Onzain to Normandy

We will be staying in Onzain and day tripping to the castles by auto. We plan to drive to MSM and Normandy on the last day of our stay in Onzain then taking the TGV from Tours to Paris to complete our stay there. How long a drive to MSM? Should we see Normandy Beach first? Can we do Normandy on our own?

Any information would be greatly appreciated.

Lili Fisher

|||

According to the highly useful mapping site:

http://www.viamichelin.co.uk/

Onzain to Le Mont St Michel is a 314K/200mile one way trip, which will take you at least 3.5 hours (if you are lucky!!)

You then have another 1.5-2 hours or so of driving to get to any of the D-Day beaches.

YES you can do it, but it is going to be one HELLUVAlong way!! comprising of 7-10 hours of driving with whistle-stops only, at the places you really WANT to see!

Why don%26#39;t you reduce your stay in Onzain by one day, drive to Normandy, see MSM, stay overnight, see D-Day area, then either return car in Caen %26amp; train back to Paris from there, OR drive back and return car on outskirts of Paris??

|||

By Normandy on your own I think you mean the d-day beaches. To get a meaningfull visit you need to follow a guided tour. Options are private guide, minibus tour or d-day audio guide to use in your car. Without a guide your looking at concrete blocks and sandy beaches.

You can%26#39;t do the d-day beaches and Mont st Michel in one day.

|||

Essexwanderer: Thank you for the information. My husband knew it was going to be a long day but I don%26#39;t think he was planning it to be That Long!!

Since this part of the trip was planned last minute and we are staying at the exclusive Domaine Hauts De Loire ( we were lucky to get a reservation) and do not want to cut it short, we may decide to take the day and do a hot air baloon ride over the valley instead. I am sure the cost of the ride will be the same as gasoline and two tired drivers when all is said on done. Also we are dropping the car in Tours and have prepurchased our TGV tickets for the train to Paris.

Again, thanks so much!

Lili Fisher

|||

Good decision--one can%26#39;t really get much out of a whirlwind tour of Mont St-Michel and the Normandy beaches.

Enjoy your stay at the beautiful Domaine des Hauts de Loire! We loved the place.

|||

-:- Message from TripAdvisor staff -:-

This topic was inactive for 6 months and has been closed to new posts. We hope you'll join the conversation by posting to an open topic or starting a new one.

To review the TripAdvisor Forums Posting Guidelines, please follow this link: http://www.tripadvisor.com/pages/forums_posting_guidelines.html

We remove posts that do not follow our posting guidelines, and we reserve the right to remove any post for any reason.

Removed on: 2:19 am, October 24, 2009