If I wanted to visit the D day beaches, should I stay in Caen or Bayeux for the night? I'm coming from Paris in June. Also, do you know how I can book a tour of the beaches? I looked on the train schedule and it looks like there are SNCF trains going from Paris to both cities on a regular basis. And if anyone has a hotel recommendation (3 star) I'd appreciate it! Merci mille fois.

I would recommend Bayeux for its proximit to the coast and also for its Storybook look. Hotel d'Argouges is worth looking at. We thought the hotel was great.

Most people do this out of Bayeaux. Bayeaux is a very nice place to visit (they say Bayeaux suffered minimal damage from WWII bombing). There are good museums in Bayeaux and Caen. If WWII history is one of your "things", then Arromanches is worth a visit as well.

I was in Bayeux in Sept and in the tourist office there were about a dozen brochures of competing D-Day (J-Jour in French) tours that the office would book on the spot. Hotels inevitable have selected tours they book. one group: www.battlebus.com. The Caen Memorail also books tours, apparently using WWII veterans in part, though these may be getting a little long in the tooth. Bayeux is a neat old town, one of few in area not blitzed in war - famous cathedral and Bayeux Tapestry, woven by Queen Mtilda and minions, documenting, from a Norman viewpoint, Wm Conq's 1066 Normandy invasion - a D-day in reverse so to speak.

Where did you stay Pal? Was it you who stayed at the Bellefontaine and did not care for it?

I would concur with the others: stay in Bayeux. Besides being a charming town and close in proximity to the DDay beaches, they have the lovely cathedral and famous Bayeux Tapestry to see too. I have done that Paris-Bayeux route via train numerous times.

If you are flexible on your hotel options, I would recommend the very convenient, charming Hotel Notre-Dame, across from the cathedral (44, rue des Cuisiniers. Télephone 011 33 02 31 92 87 24, Fax 02 31 92 67 11). I have stayed there numerous times and really like it there. The husband and wife owners personally oversee the property and go out of their way to ensure their guests comforts are met. They have an excellent in-house restaurant where the meals can be conveniently added to your tab. I ate at numerous places in town, but always found the food at the Notre Dame restaurant to be the best.

The travel/tourist office in town can refer you to a local tour guide company. I have used "Bus Fly" tours in the past and it was great. Approx. 30 euros for a full day (8 hour tour) that included transportation to/from the DDay beaches, British war museum, and the American cemetery. Likewise, "Bus Fly" offers day tours to nearby Mont St. Michel as well.

No pas moi who stayed at Bellefontaine. I didn't stay in Bayeux but actually was taking the ferry to UK from nearby Oustreham and spent the day in Bayeux.

We took a day trip from Paris so can't comment on nearby hotels. However, I can't stress enough the benefit of adding the Peace Museum in Caen to your itinerary.

I agree with the others - stay in Bayeux. It is much more attractive than Caen and has the wonderful tapestry and beautiful cathedral. But absolutely do NOT skip the Caen Mémorial museum. It was a highlight of our last trip to Normandy.

We stayed at the Bellefontaine and loved it.

Bayeux and environs makes a great day trip from Paris (why change hotels twice if you can avoid it?)

The best deals in tours are to be had right outside the train station in Bayeux. After a train arrives, the vans fill up and the remaining drivers get into a lively competition to book <i>something</i> that will make them some money for the day. If there aren't enough vans, you always have the tourist bureau in town to fall back on. We got a 5-hour tour of everything from Arromanches to Omaha Beach, 5 people for &euro;70.

The first train out of St. Lazare is at 7:10, arriving Bayeux 9:22. Then you have a full day to see the cathedral and tapestry, the museum at Arromanches, cemeteries and landing areas. The last train to Paris departs at 20:39.

We spent 3 days in Bayeux and I definitely recommend it for its charm and its convenience to the D Day beaches and tour. I can recommend the Hotel d'Argouges (I believe it is a 3*)and there are some very pleasant restaurants in town. We had a small guided tour (7 people in a van) led by a WWII buff arranged by our hotel. Sorry, I can't remember his name but he was great.

Please consider booking with Alain Chesnel. He is a wonderful guide, grew up in Normandy and has been a DDay buff since he was a boy. He leads full or half day tours from Bayeux. We booked with him in Sept. 2004. His website is www.overlordtours.com. Enjoy planning your trip!

Here is another option, one that we used on our visit to Bayeux. Col Chilcott is a retired British officer who resides just outside Bayeux and runs a B &amp; B and also conducts wonderful tours. The property is the former residence of the bishops of the cathedral of Bayeux. His email is ([email protected]). If you do a search on his name on this site you will find other recommendations. We plan to return and will definitely stay with him again.

We also stayed in Bayeux (Lion D'Or hotel which was lovely) and used Michael Chilcott for a tour. He is also excellent - it was just our family of 4 in the van with him, we were able to somewhat customize what we wanted to see and since it was just us, we were able to stay at the various sites as long as we wanted; the American Cemetery was to be our last stop of the day but it had closed early, so the Col offered to pick us up again the next morning from our hotel and bring us back - he added essentially a half day to the tour at no extra cost. We spent a full five days in Bayeux and did a lot of touring but if you only have one day, I'd recommend Chilcott and definitely, see the Peace Memorial on your way back.

My family was in Bayeux last August. We stayed at a B&amp;B named Logis Des Remparts. I highly recommend it (you can find them on the web). Fantastic location, beautiful and spacious place, reasonably priced and the hostess, Christele, is a pleasure to deal with. We toured the American Sector D-Day sights for one day with Battlebus. Our guide was Geert, who was a walking encyclopedia. My kids still talk about him. We took a private tour and it was a highlight of our family trip to Europe. In fact, my 15 year old and 12 year old sons both say it was one of the two best days of our vacation. My 8 year old son was too busy running around the beaches and in and out of the craters at Pointe-du-Hoc!

Hi gaelle,
Do you just have 1 night ?
If so Bayeux is the best location, they have one of the best museums in Normandy and easy access to the beaches.
If you were there longer I know a lovely Gite 5 mins away from Bayeux center and a great base for all the beach sites.
Its called Black swan Mill.
We stayed there last summer.

http://www.moulin-morin.com/

Muck