clehrman

Hi all:

We'll be driving from Paris (CDG airport) to Normandy at the beginning of May. (We would have taken train to Caen from Paris but the car rental agencies are closed on Sunday, the day we'll be traveling).

We'll be staying in Normandy 2 nights (probably one night Mont St. Michel and another night???) before heading back to Paris.

I know this is about a 3 hour drive - what is there to see/do along the way to break up the drive both there and back?

FYI - while in Normandy we're planning on seeing the DDay beaches, the Bayeux tapestry, Mont. St. Michel and whatever else we have time for.

Thanks in advance!
Carol

Ryan

If at all possible, I'd suggest stopping by the Peace Museum in Caen. It was a highlight of the day trip we took from Paris.

StCirq

Depending on where you begin your trek back to Paris from Normandy, you could visit Fougères, Alençon, Chartres, or Rouen, Honfleur, and Deauville/Trouville. It all depends on whether you're planning to go straight there and back or make a loop, and if the latter, which way you'll drive the loop.

rlbplf

You didn't mention what time your flight arrives in Paris, however you should allow at least an hour to collect your baggage and then get your rental car. We managed to take a wrong turn on the way from CDG and it took several hours to get back on track to Bayeaux. You need to consider stopping for a meal, getting lost, etc. so you should probably plan on getting to Bayeaux in the mid afternoon if your flight arrives say around 8 or 9 AM. This will give you time to walk around Bayeaux and find a place for dinner. This leaves one day to see the D Day beaches, the tapestry, etc. You can easily spend a full day seeing only Omaha beach, the American cemetery, Arromaches and Pont du Hoc. You will miss Utah Beach and surrounding sites. Depending on your interest in WWII and its history, you might consider skipping Mont. St. Michel and concentrate on what's in Bayeaux and the landing beaches or extend your stay in this area. We wish we had allowed more than the 2 1/2 days we had but then this gives a reason to return. Whatever you decide to do, this visit and in particular the American Cemetery portion will remain with you always.

Dave_in_Paris

Are you sure that an Avis rental can't be picked up from the master of the train station in Caen? We do this (through the SNCF, the French train company) in hours when the Avis offices are closed.

Sammie

Second the Peace Museum suggestion. We did Mont St. Michel as a day trip and found it to be enough. An interesting place to see and glad we went, but very touristy. Some will depend on "who" is traveling - kids, what ages, adults, etc. as their interests in WWII may vary. We had one child who had just studied WWII in school and we saw tons of momuments (some very small and personal) ... you can find them scattered all around. Enjoy!

duncmom1

We laugh about it now, but when we drove from CDG to Normandy, we didn't laugh very much. We didn't take into account how very tired we would be after being in Airports and on planes for 20 hours. Arrived at CDG around 8:30 a.m. It took a while to get car. The line was long. We got so lost,it took us 5 hours to get to honfleur! I think we were a little frustrated with each other by that time.(Big understatment) We spent night in Honfleur (wish that I had stayed 2 nights) and then spent 3 nights in Bayeaux. We could have used another night in Bayeaux as well. There was so much WWII history.
We were given great directions for driving back to CDG to turn car in. Only took us about 2 1/2 hrs total.
We took a hotel van into Paris.
E-Mail me if you have any questions.
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Theresa

clehrman

Thank you everyone for your replies.

Dave_in_Paris - I will call Avis (everything I've done so far has been on the internet) and see about getting a car in Caen from the train station master. We would MUCH rather take the train from Paris and rent a car in Caen if that is possible.

And I'm rethinking Mont St. Michel as an overnight stay - maybe a half day would do . . .

We'll definately be spending a lot of time at the WWII memorials and the Peace Museum will be on that list.

Again, thanks everyone!

Dave_in_Paris

Thereasa,

My wife has a theory: vacations don't need to be wonderful; they need to be memorable. And it sounds like yours was! As for Honfleur, there is never enough time there, I find.

RJD

If you're driving from Paris you might consider a stop at Giverny, an unforgettable and beautiful place only an hour or so north of Paris. I stopped there on the way to Normandy a few years ago and loved it.