Honfleur or Bayeaux?

We%26#39;ll be headed to Normandy for 2 nights from Paris in late June to see the D-Day beaches and American Cemetery. We%26#39;ll be heading to Provence from Normandy when we%26#39;re done with our stay.

Honfleur seems appealing because it%26#39;s on the coast and has a charming town. Bayeax, on the other hand, is much closer to the D-Day sights...

Questions:

1) How long will it take us to drive from Honfleur to the D-Day sights?

2) Does Bayeaux have a town to walk around (i.e. decent hotel choices, restaurants, etc.)?

3) Is there another town we should consider?

Also, does it make more sense to drive to our next stop (Chateauneuf-du-Pape/Provence), or take a train and then pick up a car once we%26#39;re there? We want to have a car in Provence so we can explore the vineyards, chateaus and country-side.

Thank you!

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Honfleur is roughly a 1 hour drive from Ouistreham which is where the beaches %26#39;start%26#39; but the %26#39;American%26#39; beaches, Utah, Omaha and Pont Du Hoc are at the far end near the Cotentin Peninsula and will take you a good 2.5 to 3 hours to reach them from Honfleur.

Bayeux is better placed for D-Day visiting, is a lovely town with interesting sights including the Bayeux Tapestry. If you go to the Bayeux forum you will find lots of restaurant, hotel and tour suggestions.

Normandy to Provence is quite a long drive, IF you don%26#39;t mind that, then break it up into 2 days and find a nice place for an overnighter en-route. Personally, if you already have a car then I would do this, rather than cope with all the faff that taking train back into Paris, then out again and dropping off one car then picking up another would create. However, only you can decide if that suits you!

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Thanks, Essex...would it make sense to make the overnight stop somewhere in Burgundy, or would you recommend another area?

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I think you had better get a map of France, and review your geography!

Chateauneuf, is only slightly south of the Burgundy region so you will have a very long drive from up near the Normandy Beaches for an overnighter in Burgundy!

WITH a map of your own, you can pick anywhere you like the sound of that%26#39;s about half-way between The Beaches and Provence.

Here are some suggestions, in no particular order:

Rocamadour

Limoges

Chennonceaux

Nevers

A good website to help you with route planning would be:

http://www.viamichelin.co.uk

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