Advice on Rome and Normandy Beaches
 

We are going on our honeymoon in late September to Paris and Rome. I want to know what is the distance between Paris and Normandy. I'm really interest in seeing the WWll beaches. What would you suggest the best way to get there? Also, do you recommend taking a tour to visit Pompeii? Any suggestions will help. Thanks.

If you do a search on this forum <BR>Normandy DDay beaches <BR>you'll get a plethora of info and a lot of details. <BR> <BR>3 ways to get to the beaches: rent a car; take bus tour from Paris; take train to Caen or Bayeux and pick up a bus or van tour there.

Theresa, we're heading to Normandy/Paris in early Sept. For us, it looks like the best option is to take the train up to Rouen (about 1 1/2 hours, not a TGV train) and rent a car(I really want to see the cathedral that Monet painted so often in addition to the WWII sites) but you could probably also go to Bayeaux or Caen as Elvira suggests to visit the beaches (looks like 2 1/2 hours by train on the raileurope website, also not a TGV). How you get there might depend on how much time you want to devote to the area, if it's only a day, you might be better off with a tour. <BR> <BR>I thought Pompeii was definitely worth the trip, some of it is very well preserved. We went on the train by ourselves from Rome to Naples and changed trains to get to Pompeii. We bought a guide book once we got there and did not miss having a guide. It was a full day trip from Rome so if you find you don't have a full day to devote to it, you could opt for Ostia Antica instead, about 1/2 hour from Rome by train. I thought Pompeii was much more impressive than Ostia Antica. <BR> <BR>If you're a reader, I really enjoyed "The Agony and the Ecstasy" by Irving Stone, a fictionalized account of Michaelangelo's life. Try to find Michaelangelo's statue of Moses in Rome, it's tucked into a small church which I can't recall the name of at the moment.

VERY IMPRESSIVE, OUTSTANDING AND HELPFUL website for NORMANDY BEACHES and WW11 <BR> <BR>http://www.dday.co.uk <BR>

We just returned from Normandy and Paris. I did a lot of my research here before the trip. We stayed in a great little B and B outside Caen. The drive from CDG to there was easy and took about 3 hours. Driving to the beach area was also easy and well marked. Get a good map and you will be fine. Regardless of the WWII history, the area is very nice. Clean and beautiful. <BR> <BR>Pompeii is worth it. You will see some postings on Fodors complaining about the heat and the stray dogs, but the site is worth it. Go if you have a chance.