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.
Omaha Beach – many American soldiers died here on D-Day (6 Jun 1944)
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!
Vannes medieval town’s famous 16th-century “smiling couple” sculpture
Key Trip Information: 13 Days in France
Here are some key details about our trip for quick reference:
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
(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!)
Enjoyed a lovely “mussel pot” dinner by the marina!
Wandered through Saint Malo Old town, but caught in the rain
(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 memorable!
(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
(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 West Field shopping mall – 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.
