France 🇫🇷

shellyvix
Mar 3
3 min read

4 Days: Paris & Normandy

DAY 1: ETRETAT to HONFLEUR to CAEN

Sienna and I landed in Paris, picked up our Sixt rental car and drove to the hotel to pick up Toy and Lexi for our Normandy adventure. We drove just under 3 hours to the beautiful seaside town of Etretat. From there, we headed 45 minutes to the port city of Honfleur, stopping at a boulangerie (French bakery) in Saint-Arnoult on our way.

We continued on for another hour until we reached Caen, our final stop for the night.

HOTEL (1 night)

Hotel La Fontaine Caen Centre $161 for a quad room in the heart of Caen with offsite parking available for €22.

DAY 2: COLLEVILLE-SUR-MER to MONT SAINT-MICHEL

After a long day of travel yesterday, we had a slow start in Caen, visiting the castle after brunch in the city center.

From Caen, we drove 20 minutes to the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach in Colleville-Sur-Mer. We explored the grounds and then headed to the Overland Museum where there are more than 10,000 pieces that trace the history of the Battle of Normandy until the liberation of Paris.

Next stop, Mont Saint-Michel, the most visited tourist attraction in France outside of Paris and located an hour and a half from Colleville-Sur-Mer. We checked out the shops and the views before sitting down for dinner.

Our last stop after a two and a half hour drive was Rouen, the capital of the northern French region of Normandy and port city on the River Seine with Gothic churches, a cobblestoned pedestrian center and medieval half-timbered houses.

HOTEL (1 night)

Hotel Place Rouen 5000 points for each room. The building was formerly a teacher training college.

DAY 3: ROUEN to PARIS

We headed to breakfast in Rouen and visited the Rouen Cathedral, Gros-Horloge clock, and Place du Vieux-Marche where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake.

On our way to Paris (1.5 hours), we stopped in Giverny, nicknamed the "Village of Painters," because it was the home of Claude Monet, founder of Impressionism, for over 4 decades, as well as other artists.

HOTEL (1 night)

Hyatt Place Paris CDG Airport: 9500 points for each room. It was a convenient place to stay after getting in to the city in the evening and dropping off the rental car.

DAY 4: PARIS

We woke up and Ubered to our next hotel, near the Paris action, dropped off our bags and headed to brunch brunch at a sidewalk bistro. After brunch, we unpacked and settled into our rooms, then hit the streets to people watch on the River Seine. From there, we went to see the Louvre pyramids, Notre Dame Cathedral, Palais de Justice, the sparkling Eiffel Tower and the Flame of Liberty at Princess Diana Square directly above the tunnel where she passed away in 1997.

HOTEL (1 night)

Holiday Inn Paris - Gare de Lyon Bastille booked with IHG Free Night Certificate for one room and 32,000 points/night for the second room. This was a beautiful hotel in an excellent location with awesome views on a cute patio.