Boy, I'm really upset with myself because I just typed out a lengthy response for you and then accidentally hit the back button and lost it all. I shall try again.
You don't say what time of year you are coming so I don't know how many daylight hours you'll have to explore. Here are some recommendations for you.
Day 1 - Drive from Paris to Dinan. Spend the day exploring Dinan and you should be able to see everything in Dinan with this day.
Day 2 - Head west to the lovely town of Lamballe (about a 1/2 hour drive):
http://www.lamballe-tourisme.com/
After Lamballe head north and explore the lovely coast between Sables-d'Or-les-Pins and Cap Frehel and then visit the Fort la Latte a few kilometers east of Cap Frehel. Then head to Saint-Malo and then to MSM. I assume you are planing on spending the night on MSM. If this day sounds too busy for you then cut out either Lamballe or the coastal drive I outlined.
Day 3 - See MSM in the morning and then there are several options for you to consider on your drive to Camembert. The fastest drive there takes about 2-1/2 hours. You could take in a scenic drive on the way and visit Villedieu-les-Poêles and Vire if you'd like:
http://www.ot-villedieu.fr/index.htm
http://www.bocage-normand.com/fr/index.htm
Or, you could take the autoroute to Villers-Bocage and stop there (see the above weblink) and then explore the designated scenic roads south of there in a region called Suisse-Normande, centered around the towns of Aunay-sur-Odon, Thury-Harcourt and Clécy:
http://www.otourisme.com/otv2-sn/?-Bienvenue-en-normandie-
If you can make it to the museum in Camembert at the end of the day this will free you up the next morning. There is one other option you could consider for this day after MSM. Since you have Camembert as a destination I assume you might be interested in the cider/cheese trail. If so then after MSM head straight to a place a few kilometers south of Camembert called Fromagerie Durand. This is the last farm in Normandy where the Camembert is still made by hand using traditional methods. In the morning you can watch (through a window) as Monsieur Durand pours the raw cheese into their moulds. You'll probably be too late to see that but there are plenty of signs in English there detailing the various stages of the cheese making process and it's quite informative. You can sample/buy some cheese and cider too. Here is some info about that farm:
http://www.normandiealaferme.com/normandie/ferme-fromagerie-durand-135078
The other cheese/cider related site to visit is further north of here called Saint Hippolyte:
http://www.sainthippolyte.com/
It is a 16th century manor/estate with large fields, grazing cows, apple orchards and a cheese production facility that you can tour. A really lovely place. They have a great store in the office there with all kinds of local food products (cheese, cider, calvados, patés and much more) and if you brought some bread and fruit you could get whatever you need for a lovely picnic lunch on the grounds. Perhaps you might just head from MSM to here and have your lunch and then head to Camembert to see the museum.
Day 4 - Head straight to Honfleur and then Rouen. You'll see why in a second.
Day 5 - You've got a 1PM flight and a car to return. You should be at the airport 3 hours before your flight, meaning 10AM. It takes just under 2 hours to drive from Rouen to CDG (I assume you're flying out of CDG) if you don't hit any traffic. So you really don't have time to see anything on this day unless you get up very early. If so, then perhaps finish seeing Rouen or make a quick stop at La Roche Guyon but you won't have time for both.
In regards to the desinated scenic drive I mentioned in Suisse-Normande you're going to need good maps. I think the Michelin maps are the best and you want to get the ones with the scale 1:200,000. You'll see the designated scenic roads in this area highlighted in green as well as a few château you might want to pass by. Let me give you some info about how to read the maps and some other general info.
Get your hands on the Michelin maps (scale of 1:200,000) for whatever regions you visit. The Michelin maps have icons for all kinds of historically/touristically interesting things such as châteaux, ruins, churches, abbeys, scenic view points, caves, Roman sites, megaliths, designated scenic roads and many other things. Usually when I'm exploring various regions in France I just look at the map and I am able to plan interesting and scenic drives just reading the map. For instance, I usually look for a designated scenic road, which are highlighted in green, and I especially look for towns with the historic church and/or château icon. I also try to make sure the route goes through as many small villages as possible. Usually putting all these things together I find interesting and scenic drives without even knowing where I am going and with no assistance from a guide book. Often these places are never mentioned in guidebooks and remain completely unknown to many tourists.
You can buy the Michelin maps from their website and here is a link to the page that shows all of the maps of France: http://tinyurl.com/4bt96ev
And speaking of Michelin, you can go to the website viamichelin.com and get info on drive times and distances, toll and fuel costs and suggested routes (i.e. scenic routes). The drive times given do not consider stops (fuel, food, bathrooms) nor do they consider bad weather and traffic.
The info I gave you is just for some ideas. Fill in your spare time with some of these ideas if you'd like. Or, using the tips I gave you about how to read the Michelin maps then just go and get lost. Really. Put down the guidebook and pick out a drive using the tips I gave you and then explore a whole bunch of towns, châteaux etc. that no other tourist except you will have ever seen. This is pretty much how I spend most of my vacation time in France and this method never lets me down.
Edited: 9 years ago