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Need advice for Normandy/Britanny trip - where to stay/logistics

Need advice for Normandy/Britanny trip - where to stay/logistics

Old Feb 28th, 2011, 06:40 AM
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Need advice for Normandy/Britanny trip - where to stay/logistics

Flying into CDG arriving at 4 PM. Too late to catch a train to Normandy and don't want to drive after the long flight. Thought we would head into central Paris and spend the night there - maybe near the train station we would be leaving from the next morning. We have been to Paris before so not trying to see anything but looking for a nicer alternative to staying out by the airport. The other option is to stay by the airport and rent a car. We know we want to spend a few days in Bayeux to visit the beaches and see the tapestry. We were thinking of a couple days in Honfleur first. Does it make sense to spend 2 days in Honfleur and 3 in Bayeux or all our time in Bayeux? Do we need a car or can this be done by train? After leaving Normandy we were planning to rent a car (if we don't already have one) and head for Mont-St-Michel, maybe staying two nights in Dinan. From there we would turn in the car in Rennes and train to Montpelier for the last three nights. Is Rennes worth a night stay? We have a total of seven nights available for Normandy/Brittany.
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Old Feb 28th, 2011, 07:52 AM
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It looks like there is only TGV per day from Rennes to Montpelier and it leaves at 9 am. So likely we would need to stay in Rennes for at least one night. That cuts down Normandy to 4 nights or Dinan to one night.
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Old Feb 28th, 2011, 08:22 AM
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There is a 7:10pm train from Paris to Bayeux, you should be able to catch it with an arrival at 4:00pm.
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Old Feb 28th, 2011, 08:28 AM
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There is an 8:45 p.m. train from St. Lazare station that arrives in Bayeux at 11:01 p.m. that you could take if you want. The trains from Paris to Bayeux are nice and comfortable and you could probably get a good sleep onboard.

Honfleur is a quaint little town but IMHO not worth more than a day at most. You could do it as a side trip from Bayeux.

I don't know if you have any reservations in Bayeux. The Churchill is a popular and centrally-located hotel and there are other good hotels and B&B's as well. You might be able to arrange to get picked up from station if you ask the hotel.

The Churchill also has a day trip by van to Mont St. Michel that you could take. Or, you could take the train to MSM and then from there to Rennes.

A lot of your decision depends on how much flexibility you want by having a car, vs. less hassle and worry about parking by taking the train.
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Old Feb 28th, 2011, 08:45 AM
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Thanks for all the replies. I hadn't considered being able to get a train that first evening. Our plane actually lands at 2:50 so we should be able to make the 7:10 train to Bayeux. I am thinking maybe 4 nights there, then rent a car, drive to Dinan for two nights to see Mont St Michel. Then turn car in at Rennes, spend one night, and take the TGV the next morning to Montpellier. That still leaves an extra night to use somwhere. Is Rennes worth a two night stay or should we add a day to Normandy?
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Old Feb 28th, 2011, 02:04 PM
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I wasn't all that impressed with Rennes, and I'd spent the extra day in Bayeux.

If you do organized van tours of the landing beaches, you could use the extra day (or part of it) to return by rental car to some of the spots you didn't get a chance to see very much, or to go to some places the tours didn't take you to. Also, Bayeux has a fine WWII museum that you could see.

Alternatively, you could do a day trip from Bayeux. For example, you go could to Caen and see the Peace Museum. Or go over to St. Lo, about 20 miles from Bayeux, which was the scene of a long battle that culminated in the liberation of that city in July. There is a museum there in honor of the US troops that liberated the city, and other sights as well. Or, you could go to Deauville on the coast, the playground of the rich and famous, and try your luck at the Casino.

In addition to its other charms, Bayeux has some wonderful restaurants, so you won't lack for good eats, either!
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Old Feb 28th, 2011, 02:22 PM
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I think a night in Honfleur is plenty--afternoon and morning on either side. More time in Bayeux and use it as a base to visit, and revisit the coast.
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Old Feb 28th, 2011, 02:34 PM
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For another opinion - I loved staying in Honfleur, it's a much more charming town to stay in than Bayeux. 2 nights in Honfleur is good, I think, although I do agree that Bayeux is a better base to explore the Normandy beaches. We loved Dinan as well - you could easily spend a few days there.
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Old Feb 28th, 2011, 02:37 PM
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I, too, enjoyed Honfleur for 2 nights.
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Old Feb 28th, 2011, 04:01 PM
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We had a similar situation as yours, but opted to drive immediately from the airport to Normandy. We used a B&B in Villers-Bocage (just outside of Bayeux) as our home base. We spent one day exploring Honfleur and found that it was sufficient and one day exploring Bayeux. We also went on a Victory Tour (WWII) that started from Bayeux, and drove one day to Mont St. Michel, finishing the day with dinner in Cancale. We found that we had no trouble parking in either Bayeux or Honfleur and it was nice to have the car while in Normandy to explore out of the way places and to see where the road took us.

The host of the B&B was wonderful at providing us with advice on things to see.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev..._Normandy.html
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Old Mar 1st, 2011, 06:43 AM
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OK ,thanks again. I think we may look into one night in Honfleur and three in Bayeux. This means we need to rent a car in Paris upon arrival so may spend the night near the airport and then head out the next morning for the drive to Honfleur. Following Bayeux we will drive to Mont St Michel for two nights- still not sure if we want to stay in the town of Mont St Michel or Dinan. After that we will drive to Rennes, turn the car in, stay the night, and take the morning TGV to Montpellier the next day.
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Old Mar 1st, 2011, 06:54 AM
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You definitely don't need two nights in Le Mont-St-Michel - well, maybe if you're planning on exploring a lot of the area around it. I'd add that night to Rennes, a very charming city IMO.
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Old Mar 1st, 2011, 07:44 AM
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There seems to be mixed opinions here about Rennes but it would seem to have more to offer than Mont-St-Michel. I will look into your suggestion - thanks.
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Old Mar 1st, 2011, 07:55 AM
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From my Trip Report: Ghent, Normandy and Brittany:

We were in Rennes for two nights but did not get to its museums because they were closed. We did visit the Jardin du Thabor, which my wife thought was disappointing after its description in the Green Guide and the Garden Lover's Guide to France, but she revised her opinion after seeing our slides. The garden is a mixture of different types of gardens, including a French parterre, a traditional alley under the trees, a rose garden, a large dog run and a tree and lawn area for lounging. Rennes has an extensive old town, very much alive in the evening. It did not give the impression of being a particularly tourist town, which is a relief from the coastal areas of Brittany. We ate at two restaurants mentioned in the Red Guide: Léon le Cochon and Tête de Cochon. Both were very good, but the first one was more interesting. It also was bigger, livelier and definitely a destination for locals. We also visited a nearby ecomusée which is a converted farm. It maintains several traditional breeds of animals (sheep, chickens, goats, cows) and has fields of traditional crops. The history of the farm has been well researched and its kitchen/main room has been furnished exactly as it was in the 19th century thanks to a sales inventory done by a notaire's inventory when the farm changed hands at that time.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...7624616164661/
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Old Mar 1st, 2011, 08:20 AM
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I would check the tide table for MSM & try to schedule your trip there during one of the high tides. I would also strongly sugest staying there rather than nearby, especially if there will be a high tide. http://www.ot-montsaintmichel.com/en...int-michel.htm. You could start the trip by taking a train to Tours where you rent the car & drive to MSM. You will probably find that one night is enough. We arrived at night, saw it the next day & left in the afternoon to go on to Bayeux.

In Bayeux we loved staying at Les Trois Pierre. There is easy parking and everything is an easy walk away. http://www.les3pierre.com.
Sounds like a fun trip.
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Old Mar 1st, 2011, 08:27 AM
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We were happy with one night in Honfleur and three in Bayeaux. Honfleur is pretty but at night you see the refineries lighting up the sky across the harbor which was a bit of a jolt.
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Old Mar 1st, 2011, 09:04 AM
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I would not take a train to Tours to pick up a car. That makes no sense. Tours is a pain in the neck to get in and out of, and it's nowhere near le MSM. Take the train to Caen or Bayeux and get your car there, explore the WWII sites, then move on to le MSM and Rennes.
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Old Mar 1st, 2011, 11:00 AM
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Hi; If you intend to stay near MSM, this is a very good option/location, eight miles south of MSM. The 'Count' is so hospitable. www.chateaudebouceel.com If you had two nights near MSM and two nights in Rennes, that works. Much to see in both areas. On the way to Rennes, you could visit another American WW2 cemetery, not many American's visit and have 'taps' played. www.abmc.gov/cemeteries/cemeteries/br.php Plus two medieval towms. www.francethisway.com/places/vitre.php and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fougeres
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Old Mar 1st, 2011, 11:51 AM
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I have decided to stay the first night after arrival in Central Paris near the Gare Saint Lazare train station. I just can't face staying out by the airport. This pretty much means that we train to Bayeux the next day for four nights, staying at the Churchill Hotel. We will do a day trip to Honfleur instead of the hassle of a one night stay there. After Bayeux we will drive to MSM for one night, then on to Rennes for two nights, then train to Montpellier for three nights. Since we will have a car in Bayeux do you suggest doing a self-guided tour of the beaches or is it better to do one of the guided tours that leave from Bayeaux?
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Old Mar 1st, 2011, 12:23 PM
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Definitely recommend a tour. I read almost every Stephen Ambrose book, as well as a host of other D-Day non-fiction, before leaving for our trip and I still learned so many new things on the tour we took. We were lucky in that we had a private tour which allowed for many more questions on our end.

We also found that a visit to the Airborne Museum in Sainte-Mere-Eglise was a nice compliment what we had seen at the beaches and in the other towns visited on our tour.
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