Page 127 - Lonely Planet Europe’s Best Trips (Travel Guide)

both great roads through typical based in Genêts. Don’t be
Norman countryside. Just west 5 Mont St-Michel tempted to do it on your
of Argentan, the D158/N158 own – the bay’s tides are
heads north to Caen, then turns You’ve already seen it on notoriously treacherous.
northwest on the N13 to Bayeux, a million postcards, but
94km further. nothing prepares you for 4 p130
the real Mont St-Michel
(%02 33 89 80 00; www. The Drive » Take the A84, N12
TRIP HIGHLIGHT and A81 for 190km to Le Mans
monuments-nationaux.fr;
4 Bayeux adult/child incl guided tour €9/ and the A28 for 102km to Tours,
where you can follow a tour
The Tapisserie de Bayeux free; h9am-7pm, last entry through the Loire Valley if you
(%02 31 51 25 50; www.bayeux 1hr before closing). It’s one wish. Chambord is about 75km
museum.com; rue de Nesmond; of France’s architectural from Tours via the D952.
adult/child incl audio guide marvels, an 11th-century
€9/4; h9am-6.30pm Mar-Oct, island abbey marooned
to 7pm May-Aug, 9.30am- in the middle of a vast 6 Chambord FRANCE 8 ESSENTIAL FRANCE
12.30pm & 2-6pm Nov–Feb) golden bay. If you only have time to
is without doubt the When you arrive, you’ll visit one château in the
world’s most celebrated be steered into one of the Loire, you might as well
(and ambitious) piece of Mont’s huge car parks. make it the grandest –
embroidery. Over 58 pan- You then walk along and Chambord (%info 02
els, the tapestry recounts the causeway (or catch 54 50 40 00, tour & show reser-
the invasion of England a free shuttle bus) to vations 02 54 50 50 40; www.
in 1066 by William I, or the island itself. Guided chambord.org; adult/child
William the Conqueror, tours are included, or you €11/9, parking near/distant
as he’s now known. can explore solo with an €6/4; h9am-5pm or 6pm;
Commissioned in 1077 audioguide. c) is the most lavish of
by Bishop Odo of Bayeux, The Église Abba- them all. It’s a showpiece
William’s half-brother, the tiale (Abbey Church) of Renaissance architec-
tapestry retells the battle is reached via a steep ture, from the double-
in fascinating detail: look climb along the Grande helix staircase up to the
for Norman horses getting Rue. Around the church, turret-covered rooftop.
stuck in the quicksands the cluster of buildings With over 440 rooms, the
around Mont St-Michel, known as La Merveille sheer scale of the place
and the famous appear- (The Marvel) includes the is mindboggling – and
ance of Halley’s Comet cloister, refectory, guest in the Loire, that’s really
in scene 32. The final hall, ambulatory and saying something.
showdown at the Battle of various chapels.
Hastings is particularly For a different perspec- The Drive » It’s 425km to
graphic, complete with tive, take a guided walk Bordeaux via Blois and the A10
motorway. You could consider
severed limbs, decapitated across the sands with breaking the journey with stop-
heads, and the English Découverte de la Baie du offs at Futuroscope and Poitiers,
King Harold getting an Mont-Saint-Michel (%02 roughly halfway between the two.
arrow in the eye. 33 70 83 49; www.decou
vertebaie.com; 1 rue Montoise,
The Drive » Mont St-Michel is Genêts; adult/child from €8/5) 7 Bordeaux
125km southwest of Bayeux; the
fastest route is along the D6 and and Chemins de la Baie When Unesco decided
then the A84 motorway. (%02 33 89 80 88; www. to protect Bordeaux’s
cheminsdelabaie.com; 34 rue medieval architecture in
de l’Ortillon, Genêts; adult/ 2007, it simply listed half
child from €7.30/5), both the city in one fell swoop.

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