2 weeks France itinerary: Beyond Paris to North-West France

Hey there, I’m sharing a 2 weeks France Itinerary, a trip in which we rented a car in Paris and drove westwards to places such as Caen, Normandy, Mont-Saint-Michel, Saint-Malo, Dinan, Vannes, Nantes and Amboise.

Key activities in this France 13-day itinerary included visiting World World II sites, charming medieval towns, a popular castle that inspired fairy tales, chateaus and more.  

I’ll keep this post brief and will expand on each day through subsequent day-by-day posts. Let’s get started!

Key Trip Information: 13 Days in France

Here are some key details about our trip for quick reference:

• Travel Profile: Couple trip
• Month of Travel: September 
• Temperature: 14 – 29°C
• GMT: +2 (6 hours behind Singapore)
• Transport: Rental Car 

Day-by-Day Highlights: 2 weeks France Itinerary

Here’s how we spent two amazing weeks exploring France.

Day 1: Flew from Singapore to Paris

• Checked into Sure Hotel near Gare du Nord Station
• Visited Montmartre, including Basilique du Sacre-Coeur church and its charming artist village
• Enjoyed nice pastries from Pain Pain and stocked up on groceries at Carrefour
• Read our full Day 1 in Paris for more photos and tips 

(Day’s reflections: Witnessed street protests, saw someone stole from Carrefour, smelt “toilet” in a train station lift, and had to stay vigilant all the time. Paris has changed so much!) 

Day 2: Drove to Caen; visited war museum

• Collected rental car; drove 4 hours to Caen city
• Checked into Sure Hotel, Caen
• Visited Caen Memorial Museum 
• Enjoyed Caen city, including St. Peter Cathedral, Caen Castle Ruin, and memorable dinner “Buddha Bowl Poulet”)

(Day’s reflections: Smaller French towns felt safer and cleaner as compared to bigger cities.)

Day 3: Normandy D-Day Tour; then drove to Pontorson

• Checked out hotel in Caen, and began Normandy D-Day Tour
• Visited Longues-sur-Mer Battery and coastal bunkers
• Walked along Omaha beach, where many American soldiers died on D-day
• Explored Pointe du Hoc – lots of bomb craters and bunkers. You can see the war damage here!
• Drove to Pontorson and checked into Hotel Auberge De La Baie

(Day’s reflections: A strange feeling to walk the same path of doom and destruction, in today’s peaceful and beautiful landscape.)

Day 4: Mont-Saint-Michel; then drove to Saint-Malo

• Walked through the Meandres (a green pasture full of sheep) – woah, sooooo beautiful!
• Visited Mont-Saint-Michel – the iconic abbey said to have inspired many fairy tales
• Chanced by Moulin de Moidrey – a picturesque old windmill built in 1806
• Drove to Saint-Malo city; checked into Kyriad Prestige Saint-Malo
• Enjoyed a lovely “mussel pot” dinner by the marina!
• Wandered through Saint Malo Old Town

(Day’s highlight: Today was the most scenic day of the trip. Walking through the Meandres was super memorable!)

Day 5: Dinan and Saint-Malo 

• Took a short drive to Dinan Medieval Old Town – second most photographed town in France
  • Old Clock Tower – beautiful 360-view of town
  • Best bakery experience of the trip at Boulangerie Herbert La Parisse
• Returned to Saint-Malo Old Town
  • Walked across sandbar to Fort National 
  • Enjoyed uniquely flavoured ice cream – capsicum flavor was unforgettable! 

(Day’s reflections: Love the small quaint medieval towns – a relaxing day immersed in “fairy tale” charm.)

Day 6: Drove to Vannes; spectacular ocean view

• Drove 3 hours to Vannes city; checked into ibis Vannes
• Visited Alignments of Carnac – prehistoric standing stones dating back to 4,000 BC 
• Walked along Cote Sauvage – a trail by the cliff that offers expansive ocean view
• Watched sunset at the marina – Porte de Vannes, and tried a French dish – Tartare (raw minced beef)

(Day’s highlight: Didn’t expect the view at Cote Sauvage to be so spectacular!)

Day 7: Explored Vannes, then drove to Nantes

• Wandered through Vannes Old Town – bustling farmers’ market, gardens by ancient city walls
• Drove 2 hours to Nantes; checked into Airbnb by the canal
• Popped by Place Royale (a historic public square with interesting life-like statues) and Passage Pommeraye (19th-century old mall)
• Strolled past Vannes Castle

(Day’s reflections: After days of feeling at ease, a cheeky “Konnichiwa” from passing men and a teenager asking for money in a dark street brought back the need for vigilance in Nantes.)

Day 8: Exploring Nantes

• Played with whimsical giant machines at Les Machines and pretended to understand French
• Checked out Le Jardin Extrodinaire – a small garden with waterfall and panoramic view
• Discovered a sizeable shopping mall at Centre Commercial Carrefour Nantes Saint Herblain. 
• Prepped sumptuous home-cooked dinner at Airbnb by the canal

(Day’s reflections: Wish the machine demos at Les Machines were conducted in English.)

Day 9: Underground tunnels and Amboise

• Drove to Amboise, one of the historic towns in Loire Valley 
• Stopped mid-way at Pacours Troglodytique – underground tunnels and caves made into home, tavern and trails
• Checked into the most memorable accommodation of the trip – it’s a small chateau!
• Strolled along Loire River, and shopped around the charming Amboise town

(Day’s highlight: The chateau Airbnb was the highlight – never stayed in an accommodation with a Chateau gate to open and a Renaissance garden outside.)

Day 10: Toured chateau and Leonardo’s residence

• Spent 3 hours at Chateau de Chenonceau – one of Loire Valley’s most famous castles
• Enjoyed crepe overlooking Amboise Castle, which holds Leonardo’s remain
• Visited Leonardo da Vinci’s residence (Chateau du Clos Luce) – can see his room, workshop and inventions
• Cooked sumptuous scallops, steak and ravioli dinner at the chateau Airbnb

(Day’s reflections: Many would “chateau-hop”. For us, no regrets visiting only one chateau as we appreciated having more time enjoying our own chateau stay and learning about Leonardo’s extraordinary talents!)

Day 11: Return to Paris 

• Made our way to Paris; stopped by Orleans city and were surprised to see most shops closed on a Sunday. 
• Stuck in extremely bad traffic in Paris for hours – saw lots of police in full gear
• Checked into ibis Paris Gare du Nord
• Returned rental car at Gare du Nord station

(Day’s reflections: There goes the lovely small-town clean and relaxing vibe – I would miss it.)

Day 12: Sight-seeing in Paris

• Revisited Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and Lourve museum
• Lousy lunch along Champs-Elysee shopping street
• Shopped at Galeries Lafayette – enjoyed nice view at the Terrace
• Took metro to République station for dinner – saw a monument that looked like Statue of Liberty from afar 

(Day’s reflections: I’ve been to Paris a few times, so no real excitement especially in big cities.)

Day 13: Discovered a shoppable mall in Paris

• Deposited luggage at hotel at a cost
• Headed to Westfield Les 4 Temps – a huge mall with prices meant for masses 
• Took flight back to Singapore 

(Day’s highlight: Discovering West Field Shopping mall was great as I loaded quite a lot of things on my last day, e.g. Jott Jacket, skincare products and French tea.)

I’ll pause here and be back with day-by-day breakdown of our adventures in north-western France. So click below to stay in the loop.

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