Nana_Geo

What is the best way to do a one day visit to Normandy from Paris? We are renting a flat in Paris for 2 weeks and have no car. If we take a train, do we need to purchase tickets before the day of the trip? Can we then sign up for a tour in Caen? I am trying to figure out what purchases we need to make ahead Metro, museum,etc. for the best way to see Paris and on a budget. All help is greatly accepted.

Palenque

Yes you can just show up at the train station (Gare Saint-Lazare) and buy tickets before the train (or you can buy them at any train station in France or SNCF (French Railways) boutiques in city centres. This is not a TGV line so full fare is not that expensive and some trains may not require reservations and if they do they will come with the ticket.

You can scour www.voyages-sncf.com for fares and online ticketing with a possible discount but many folks have found that site really frustrating.

Trains will rarely if ever be full and then there are about hourly trains - so no need to buy far in advance.

Yes you can just show up in Caen and book a tour at the Tourist Office just across from the train station

But i would take the train to Bayeux, a few minutes beyond Caen and take the many tours from there - again the Tourist Office in town center books on the spot any of about a dozen competing tours.

Or you can book one in advance - such as www.battlebus.fr, one that gets good reviews on Fodors.

Bayeux is a pretty city - Caen was obliterated in the war, like most Normandy cities - Bayeux also offers a world-famous cathedral and the world-famous Queen Matilhda' Tapestry, documenting the 1066 Invasion of England by William the Conqueror - check out this long tapestry that tell the whole story.

So do a half-day D-Day Tour and spend a few hours at the cathedral and with the tapestry IMO

Palenque

Bayeux Tapestry Highlights History and Construction
Whereas it is known as the Bayeux Tapestry in England, it is sometimes referred to in France as the Tapisserie de la reine Mathilde or Queen Matilda's ...
www.hastings1066.com/history.shtml

Bayeux Cathedral (cathedral, Bayeux, France) -- Britannica Online ...
Britannica online encyclopedia article on Bayeux Cathedral (cathedral, Bayeux, France),
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/...yeux-Cathedral

Fodorite018

I would suggest making this an overnight trip. We have donethis on a one day trip from Paris, but we had a private driver. The problem with taking a train over and back the same day is that you don't have much time for touring. If you would be willing to take the train over one day, stay the night, then you could do a full day tour such as the Battlebus mentioned above (we took that and highly recommend it!) and then you could take the train back to Paris that evening.

If you do this, stop in Caen at the Peace Memorial and spent a couple hours there. Then hop on the train to Bayeux and stay there for the night. We liked the Churchill Hotel, which is in the heart of town and not very expensive. Great staff there too. The Battlebus tours pick you up next to the hotels parking lot.

Nana_Geo

Thanks so much. Just what I wanted to know. Bayeux is for us.