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?