9 Days in Paris/Normandy
 

Looking for some assistance with my upcoming Paris/Normandy trip...

We are arriving at CDG on 25 March, and will be heading directly to Normandy. Our plan is to take the metro to Gare Saint Lazare, where we will catch the TGV train to Caen. in Caen we will rent a car and drive to our Hotel in Bayeau (Hotel Churchill). (Note, any advice on whether we should book this in advance, or wait until we are at the station?, also any recommendations on a rental car agency?)

We will do our think in Normandy, and on the 29th of March we will drive back to Caen, turn in the rental car and head to Paris until we leave on the 2nd of April.

At some point we want to work Mont St. Michel into our itinerary. Any idea when the best time to do this is? Should we do this the first day (might be too tired), or on the 29th before heading back to paris? Or is it better as a day trip...or doesnt it matter?

Just looking for some input on our relatively flexible plan...thanks!

We just did the Paris / Normandy trip in May. We stayed in a lovely town called Deauville and drove to/from Caen (about a 45 minute drive) for the tour to Normandy. The tour was wonderful, but long. We opted to go to Honfluer instead of St. Michel, but that was a coin flip. I do believe St. Michel is a day trip from Caen.
In Paris, we stayed in an apartment on St. Andres Des Arts which was in a terrific location and a nice apartment in the Latin Quarter. Would stay there again.
I would recommend the Jules Vern restaurant in the Effiel Tower. It's very expensive, but so worth it.

Make arrangements for the rental car before you leave home. We have always used Auto Europe, a broker, here in US. www.autoeurope.com The car rental agencies are just across the street from the train station in Caen. I would not do MSM the day you arrive; way too much after an overnight flight, RER to Paris, train to Caen, getting rental car, etc. Nor would I do it the day you leave for Paris since it is in the opposite direction. If you are planning to do a D Day Beaches tour, I would make arrangements for that in advance, too.

Happy planning!

Why not take the train all the way to Bayeux and rent a car there? It would be much easier. In fact, depending on where you want to go and how you want to structure your visit, you might not need a car at all. You could train to Bayeux, and either walk (pretty much a straight shot to the Churchill, 20-25 minutes) or take a cab to the Churchill. If you want to go on one or more day tours of the D-Day beaches, those tours leave from the square (DeGaulle) virtually right behind the Churchill. Also, the Churchill provides a daylong van tour to Mt. Saint Michel. It is only a five-minute walk from the Churchill to the Bayeux tapestry museum as well, and just another few minutes to the Cathedral. The Churchill does have a parking lot right behind the hotel, but I don't know if parking is free or if there is a charge for it. At any rate, I'd consider not renting a car at all, or training to Bayeux and only renting a car for when you really need it.

I'll let you know on March 13th. I'm doing a similar trip March 4-12. We'll arrive in the early am on the 4th, train to Caen, rent the car and drive to Port en Bessin. We're going to MSM on Saturday morning from there, a 90 minute drive.

We chose Caen vs. Bayeux to pick up the car, as the selection in Caen was greater in car sizes. I'd rec. getting the car now, vs. waiting, as your selection of cars may be limited.

We also will be intersted in what others do. We are making essentially the same trip in November. Land at CDG, trains to Bayeux, stay at Churchill and either rent a car or take package tours. We are only in Bayeux for three days until we return to Paris for a week. Our problem is that November is not exactly prime time to tour Normandy as many tour companies have reduced or non-existant schedules then.