We took advantage of the school holidays in April this year and went to do a roadtrip A trip through France, visiting the regions of Brittany and Normandy, ending in Paris. For many years, Celo has been asking me to visit the famous beaches of the Battle of Normandy and eat the famous oysters of Cancale, so we researched going in April and found it interesting. We took advantage of the fact that Paddy was reading the Asterix books and included a theme park for the little ones, as well as some medieval villages and the beautiful cliffs of Etretat to make mom happy too. A good trip is one that pleases everyone, isn't it?

Summary Itinerary

I'll write details about this 10-day trip in another post, as I always do, but here's our summary to inspire you too. 🙂

We flew from Lisbon to Nantes, rented a car and drove through Brittany and Normandy in northern France, then headed down to the outskirts of Paris to visit the Asterix park and the Château de Chantilly. We returned the car at Orly airport and took our flight home from there.

The initial idea was to do this itinerary by motorhome, renting in Nantes and returning in Lisbon, but after a lot of research, we saw that the 10 days would cost around 2500 euros (including additional utensils, delivery fee to another location, insurance, etc.), while hotels and the car would cost 1000 euros less, so we thought the second option was better. Honestly, I think this itinerary would be PERFECT by motorhome, and if we didn't have any more trips planned for this year, I would certainly book it. Indiecampers, But it is what it is… our first MH experience with the kids will have to wait until next year in Germany. 🙂

Now let's talk about the places we visited:

• Brittany: Cancale, Saint Malo, Dinan, Lehon, Dinard, Cap Frehel and Fort La Latte.
• Normandy: Mont Saint Michel, Omaha Beach, Utah Beach, Juno Beach, Gold Beach, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte-Mere-Eglise, Deauville, Honfleur and Etretat.
• Surroundings of Paris: Parc Asterix and Chateau Chantilly

Here's a map with the 4 apartments we stayed in red and stops we made in blue:

Detailed Itinerary

Post with all the details coming soon.

Car Rental and Tolls

We rented a car through Booking.com from Sixt and have no complaints. We picked it up in Nantes and returned it without any problems in Lisbon. The only thing that would have been nice is an automatic toll pass, but since it wasn't offered, we stopped at the toll booths to pay at the machines and then had to go online. Sanef to pay the tolls free-flow, These are tolls, as they call them. They are the tolls that are on the roads and we don't need to stop to pay, but be aware that we have up to 72 hours to pay or they will issue a fine.

Food & Drink

We ate everything on this trip. Thank goodness! We tried the famous homard bleu, which is the blue lobster of France and is wonderful, the oysters from Brittany and Normandy, crepes with lots of butter, succulent spider crabs, and many delicious cheeses. We ate meat, fish, pasta, chicken, and vegetables in restaurants, but we also had dinners at home which consisted of pizza, lasagna, and pre-made cannelloni, and pasta with store-bought sauce. At Asterix Park, we ate hamburgers, and after the park we stopped at KFC and got a bucket of fried chicken that the children tried for the first time and loved. Who doesn't, right?

One day we were craving salads and went to a "build your own salad" style place inside a supermarket. We ate gigantic salads and ordered sandwiches and soups for the kids. In the car, we let the children eat Pringles – Paddy loves them! – and other snacks to make it more fun. We're a no-frills family that values practicality and new experiences, so you'll see a detailed post about how we went from one extreme to the other in the same day in many ways. 🙂

Accommodations

During those 10 days, we stayed in 4 different local accommodations scattered along our route, which wasn't very practical. Checking in and out, packing, and so on, is always a lot of work, but since we only traveled with 4 backpacks, the process was much simpler. Do you also travel with little luggage?

These were the accommodations we chose:

• Émeraude Lumineux T3 in the heart of the village, 5 minutes from beaches – A small but cozy 2-bedroom apartment in a village near Saint Malo and Cancale. Well-equipped and decorated, with easy-to-follow instructions, but on the second floor of a street-level house (not very practical for those with strollers or large suitcases, which is not our case). We gave it a 9 on Booking.com.
• Gîte de la Grenouille – A small house within a large plot of land with a larger house and farm animals in La Cambe, near the Normandy Battle beaches. It has a friendly frog-themed decor and is quite spacious with two bedrooms, but there were a few details we didn't like very much (toilet seat, little toilet paper, rough towels...). We gave it an 8 on Booking.com.
• L'Escale du Vieux Port – 1st floor – Airco– A wonderful one-bedroom apartment in the charming center of the village of Honfleur. Also on the second floor, but superbly equipped and decorated, in an excellent location. We gave it a 10/10 on Booking and highly recommend it!
• Le Factory is near CDG I Paris I Astérix airport – One-bedroom apartment in an old building, with strange neighbors, near Asterix Park. The apartment is large, but it's clear that it has the bare essentials and needs improvements to the flooring and bathroom. I didn't like the small towels for the children or the dining table with high stools, but the rest was OK. We gave it an 8.

I'll share photos and more details about the accommodations in the detailed post. 🙂

Our Photos

Here's a summary of our trip in photos: