The Perfect Normandy and Brittany Itinerary-Plan Your Epic Trip

A Month in Normandy & Planning My Normandy Itinerary

I wrote this post after spending a full month in Normandy, based in the gorgeous city of Rouen.

How did I end up spending a month in Rouen? And why did I choose Normandy?

After returning from a fantastic, long trip to Provence in 2015 (I previously worked for a French wine importer and so had made friends with winemakers and other wine industry people in different areas of France) I was determined to go back again and explore more regions, for longer periods of time. At the time, I was also working on building up experience so that I could work more remotely in the future.

I spent almost a year researching affordable areas to stay in France, where there were also really beautiful cities and towns to visit, plenty of history, great food and drink, and an area that was on the coast. My plan was to spend a month somewhere in a language immersion program so that I could secure more affordable (than Airbnbs or hotels) accommodation while also meeting people and learning about the local culture from local instructors.

If you read more posts on my blog, you’ll find that I’m obsessed with language immersion-focused travel (among other types of travel) as it is a phenomenal way to travel for those who enjoy solo travel. It strikes the perfect balance of giving enough opportunity for meaningful social interaction part of the time, as well as providing the opportunity to connect more meaningfully with a region and culture, while also leaving solo travelers plenty of time to explore on their own, complete their remote work projects, etc.

After a lot of research, I’d found that a program in Normandy was far more affordable than in Paris or other high-profile regions and that there was an Alliance Francaise school that offered language courses in Rouen. After doing some research into the city, I was completely sold. After all, it is the city of Monet’s famous cathedrals and provides a great base to explore the region of Normandy.

Though my schedule was going to be relatively busy with language lessons five mornings a week, I knew I could explore nearby cities and sites on weekends or in the half-days I would have free after my French language classes.

Lucky for me, at the time, I had a wonderful travel partner who came to join me in Normandy for a full week, so I saved a lot of my trips for that week.

Rouen and Beyond

Rouen itself is a gorgeous city full of stunning cathedrals and many wonderful museums and restaurants. It is famous for many things, among them the fact that is the city where Joan of Arc was put to death (in the main square) and the city of the cathedrals featured in Monet’s series of paintings ‘The Rouen Cathedrals’.

*See How to Get to Rouen from Paris here.

However, the best days I spent in Normandy and Brittany were the three days I spent in Etretat, Honfleur, a countryside chateau, and at Mont St. Michel. Our Normandy and Brittany itinerary, in my opinion, was the perfect itinerary for seeing some of the most beautiful spots with only a few days of time, and without rushing or trying to check off too many boxes.

We had three days and three nights to explore Normandy and Brittany beyond Rouen and the Normandy Beaches (which we’d done already on a day trip). We drove, as this is the kind of area you must drive to see pretty much everything worth seeing.

Cliffs, Chateaus, and Floating Castles in Normandy

We chose to drive first to Etretat and spend some hours running around the cliffs, picnicking up near the hilltop church, and enjoying the fresh sea breezes, before driving on to Honfleur where we had booked an Airbnb apartment. See the photo below of the Honfleur harbor.

Then, we stayed in a Chateau (Chateau La Ramatiere) out in the countryside near Mont St Michel and St. Malo, and on a whim without having planned it ahead of time, opted to spend a night ON the famous floating island of Mont St Michel.

The combination made a truly spectacular weekend that I won’t easily forget.

A Different Side of France: Normandy and Brittany Food and Drink

Normandy and Brittany have food and drink traditions all their own. They don’t make wine (like the rest of France). Cider and calvados (an apple-based spirit) reign here. They are breezy and coastal, green and friendly, yet also often grey and chilly. They are ruggedly beautiful in that wonderful way that wind-swept cliffy seaside areas always are. There’s the sense of the wild, and the calm. There’s wind and rain and sometimes violent weather and yet also a slower pace of life and more easy and friendly mannered locals (who aren’t as bombarded by tourists from every country in the world as regularly as Paris or the South of France).

Add to this the lack of crowds, compared to other areas near bigger cities (partially due to the expanse of the area and the lack of major transport hubs), and these regions for me, created the perfect ‘French’ experience.

Where do I start….

A Three-Night Normandy-Brittany Itinerary

Etretat

Cliffs overlooking the ocean, gravel paths and stairs, and churches perched on top of cliffs overlooking it all. small beaches, and mellow water. Creperies and seafood restaurants are everywhere. Typical ‘Brittany’ style building. Tiny town. We caught the Tour de France whizzing through the day we were there. Gorgeous!

Honfleur

Sailboats sitting on dark turquoise water. A serene harbor. Old-school historic French buildings and businesses line the cobbled streets. Shops offering calvados tasting around each corner. Our adorable Airbnb apartment was full of light and nice linens and overlooked a garden, and was up a tiny street helping to eliminate much of the outside noise.

Honfleur’s weekend outdoor markets had the best selection of cheeses, ciders, olives, breads, and charcuteries! We packed a picnic with our spoils from the market. We sat at picturesque cafes during a thunderstorm, ate gorgeous pastries and macarons from phenomenally chic yet quaint little patisseries and boulangeries. We didn’t want to leave…….

The Chateau Ramatiere

The Château La Rametière is nestled in the Normandy countryside about a 30-minute drive from Mont St. Michel. You enter through private gates… and then find a green tranquil oasis waiting inside. We called a few hours ahead and got the last room available, which also happened to be one of the largest and on the very top floor… with a spacious sitting room, modern bathroom, and an excellent stone shower as well as a large bedroom suite. We paid about 120 Euros (though the rates change based on the season, demand, etc.).

We spent a lovely night here at the Chateau, after popping over to nearby St. Malo for dinner and purchasing a bottle of amazing Calvados (made just down the road) from the owner. We felt like a Queen and King in our castle!

A Night On Mont St. Michel

We dragged getting ready to leave our lovely Chateau but eventually ended up heading off to Mont St Michel around noon. We found the crowds to be stifling and had the genius idea of grabbing a room in one of the hotels ON the island so that we could come back and have the place to ourselves that night (in June/July it’s light out until after 11 pm!). Best. Idea. Ever.

This floating island is beautiful during the day and the night, but during the day, and up until dinner time, there are so many people crowded into the narrow little streets you can barely move above a snail’s pace. We chose to experience it in a different way.

After grabbing keys to our hotel room (a bargain at 85 Euros) we were free to run off to the nearby lovely city of St. Malo to eat crepes and drink cider, and walk along the water until it was time to come back to the island.

We returned just in time to get into the famous Mont St Michel Abbey at the very top of the little city before it closed and were able to peruse the great halls and gorgeous inner gardens with their grand arches and enjoy a view of the bay below.

After dinner, we roamed the tiny floating city, a bottle of wine in tote, poking down tiny streets, running up narrow staircases, and ooohing and aahing along every rampart as we took in the views.

We awoke in the morning to the seagulls cawing outside our window. We were able to take a morning walk with coffee and be in the car and on the road by the time the first crowds of the day arrived.

I can’t think of a better way to spend three days in Normandy and Brittany– all in all it was one of my favorite trips in many years! Our choices of accommodation had a lot to do with this. It was nice to combine a bit of spontaneity with our well-thought-out and pre-booked plans (this is how we came across the Chateau and also how we ended up on Mont St. Michel for a night!)

If you are going to any of these places soon-please reach out and I’ll be happy to respond with contact info for the places we stayed, though the hotel on Mont St. Michel was simply an average hotel and any hotel on the island would do equally as well (it was more about the experience and the location in this case) 🙂

Happy Travels-

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