Ronda

Excellent thoughts, Gretchen, thanks for your input. I do appreciate it. Again, I will talk with her tonight.

Ronda

My friend came over last night and I explained each book and map as I handed it to her. She came to the conclusion on her own that they are trying to do way too much and has settled on Paris and Provence. Good Choice. She is really relaxed about going and in the past they have traveled to Italy and Switzerland in April. Had no problems getting last minute reservations at the TI. Told her she definitely needs reservations for summer high travel time. Let's see if she panics when she starts contacting hotels and finds out they are full. Keep you posted. Thanks all again.

Intex

Don't want to hijack this thread, but wanted the advice of those that know: If I would like to visit Normandy from Paris for 2 nights, and visit Honfleur, Bayeaux (D-Day Beach (1) and Rouen? , what would be best best town to start in and rent a car from?
Paris-Rouen or bayeaux or Honfleur via TGV, and a car rental from there? Are these 3 towns too much for 2 nites/3 days?

StCirq

Intex, you can't get to Bayeux (note correct spelling) on the TGV. Take the train to Bayeux and rent a car there. You can hit Rouen on the way home.

And you do realize that it's not as though there is a D-Day Beach AT Bayeux, right? Have you consulted a map? You'll need to travel from Bayeux to the coast and west along it to see all the beaches and cemeteries. I would also suggest you spend a morning or afternoon at the Mémorial Museum in Caen, an absolutely wonderful tribute to the D-Day Landings.

I think 3-4 days is way better than 2-3 for the Normandy beaches, but honestly, a week could be not enough.

Intex

If there is a TGV to Rouen, would it be better to start there, and rent a car to go to Honfleur and then Bayeux?
I understand that the D-Day beaches are not in Bayeux. One of my party is not really into seeing the beaches and cemetaries, so we thought we might be able to do a 1/2 day to Omaha Beach, Cemetary and Museum to at least get an overview.
I know its not enough time, but it might be better than nothing, since we've never been. Have 3 weeks in Paris, and wanted to get out to Normandy and Lyon.
Thanks

janisj

Intex: I really think you should start a new thread. Ronda's info has gone off in a different direction - and many folks will not see your questions buried at the bottom of a long thread . . . . .

Gretchen

Don't get hung up on the TGV. It is a fast train that goes many places but Rouen isn't one of them. It isn't far.
I do advise you to start another thread. This one isn't applicable.

ppugh

We recently stayed in Deauville as a Normandy base, taking the train from Paris and renting a car. It took us most of the day to drive to and see the Normandy beach sites so a day trip might be a bit much. Nice part about Deauville is that there is lots for teens to do if they aren't interested in the D-Day stuff.

Ronda

Just thought I would add a little postscript to this thread to let you know how the vacation turned out. They told ME very little except that they had a good time. They did start in Paris as advised, don't know if they made it to Normandy. I heard from a mutual friend that they had a terrible time driving and reading maps. Of course, I discovered why when they returned my books and added their road map of France - a little teeny tiny thing that you could hardly read - No wonder. And spent 4 hours in a traffic jam and spent a lot of their time driving but did get to see the Med., and lavender.