jkirkmd

We are arriving in CDG in late afternoon, on a flight from US (via LHR), eventually touring around Normandy. However, I have noticed many recommendations in this forum about not driving (rental car) all the way to Caen, etc. on the first day, since we'll have the jet lag. I'd like to stay somewhere in an easy drive (1 hour?) from CDG, in a small French village and small hotel or B&B for that first night. Any recommendations on towns/lodging for this circumstance, on a route heading to Normandy?

JEFF_

You might consider Honfleur. Although it's a little over 2 hours from CDG, it's a pretty easy drive on the autoroute. That's where I stayed the first night, but I also arrived at CDG mid-morning.

Les Andelys is smalller and closer. Others on this board have made this their first night and may have recommendations.

Underhill

Petit Andelys (the smaller of the two called Les Andelys) is a charmer, and the hotel/restaurant La Chaîne d'Or is a real winner. It's about a 2-hour drive from CDG, but a fairly straightforward one. The hotel is on the banks of the Seine, and rooms on the back look out onto the river. The restaurant's food is terrific.

hunnibun

In May my friend and I spent one week in Paris and then one week in Normandy. Friends told us that it would be difficult to drive from Paris - mainly because it is so busy/complicated... and for first time driving in France it isn't the most leisurely thing to do. So what we did was we took the TGV to Caen where we picked up our car rental with National at the train station. Everything was very straight forward...mind you I studied in Caen so mentally I was more brave to drive than maybe otherwise...but the map we had plus the signage led us easily to the autoroute that took us out of Caen to Domfront. Caen is a great home base for touring Normandy.

But if you want to drive from Paris to a nice quaint village, I think Rouen is about an hour away from Paris - it's pictoresque and fascinating.

There are small reasonably priced hotels with parking in the old city and one in particular that is very well rated and popular is called Alive Hotel de Québec tel: 35-70-09-38, 18-24 rue de Québec.

From there you can drive the next day to Dieppe, Fécamp, Etretat and enjoy the beaches on the way to Honfleur (gorgeous) Trouville-Deauville...
Hope that helps a little. Have FUN! You will love Normandy.

JEFF_

I'd hesitate to drive from the heart of Paris too, but from the airport, it was pretty straightforward. Although I did study the maps and printed up a step-by-step itinerary on ViaMichelin first. I purposely avoided Rouen because I didn't want to deal with city traffic my first day. Even finding my way to the B&B in Honfleur was a little tricky.

StCirq

I don't think you took the TGV to Caen because it doesn't go there from Paris unless that's something brand new. You'd need to go into Paris and take the regular train, which might or might not be easier than driving (I don't mind even a long train ride after all-night flight, but that's just me).

suze

people seem to be mixing up the two possibilities... going from the CDG airport or from central Paris?

Underhill

Um...Rouen is by no means a village, quaint or not. It's a large, busy city.

jkirkmd

Actually, we are going from CDG to Caen, which is the ultimate destination. So, we are avoiding driving anywhere in Paris. In fact, we are also looking for places to stay in Caen or surroundings, since we are looking for an apartment for our daughter to spend the next year taching at Caen University. We have some good recommendations for those B&Bs, but any others you can recommend would be appreciated, too. (and, if you know of any long-term apartment rentals in Caen, that would be great!) Once we get that apartment, then we can enjoy touring Normandy for the rest of the week!

jody

You might consider Chantilly..it's only about 1/2 hour from CDG and that's about all I can manage after a sleepless overnight flight.

kerouac

I am one of those people who can fly for 12 hours and drive for 5 hours after that, so driving from CDG to Caen does not shock me at all. It depends on the individual.

If you want to try it but poop out, you will find numerous chain motels along the autoroute for between 30 & 40 euros. No charm, but since you will sleep like logs and wake up at 4am, who cares?

laverendrye

I've often recommended Senlis as a nice town near CDG in which to stay. It's about a 20 minute drive by autoroute from the airport, and although it is in the opposite direction from Caen, it's not to far to back track the next day. It has a very picturesque old centre-town with a lovely gothic cathedral (Notre-Dame de Senlis).

jkirkmd

I must admit the charm of Senlis certainly is appealing, at least as described by fodorites. And it looks like it would be an easy shot to get onto the N31 (I believe that is the route) to head to Rouen and Caen the next day. I've also heard about Andelys as a similar alternative, which is more on the way to Caen. StuDudley has recommended staying at Chaine d’Or in Andelys, but that might be a bit pricey for us, considering what has been pointed out that this evening will basically be a "crash & burn" night, to rest up after the flights. Any other recommendations for hotels/B&Bs for the night in places like Senlis, Andelys, or any other quaint towns? (even though it will be an early-to-bed night, I still want to enjoy a bottle of wine at a small cafe!)