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Normandy
Hi we want to go to Normandy next fall, take train to maybe Caen then do tours from there and maybe also go to Mont St Michele but don't want to rent a car. it seems a lot of the tour companies do a day trip from Paris (that isnt enough time) or they do 5-7day trips and that is to expensive. anyone know of a tour company that you can book in the Normandy area where they come and pick you up by bus and do the tour that way, also any hotel info.<BR>Thanks<BR>PS were in our 40's and have no problems walking etc.
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You can take a train to Bayeux and take a tour. Here are some companies to contact: <BR><BR>Normandy Sightseeing Tours<BR>Francois Gauthro<BR>BP 48424 <BR>14400 Bayeux <BR>France<BR>Tel: (33) 2-31-51-70-52 <BR>Fax: (33) 2-31-51-74-74<BR>http://www.normandywebguide.com<BR>E-mail: [email protected]<BR><BR>Perception Travel Co. Ltd<BR>http://www.d-daytours.com<BR>Tel: 44 (0) 1844290635 (London based)<BR>Fax: 44 (0) 1844 290258.<BR><BR>Normandy Tours given out of Hotel de la Gare in Bayeux by the train station . They give half day tours (in English). <BR>Tel: 011-33-2-31-92-10-70<BR>For more Paris information go to www.anamericaninparis.com
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Try www.normandywebguide.com<BR>Last September we stayed in Bayeux at hotel d'Argouges and the tour company picked us up at our hotel. The tour was approx. 8 hours long and included all the major sights. Hotel was excellent.Hotel is [email protected]<BR>Normandy web guide will give you all the info. you need on a tour.<BR>Have fun
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Kathy: Why is it that you don't want to rent a car? If you do so, you will save money and also be able to see SO many things you will never see using trains and tours, and will have so much more flexibility. It's not scary, if that's your concern.
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Yes, I agree with StCirq - I rented a car in Caen (train station) in September 2002 after taking the train from Paris. I was worried about driving in France and avoided Paris driving for that reason. But once I got out of Caen, driving in Normandy was a piece of cake. (To get out of Caen - just be patient; bring a compass and circle toward the NW til you find the N13).<BR><BR>I did not take a tour - I drove everywhere and saw things you would probably not see on your typical tour. <BR>I got to be on my own schedule - for example, I visited the American Cemetery a 2nd time.<BR><BR>Many people seem to prefer the smallish Bayeux, where I stayed two nights, but I preferred Caen - more modern and lively. Bayeux does seem like a "medieval town" but the town dies at night; I found it kinda boring.<BR><BR>If you rent a car, try AutoEurope.<BR><BR>Andrew<BR>
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Andrew is correct. It's really quite easy to rent a car in Caen - several rental agencies are located right across the street from the train station - and driving is simple. The roads are outstanding and directions are understandable.
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Yes, there are rental agencies readily available in Caen, but the last thing you want to do is rent a car on the spot in France. It will cost you a small fortune compared to renting it in advance from the USA (if you're not coming from the USA, skip this).
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Rent from auto europe in Caen. Directly across the street from the rail station. HOWEVER, be sure to make reservations here in the USA as StCirq mentions. I reserved mine through a travel agent at no extra charge here in the USA
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Can I take the train from Paris to Bayeux, my destination,(rather than Caen)and rent a car in Bayeux?
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Most trains from Paris to Caen continue to Bayeux (16 minutes).
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Not sure about rental cars in Bayeux but here's a web sight for trains giving you all times and prices.<BR>www.raileurope.com
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Messages seem to have taken off on a REntal Car tangent. <BR>I normally prefer doing cities on my own; but I would suggest that one LEARNS more on a tour of a historical area than by just driving from site to site. I doubt if "fear of driving" is an issue. When we were in Bayeux last year I cancelled my rental car in favor of taking a tour of the war sites. I would have liked to have spent more time at the American cemetery, but on whole the information learned on the tour was an added bonus. (I was not ignorant of the landing beaches, quite the opposite in fact, but the information learned on tour was excellent)
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Why ever not rent a car and still take a tour..you and the car are not joined.You can do all you want on your own..just park the car!<BR><BR>There is a long stretch of beach to see and you won't see it or have all the time you want if you are not driving. In fact, I find driving in France a lot easier than driving at home in Florida.
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Yes you can take a train all the way to Bayeux and rent your car there, but when I considered this last September, I found rental cars in Bayeux *far* more expensive than in Caen. That's probably because Bayeux is so much smaller than Caen (fewer agencies = less competition).<BR><BR>I rented in Caen through Autoeurope (yes, book ahead of time) and had no problems at all. I even got a diesel so fuel was cheaper than gasoline.<BR><BR>If you want to learn about the D-Day sites: please consider the book "Major & Mrs Holt's Battlefield Guide: Normandy Landing Beaches". All kinds of info about the sites. I got mine from our local library. If you are American, you might want to read Steven Ambrose's "D-Day June 6, 1944", all about all aspects invasion in an easy-to-read narrative. Great book for the plane over and will increase your appreciation of the sites you will see.<BR><BR>Andrew<BR>
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Andrew, thanks for the tips about reading for Normandy. My husband and I will be going mid-May, and the book sounds like a good Christmas present!<BR><BR>We were thinking of renting thru AutoEurope in Bayeux; are you saying that even from the US, the prices are higher there than renting in Caen? I didn't realize it varied from town to town; good to know!
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When I inquired about AutoEurope rentals from both Caen and Bayeux, the price was identical. We ended up choosing Caen, but only because the train schedule suited us better.
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How were you able to get a quote with AutoEurope in Bayeux? I just tried to get a quote now on AutoEurope.com and "Bayeux" did not even show up in the city list for France. Are you sure you didn't pick "Bordeaux" by mistake?<BR><BR>Andrew<BR>
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Andrew: No, I didn't confuse Bordeaux with Bayeux (I rent cars from Bordeaux all the time and am quite familiar with the territory). This was two years ago. I don't use the AutoEurope website - I always call them, as I have been doing business with them that way for many years. The Bayeux AutoEurope affiliate was, supposedly, at the train station in Bayeux (I do not remember which affiliate it was), as was the Caen affiliate at the Caen train station. As I said, we chose Caen because the train arrival time meshed better with the opening hours of the rental affiliate, and for other logistical reasons. Perhaps in the intervening two years things have changed and there is no longer a rental outfit at the Bayeux train station, or perhaps AutoEurope no longer does business with whatever rental outfit there is there - these things do change.
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StCirq, I'm sure you are far more familiar with France (and driving there) than I am. But, I checked only last September in various places and Bayeux car rental was out of site compared to Caen. Only a few agencies (Budget was one) had rentals there, and the one I found was at a gas station that seemed to be far from the train station. I did not call AutoEurope, but I'd be surprised if they had ready rentals there not listed on their website...<BR><BR>Maybe things have changed from two years ago. The train station in Bayeux doesn't have much going on nearby - I walked by it one night and didn't notice any car rental agencies - whereas the Caen station is near the center of town and has several agencies right across the street.<BR><BR>Anyway...sorry this has gotten so far off-topic. A few people have already listed tour information and reasons why you would and would not want to take them vs. renting a car.<BR><BR>Andrew<BR>
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I just returned from Bayeux 2 weeks ago. There is one car rental agency,and it is located at the BP gas station near the train station. My friend and I wanted to rent the only automatic car they had, but when they pulled out for us, it was covered in MOLD and looked like it hadn't been driven in YEARS. Then, when he couldn't start the car (supposedly a dead battery) we cancelled the reservation and just took the train to Caen and Rouen. I think we averted disaster on that one! Prices seemed reasonable but then again, we didn't compare them to Caen's prices for a car.
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