lrtayloe

Trying to decide best plan for a four night stay to include tours of the D-day beaches, Mont St. Michel & Giverny. Thought Rouen might be good...but wondering, do we train from DeGaulle to Rouen and rent car? Do we travel by train to all interested areas? Should we be looking for tours that pick us up in Rouen or a short distance from there? Thank you fellow fodorites in advance for your much appreciated assistance.

FrenchMystiqueTours

I don't know where you're flying into Paris from but if you're not jet-lagged and you arrive early you could just pick your car up at the airport and drive to Giverny, do your visit and then drive on to Rouen to spend the rest of the afternoon/evening and stay there overnight. On day 2 you can drive out to Bayeux and visit Honfleur on the way then when you arrive in Bayeux visit the tapestry museum, cathedral and walk around town. Stay in Bayeux that night. Next day take a guided D-Day tour. On your 4th day you can visit Mont Saint-Michel and if you've got a 4 night to stay somewhere then after your MSM visit you could head for Dinan or Saint-Malo.

So, 1st night Rouen, 2nd and 3rd night in Bayeux and 4th night in Dinan or Saint-Malo. Rouen does not make a good base for D-Day sites or MSM.

PalenQ

Bayeux is a much better base for D-Day and Mont-Saint-Michel sans car and Rouen is quite a drive from them. Maybe drive via Giverny to Bayeux.

Christina

I don't think Rouen is a good base for Normandy D-Day beach tours, it's too far away, especially if you don't have a car. I don't think there are tours that pick people up in Rouen, so you'd have to get to Bayeux most likely, and the train connections may not make that most convenient, depends on the timing. I did one tour that left from Bayeux (I think they all do, or Caen), but due to the train timing, I could only do a half day tour in the afternoon.

If you don't mind a long time on the train from Rouen, you can get to Caen in a little less than 2 hrs from Rouen, and to Bayeux in about 2:22 (but you have to transfer). it's just not a good location for that ideally, but if you really want to stay there, you could do it, but it's not a very logical choice (especially to Mont St Michel which is pretty far away).

nytraveler

Touring Normandy - esp the D Day beaches without a car is difficult. Trains don;t go where you need to. So you either need to rent a car or find tours to take you where you want to go. And Rouen is really too far from Mt St Michel - you need to stay much closer to see much of anything. Bayeux isn't really good for Mt St Michel either.

Gretchen

NOt Rouen. But driving to Rouen via Giverney is very doable--renting the car at CDG. You can't take the train to Rouen from CDG anyway.
We spent our first night in Rouen going to Normandy. We had longer, and then to Honfleur and then Bayeux for the remainder of the time. We didn't get to MSM, though considered it--just a little too far, but others will say it isn't.
We drove back to Chartres, and then Orly to return the car. We had 6 full days, however.
Don't forget the Tapestry.
You can tour some of the British beaches en route from Rouen to Bayeux--particularly Pegasus Bridge if you want. Then plan touring from Bayeux. The Michelin Green Guide to NOrmandy (and the Michelin map) are great for planning.

PalenQ

Touring Normandy - esp the D Day beaches without a car is difficult. Trains don;t go where you need to. So you either need to rent a car or find tours to take you where you want to go.>

There are lots of mini-bus tours leaving from hotels in Bayeux and Caen that do half- or full-day tours of the D-Day Beaches sites - you do not need a car to see the highlights.

Or if active rent a bicycle in Bayeux and putz along the infamous hedgerows - stone walls that posed such a problem for Allied tanks to knock down to get anywhere - the dozen or so, if I recall correctly miles from Bayeux to Colville-s-Mer, scene of the American military cemetery overlooking one of the deadliest spots for Allied landing - from Bayeux you can take the train to Pontorson and then bus to Mont-=St-Michel or take tours there from Caen or Bayeux I believe.

Better with a car but not nearly impossible without.

Percy

I agree with PalenQ

Bayeux is much closer , there are tours from here and even a taxi ride to Omaha Beach will do.

Of course if you rent a car you can drive onto St. Michaels also.

Giverny( which is all about Monet) can be done on your way from Paris.... as can Rouen.

If you had your own vehicle then you could also take in Juno Beach and the 360 Cinema ( on the hilltop in the town of Arromanches) and D-Day Museum at Arromanches at Gold Beach.

The distance between the Beaches are not that far apart.

Also they say that no self-respecting Normandy would leave the area without tasting the Normandy Apple Cider 4.5-5 % alcohol AND the Normandy Apple Torte!!!

I was just in this area for 10 days , 3 weeks ago.

StCirq

No, it's a great city, but a terrible base for WWII sites. A map would point that out succinctly. Do you have one? You're going to need one for traveling in France.

Gretchen

Indeed, Rouen is a lovely town--and the museum there is quite nice.
It is not at all difficult to see the DDay beaches on your own with a car. The "don't miss" I believe are Omaha, Pont du Hoc, Arromanches, the American Cemetery. And St. Mere Eglise if you can get up that way, all easy from Bayeux. There are museums associated with each that tell that beach's story. And you will see MANY small "museums" along the roads, but there is a lot of repetition even in the major museums. Arromanches is fascinating in how they built the floating harbor--and have a lunch of mussels on the waterfront there!!

Gretchen

And along with the cider is some wonderful cow cheeses!!

joannyc

What FMT says!

lrtayloe

Thank you all for your wonderful helpful responses. I will be sure to rent a car at the airport and change our plans according to your recommendations.
Will be certain not to miss the cider and cheese!!

Cathinjoetown

This museum in Caen is outstanding:

http://normandy.memorial-caen.com/

They also do tours to the beaches and cemeteries.

PalenQ

The museum Cathinjoetown mentions is IMO also superb and should be a first stop for anyone having a car (it is on the outskirts of Caen - on the way to Bayeux) - it gives you a gret overnview of everything what with its huge relief map of the whole area - videos - info, etc.

tog

I am also in the process of planning a few days in Normandy following 10 days in Paris. I was thinking of staying in Caen as a base for exploring the D-Day beaches, Mont-St.Michel, &
Bayeux. I thought Caen might be more central for also seeing
Honfleur,Trouville, &Deauville. Debating about whether to rent
car in Paris for driving to Normandy, or train to Caen, then rent car in Caen.

PalenQ

Caen is a pleasant largish modern city - Bayeux has old-world charm, being about the only Cotentin city not blitzed to bits in WW2. But yes as a utilitarian base Caen may be better. But do not neglect to spend a half day or so in Bayeux to see its great cathedral and Queen Matilda's famous Tapestries in a local museum documenting the Norman Invasion of 1066 from a Norman viewpoint.

https://www.google.com/search?q=quee...=1600&bih=1099

mamcalice

I highly recommend Bayeux as a base rather than Caen. It is more charming and just as conveniently located for the WWII sights. Not only is Bayeux charming but it has plenty of really good restaurants and nice hotels.

If you plan not to have a car, Caen might be a better public transportation center for Normandy but I do recommend a car. We arrived from England by ferry (so we could see the white cliffs of Dover) and rented a car in Caen. Then drove to Bayeux. We visited many of the towns of Normandy and were very happy that we were staying in Bayeux.

Christina

I think Caen is better located than Bayeux, I didn't find Bayeux that charming myself that I would give that as a reason to stay there rather than convenience and good location (which I think Caen has). It's really small, I didn't think there was much there, nor much choice in places to stay or eat.

PalenQ

Caen is a better location for the question asked but for the D-Day highlight beaches Bayeux is better located, being just several miles from them but they are not so far from Caen that it can't serve as a good base either.

Caen is a very pleasant town even if rebuilt IMO in a blah modern way so you can't go wrong and if renting cars there are many available in and around Caen's train station - Bayeux may not have any.