1st time visit: paris-normandy-burgundy possible?

Hello Danny. August-September is a great time to visit Normandy. Things are still open and tourists have thinned ranks. The French return to work and school the first of Sept. so it's not nearly as crowded on those beaches.

We stayed a month in a tiny town south of Caen and used it as a central location for visiting much of Normandy. Caen is very central but you might enjoy Bayeux as your base of operations. It's a smaller town, very picturesque, equally central and doesn't have nearly the traffic as Caen. Bayeux has a great Saturday market, the famous Bayeux Tapestry, a magnificent cathedral and is a remarkably lovely town with much history and plenty to do and places to eat and stay. It is also easy to visit the D-Day sites from Bayeux.

Since you have a week, take your rainy day (you are nearly guaranteed one) and visit the Peace Memorial in Caen. It takes a day and it is quite an experience. When you buy your tickets, opt for the full restaurant lunch. The Peace Memorial is a very intense experience and the excellent meal at noon is a relaxing respite.

The American Cemetery is usually considered a must-see and it is very moving. We were fortunate to have a double rainbow (and some rain) the day we visited. There are cemeteries for other countries too including a lovely Canadian one near Cauvicourt.

The cemeteries and beaches are well marked and you can get maps and information at any local tourist office. If you don't have a car, taking a tour of the WWII sites might be easiest. Although we enjoy traveling independently, it's not everyone's cup of tea, especially if you don't speak any French.

Another must-see is Mont St. Michel. It is just stunning and well worth a visit. It honestly looks like all those posters you see in travel agencies. No matter when you go, there will be lots of tourists. Just think of it as an authentic pilgrimage experience and it's okay to be in a crowd there. At least that's what my husband keeps telling me . . . 8^)

You have lots of options besides WWII sites. You can visit a cheese factory in Livarot or Pont L'Eveque. Get there early since the milk comes in early and the process is nearly over at lunch time. There are chateaus to visit although one thinks of the Loire, in fact there are chateaus all over France including Normandy. Honfleur is an utterly charming fishing harbor with colorful boats, a very unique church and lots of street artists happy to talk to you and to sell you their paintings. North and slightly east of Caen you can visit the resort towns although they are VERY quiet after the first of September. You will have the beach to yourself (and the views) and you may have to walk a few blocks to find an open restaurant. You might have tea at the Grand Hotel in Cabourg where Proust had tea many years ago. Great sea views from the windows!

Do you have any specific interests? For instance there is a Museum of Norman Life and an excellent art museum within the chateau walls in Caen. There is no chateau though.

Enjoy your trip.

If you want to find distances, go to http://www.viamichelin.com/  or to http://www.mappy.com/  and you can plug in the start and destination to get a little map, written directions, tolls and distances. The Michelin site is more accurate on tolls but both are good map sites.

thanks for your reply!  We don't necessarily have to do Normandy at this time. We figured if possible, we could squeeze it in. However, we also wanted this to be a somewhat relaxing trip and not too much running around.

it appears from various people including yourself that it's not recommended to do all 3 in 10 days. That's enough justification for me!

Paris-Loire-Burgundy sounds fantastic.

I'm not sure if we'll do the train or rent a car. I'm leaning more towards the car so we can come and go as we please.

 thanks again for your advice!

Denise