zot2k7

Will be driving between Cologne and Mont Saint-Michele. We are first-time visitors to France. Besides Paris, where should we stop for a half-day and overnight? (We are circling back to Paris.)

It's about 8 hours (by shortest route) between Cologne and the Mont, but we would be glad to take a reasonable detour in order to visit your recommended destination.

Thanks ^

TWA884

Almost along your route is Honfleur, a very picturesque town on the estuary of the Seine river. Its old harbor was the subject of paintings by impressionists Claude Monet and Eugène Boudin.

Nearby, Deauville is a seaside resort best known known for its casino.

MarLim

Honfleur is indeed a very nice place. You might also consider Etretat with its famous rocky coast or Caen for the world war II memorial museum. Once you are at Mont-St-Michel you might also go for a detour to St.Malo before returning to Paris.

TWA884

Since you brought up WWII, the OP may be interested in visiting the D-Day landing beaches and the Normandy American Cemetery, Memorial and Visitor Center.

DavidDTW

I went to Normandy a couple of years ago, and all places mentioned are worthwhile. I would also include Bayeux and Rouen as good places to stop in the area.

Gagravarr

If you take the route via Paris (only recommended if you wouldn't be near Paris at busy times), you could stop off in Reims to tour a champagne house or two. (Plus it has a lovely cathedral, and lots of art deco buildings)

Rouen is quite nice, if I remember correctly, and the old bit of Le Havre is nice too

If you take the A4 / A11 route, you're pretty close to the Loire valley. It wouldn't be too much of a detour to go see one of the grand Chateaux (stately home castles)

MSPeconomist

What time if year? What are your interests?

I like the idea of Honfleur and Rouen would also work well.

If you're interested in modern art, you could go to the tiny village west of Paris where Monet painted the water lilies. It's hard to reach without a car. There's also a village where Van Gogh painted some of his last pictures. You can see some of the places and the house where he rented a room has been made into a museum.

You could also pick a rural place that has a renowned restaurant and associated small hotel if you enjoy fine dining. One example, which is a bit farther off your route, would be Vezeley which is a preserved small town on a hill with a very famous cathedral. The restaurant and hotel are actually in St Pierre sous Vezeley, a smaller village at the bottom.

I would have guessed that the fastest total driving time would be more than eight hours. This probably resprsents a best case situation with no traffic problems and would entail driving nonstop at the speed of traffic, meaning speeding close to 100mph, the whole way alng the autobahn and autoroute. How comfortable do you feel about driving in Europe?

TWA884

Unfortunately, L'Espérance closed a few years ago (Gayot).