italynovice

I'm having trouble wrapping my head around travel logistics. Three of us are traveling to Normandy in May after several days in Paris, so we can leave in the morning and will not be jet-lagged. We will be there 4 nights and would like to see Givergny on the way, if time allows. We would like to stay in Bayeux (or at the La Ferme aux Cats B&B in the nearby village of Formigny) for 3 (or 4) nights, and maybe one night in Honfleur. We definitely will have a car in Normandy, and may even consider a (long) drive/day trip one of our days in Bayeux to Mont Saint Michel. We realize that this first trip to Normandy will just allow some highlights such as the Tapestry museum, landing sites, etc. And Honfleur just looks a nice place to see with surrounding cider/cheese routes. After we depart Normandy, we will travel to Bruge, and then Amsterdam, where we will fly out from after several days in Amsterdam.
So, do we rent a car in Paris? If so where, so that we can make it out of Paris without too much stress with city traffic (we are staying in the Marais area, but could uber or metro to a car rental site away from the city center)? Or, is it best to train to a site like Giverny to get our rental car? Or are car rentals not so easy in Givergny such that we train there, then after Giverny take the train to Rouen or some other larger town to rent our car? If so, what to do w luggage while seeing Giverny?
Lastly, after Normandy do we best get to Brugge by returning our car somewhere in Normandy, taking the train back to Paris, and then taking the Thalys train to Brugge (Brussels then interconnecting trains)? Or return car in Lille then train to Brugge? Long winded but would appreciate advice w trip planning!

nytraveler

Your can easily get out of Paris by picking a rental agency that has easy access (that is either close or a straight shot) to the peripherique - thus avoiding most of the traffic in the city. Definitely take the car to Mt St Michel otherwise getting there from the Bayeux area will be extremely complicated and time consuming.

We did a similar trip in reverse - from Paris first to Mt St Michel, then Bayeux, then to several places in Belgium all with the same car rental. I don't recall that there was any drop off charge - although you would need to check that for current conditions and the car class you are looking at.

Just be sure that someone is prepared to be the navigator and you have good quality (preferably Michelin) paper maps to help if you run into construction or diversions.

StCirq

If you want to stop at Giverny on the way to Bayeux, your choice is to rent in Paris or to rent in Paris. I sincerely doubt there is a car rental outfit in Vernon, and even if there is one, it will probably have one or two cars.

It's no big deal to drive out of Paris. Just, as noted, pick the car up somewhere near the périphérique along the route west toward Normandy.

You'll have to deal with secreting your luggage while visiting Giverny. There's no way around that.

PalenQ

Yes to all of the above - Vernon probably has limited car rentals - if you can drive out of Paris on a Saturday or Sunday if would be even easier.

And yes why not drive along the Norman coast to Lille - stopping at neat places perhaps like Honfleur - a kind of Giverny or Trouville or Deauville - two nice seaside towns.

It's a cheap quick train ride from Lille-Flandres station to Bruges. I'd much rather do that they driving back into Paris, returning the car, getting over to Gare du Nord and then having to change trains in Brussels.

If doing Thalys book ASAP for deep discounted tickets at www.thalys.com.

italynovice

Thanks for all the feedback. My friends and I have talked and have decided it skip Giverny and Brugge this trip. It would be a bank holiday with even more tourists than usual in Brugge during our days there so we will save that for another trip. We will be in Paris for several nights then will spend 5 nights in Normandy and 5 nights in Amsterdam, allowing a more leisurely trip. I'm thinking 4 nights in the Bayoux area and one night in Honfleur. So, now looking at where to do car rental in light of our changed plans- does taking a train from Paris to Caen, renting our car for luggage storage, then touring the museum there before driving on to Bayeux make the most sense? Has anyone stayed at the B&B La Ferme Aux Cats near Bayeux? Since we'll have a car, it seems like a nice place to relax some in the mornings and evenings yet close to Bayeux for dinners out. The other option is in Bayeux, maybe at Villa Lara. Any recommendations for accommodations in Honfleur? I presume to get from Honfleur to Amsterdam, it's best to drop the rental car back either in Caen or Rouen, deal with changing train stations in Paris, then take the Thalys to Amsterdam? Any recommendations on things to see and do beyond the usual WWII sites?

mjs

I do not think you need to change hotels to visit Honfleur. It can be done easily as a day trip from Bayeux. Have you been to Paris before? If not, I would spend more than a few nights in Paris. You could rent a car, a mid size or family car in Paris than drive to Bayeux and use it to get around Normandy than drive to Brugge for a night or two than drop off in Amsterdam. The time to drive probably is about the same as the time to train and I suspect the cost may not be all that different as you will already have rented a car and just need a few more days plus drop off charge plus gas/diesel/tolls as opposed to cheap advanced purchase train tickets plus your car rental. You will have to research this to add up the costs. I would buy or bring a GPS if you have one with European maps. Costs for GPS in car seem to be about 20 Euro a day so long term it may be cheaper to buy one if you do not have a European GPS

kja

One might not NEED to change hotels to visit Honfleur, but it is IMO incredibly beautiful at night, with the lights reflecting off the harbor....

In Honfleur, I was very pleased with the B&B, La Cour Sainte-Catherine, which still seems to get good reviews.

For what to see and do -- I strongly recommend the Michelin Green Guide. EASILY the best of the half dozen guidebooks I used for the area.

StCirq

Picking a car up in France and dropping it off in Belgium could incur a very hefty extra fee.Be sure to check that out.

italynovice

mjs, it probably does make more sense to rent the car in Paris and drive to Bayeux, given the fact that we will want a car in Normandy and it would save us the cost of 3 train tickets to and from Normandy if we rented and returned the car back in Paris (then took the train to Amsterdam). Once we looked over travel times and things to do in Normandy and Amsterdam, we have decided to skip Belgium this trip St Cirq, and visit It another time. Mjs, I have visited Paris many times, including one week earlier this year, and another week 2 years ago. So, this year we are only staying there 4 nights so we can enjoy some time in Nornandy and the Netherlands. A GPS w European maps makes sense, and we will also get Michelin maps of the region. Kja, we really do want to spend at least one night in Honfleur, even if it means changing accommodations. Looking at Stu Dudley's Normandy itinerary, it seems like there are some nice drives in that area as well. I will look at your accommodation suggestion and def get the Michelin Green Guide. Any more feedback would be appreciated.

FrenchMystiqueTours

If you'd like you can have a look at this thread, which has a lot of info about visiting Lower Normandy:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic....html#39058384

Gretchen

I would not skip Giverny since you apparently have not been there.
Drive to Giverny from Paris and then on to Rouen for the night. Go on to Honfleur for the next night, seeing Rouen a bit in the day. There is a charming road out of Rouen called the Abbey Route that passes a string of medieval abbeys (Michelin Green Guide to Normandy).
From Honfleur go to Bayeux for several days, etc. On the way stop at a fromagerie and ciderie for Normandy's finest.

If you want to bypass Rouen, just go on to Honfleur for your first night.

PalenQ

deal with changing train stations in Paris, then take the Thalys to Amsterdam?>

coming into Gare Saint-Lazare and getting to Gare du Nord is rather easy - just take RER directly between the two. A snap even with luggage - RER E trains are bigger than most metros I think and since it starts at (or near) St Lazare the train will be empty when start I think.

kja

"Kja, we really do want to spend at least one night in Honfleur, even if it means changing accommodations"

I don't think you will regret it -- it is such a lovely town!

italynovice

Great info Frenchmystiquetours! Just what I need to hone in on options for travel in the area and sites to see. I'm going to order appropriate maps and green book on Amazon and look over before making final decisions. And look in detail at all your resources. Gretchen, will rethink Giverny as we have never seen, especially with 5th night in Normandy. It prob would make it easier if we reverse order and travel first to Honfleur from there before our few days in Bayeux. PalenQ, sounds like train transfers in Paris will be easy. Thanks all!

FrenchMystiqueTours

italynovice - If you go to the Pays d'Auge the link for one of the towns I mentioned isn't active in the previous thread so you may want to pay a visit to Cambremer, a lovely little town:

http://www.beuvroncambremer.com/GB/

Gretchen mentioned The Route of the Abbeys (not far from Le Petit Andely) and there is also La Route des Chaumières (The Route of the Thatched Roof Houses):

http://www.normandie-accueil.fr/La-R...s,6,13,88.html

http://www.norman-abbeys.com/

kja

Not sure when you're going, but when I was in the area in May a few years ago, the iris in the thatch along the Route des Chaumières were blooming -- so cool!

PalenQ

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Jumieges and Les Andylys were my favorite abbeys on the route by the Seine to the Caen area.

mjs

I have several Michelin maps of the Normandy area and found that I did not use them very much as the new GPS proved so useful. Lonely Planet has a Normandy & D day beaches road trip guide you might find useful.

Gretchen

I happen to love maps, and I think they are more fun and useful for this kind of trip because you can see more around the periphery of your chosen route which might lead to a small side trip.
The Green Guide gives a number of suggeted DDay beach road trip suggestions

StCirq

I love maps, too, and hate GPS because a) I don't want some strange voice yammering at me while I drive through lovely countryside, and b) they seem to work for getting you from A to B, but they sure don't give you any info about what to wander off track to see along the way. Michelin maps are just wonderful. They show all kinds of scenic routes and highlight special sights.