Posts: 16055 | Location: The Beautiful San Francisco Bay Area | Registered: 06 August 2001
You could also consider Rouen: it has one of the greatest French cathedrals (as painted many times by Monet) in its medieval centre as well as one of the finest art museums in France. There are also great abbeys nearby such as the ruined abbey at Jumièges or the still-standing abbey church at St-Martin-de-Bosqueville
It is also worth considering going north from Paris where there are very many places to visit: Chantilly, Compiegne, Gerberoy, Beauvais, Amiens, Senlis, Soissons, Laon, St Valéry-sur-Somme, Montreuil, St Omer, Bergues, etc, ....
Posts: 974 | Location: West Sussex, England | Registered: 08 February 2007
Thank you everyone for your replies. I have been very busy and couldn't read them before today.
We are also considering, if it's possible, to fly to Strasbourg and visit the Alsace region and then visit Normandy & Bretagne and go to Paris for our flight back to Montreal.
I was thinking of 4 weeks for all of this. One week in the Alsace region and three for the rest.
Did you make all the visit you wrote while staying in Honfleur?
Like I wrote this morning, if we start with Strasbourg and the Alsace region (Colmar, Riquewihr etc) for a week and then leave to the Normandie and Bretagne region, is it better to continue west and visit along the way, or stay in Honfleur as you did and visit the region? Would Mont St Michel be possible from there?
I'm also wondering if the trip is worth it going west from Mont St. Michel way up to the Atlantic Ocean and then to Paris for our flight back.
I'm not sure about Normandy, but from Mt. St. Michel west into Brittany is well worth the excursion. Many lovely towns, Breton culture, etc. If you've got three weeks to spend in both, I think that would work just fine.
Recommendations: Quimper, Carnac, Point du Raz, St. Malo (pretty close to Mont St. Michel).
In Bayeux, locate the main street, which rises up slightly as one walks...notice/enjoy the approximately 14 pâtisseries within several blocks...along with other things, such as the shop for Jambon...I have never felt more ignorant than the moment I entered that store...so many hams, but I did not have a clue as to their differences as one must learn these things as I now have...and the prepared ham dishes...I only wish that during that visit I had access to a kitchen...
Did you make all the visit you wrote while staying in Honfleur?
Yes - we took two driving trips: one day we went north to Fécamp and Etretat, the other day southwest to the D-Day landing beach towns and then looping back to Bayeux.
The day we left Honfleur, we drove to Senlis - we wanted to be close to CDG to return the car the next morning. We both really enjoyed our evening in town; there was an outdoor art event going on, and lots of people out and about. Shannon sniffed out a charming wine bar for our pre-dinner glass of champagne.
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Like I wrote this morning, if we start with Strasbourg and the Alsace region (Colmar, Riquewihr etc) for a week and then leave to the Normandie and Bretagne region, is it better to continue west and visit along the way, or stay in Honfleur as you did and visit the region? Would Mont St Michel be possible from there?
As much as I wanted to see and visit Mont St. Michel, we felt it was too far of a drive from Honfleur for a day trip. That being the case, it would make sense for you to have a southern base at or near Mont St. Michel, and a northern base (if you want to visit the Honfleur area) for Normandy.
This website for Mont St. Michel has a map for the area that you can manipulate to see the various towns in the region, and their proximity.
Your mcmanehonfleur link is for the cottage we stayed at in Honfleur. Unfortunately, we cannot recommend it. Click here for my review.
Posts: 16055 | Location: The Beautiful San Francisco Bay Area | Registered: 06 August 2001
I agree that Honfleur is a very nice town. We too used it as our Normandy base, but I wouldn't do that again. It was just too far to the D Day beaches, the Caen museum, the Bayeaux tapestry, etc. I'd recommend staying in Honfleur, but maybe at the beginning or end of a Normandy trip--not as a base for the whole region.
Gede: We stayed in Honfleur at the beginning of our Normandy-Britanny trip two years ago. After visiting the areas north (Étretat, Fécamp) and south of Honfleur (Deauville, Trouville, Cabourg), we spent a week in a gite in Courseules, near the beaches of Normandy. Excellent base to visit the D-Day sites, including the Caen Memorial, as well as Bayeux.
Our second week was in a gite near Dinan. We had easy access to Mont St-Michel, St-Malo, Cancale, Dinard, Cap-Fréhel and many others. We then to took the train in Rennes to return to Paris and Montreal. This was an end-of-September trip. We expected to have some rain and rather cool temperatures. We had beautiful sunny weather.
It all worked out very well.
Posts: 191 | Location: Montréal | Registered: 10 March 2005
Mont St. Michel aside, geography argues for Caen, "central" to the Normandy coast from Point Le Hoc, about 10 kilometers west of Omaha Beach, to Etretat. But Caen was heavily damaged in the Battle of Normandy and rebuilt after the war.
Caen to Mont St. Michel is an 1 hour and 26 minute drive. So when ideally situated, in terms of distances, to enjoy the channel coast, you have about three hours of driving time on a day trip to Mont St. Michel.
My heart argues for Honfleur, even farther, 2 hours and 5 minutes, from Mont St. Michel (both driving times from mappy.com). But that's a long story, easier to tell in photographs.
The finest way to see Mont St. Michel, I think, is to stay overnight nearby - probably just across the causeway from the Mont rather than on it - and go early in the morning when the crowds are lighter. But I wouldn't base nearby, for more than a night, during a Normandy stay unless it were a long one. There are other parts of Normandy, less visited, that have more natural beauty and charming towns. The east coast of the Cotentin Pennisula, including Barfleur, for example.
Thank you everyone for all the information on Normandie and Bretagne.
I would like more info on the Alsace region. I'm thinking of a week. Arriving at Strasbourg and visiting for two days. Then we would head down to Riquewihr and stay there for 5-7 days. We are considering visiting all the region from that base.
You might want to check out previous discussions here, here, and here, and search for other references as well.
As always, when starting with a general question about a region, it's a good idea to either purchase or buy from the library a guidebook, then come to us with more specific questions.
You may want to avoid cities, but having just got back from the Nord I cannot recommend enough a trip to Lille, and in particular Roubaix with its marvellous museum La Piscine in an art deco swimming pool. Aperos and dining in Lille's beautiful Old Town were also a highlight, and the Lillois people are incredibly friendly. Example: I had my hair cut there and they let me order a Leffe from the bar next door and drink it while I was coiffed!
The French hit film "Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis" is lighthearted look at the people of the Nord - only available in French, although they are remaking it for American audiences as "Welcome to the Sticks".
Thanks for the Roubaix tip-off! Like many other Brits, I've headed south on the autoroute from Calais countless times, seen the junction for 'Lille, Roubaix, Tourcoing', and imagined a best-avoided urban-industrial sprawl... Though I do know that Lille's centre is certainly worth a visit (and its big art gallery is superb).
Jonathan
Posts: 3400 | Location: Stroud, UK | Registered: 18 November 2001
The beach at Etretat was a surprise to me - the beach was covered with small, round rocks that made the most wonderful clacking sound when they rolled with the incoming waves. (I have a sound recording of it I need to upload ... )
Finally figured out the .wav file upload to my PC process , and have asked Kim to add it to the ST podcast library.
Posts: 16055 | Location: The Beautiful San Francisco Bay Area | Registered: 06 August 2001
Finaly, we are leaving for Paris the 13th of June. All your comments helped me plan our trip.
I was planning to head north to Dieppe for two days as a starting point and then head west to Honfleur, Bayeux etc... Problem is that I haven't found a place yet. The only ones I found had too much negative comments. I did find this one: http://www.villa-des-capucins.fr/index.htm.
But haven't received any return to my two emails.
I have booked two days at Honfleur and I'm wondering if I shouldn't add an additional day and drive to Dieppe for a visit, instead of staying there.
We finaly decided not to visit the Alsace region for the moment. We had planned to leave from Colmar and then head for Dieppe, but it is a 7-8 hour ride. That's a whole day's drive!
So we will visit the Alsace region in a future trip.
Although we are happy to have seen Dieppe, we were also disapointed with the city. We did visit the cimetary and the Castle.
We left Dieppe for Honfleur and visited many places along the way. We loved Honfleur! We slept there for two night and I wish we should have stayed for three, if not more. We stayed at the "La Cour Sainte-Catherine" http://www.giaglis.com/
A lovely place with wonderfull people. I recommend it to everyone.
It was perfect! Great breakfast, very charming hosts, who took the time to reply to many emails full of suggestions and recommendations. The cleanliness of the place, the room, the garden with the rabbit roaming around, a private parking... a highly recommended address. The major sites are within a walking distance. The cathedral, the Tapistry museum.
It is an isolate place in the country and if you have a small budget, this is a place to consider. The room we took was the "La Baroque" for 65Euros for two including breakfast. Delphine makes small cakes with chocolate and "madeleine" cakes for breakfast. Very nice and lovely peoples. Ask her if she could make her salted caramel sauce for breakfast..Yum!
It's a perfect site to visit Dinan, St-Michel, St-Malo, cancale and Dinard. All are within a 30 minutes ride or less. Then you come back to the garden with a bottle of wine and appreciate the garden.
We didn't head for the West coast but went down to Guerande. One of the most beautiful town we visited going to Guerande was "Rochefort-en-Terre". It's worth the time.
We visited and took the guided tour of the "marais salant" where they harvest the sea salt. A very instructive visit, which leaves you with much more respect for the labour to harvest the sea salt.
We also visited Breca, with its thatched roof houses and one of the biggest marsh in Europe. There we took a boot ride in the marsh and a horse carriage ride through the city. That's also a recommended address inside the city's battlement walls.
We headed from Guerande to Chartres. Stayed at the:
This is also a small budget place. 55 Euros for two, including breakfast. There aren't many address at that price. It's located within walking distance of the Cathedral. They also have a secured parking.
We finished our trip in Paris and stayed at the hotel "Caron de Beaumarchais":
We took a 150 Euros rooms and frankly it was a deception. Don't believe the photos that are on their web site and that you will have a room like the pictures shown. The entrance smelled like there had been a fire in the place. They said it was the fireplace!
We did appreciate the air-conditioning though and the breakfast were very good, although expensive at 12Euros each.
Thank you so much for reporting back to us on your experiences, Gede! If you could take a minute to paste your lodging info into our Review form, the info can go into our database on the main France site and be more available to other travelers. Thanks!
, and have asked Kim to add it to the ST podcast library.
