Normandy and England in November Trip Planning
Dec 2nd, 2015, 12:48 PM
#21
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Our itinerary for our November trip:
Day 1 (November 13): Night flights to Frankfurt, mine was first canceled (Lufthansa strike), rebooked, then delayed by 4 hours (first they could not get an available gate for our plane and then said there was an unmatched bag in our luggage hold, but I think really they weren't sure about the security/landing situation in Europe).
Day 2: Didn't get into Rothenburg ob der Tauber until 4 PM Saturday, so we just went out for dinner and a short walk on the city wall.
Day 3: Morning train to Salzburg, afternoon guided tour of Hallein salt mine and Berchtesgaden.
Day 4: Hallstatt day trip.
Day 5: Mauthausen Memorial day trip. Evening train to Munich.
Day 6: Nymphenburg Palace in the morning. Window shopping in Munich in the afternoon.
Day 7: Train to Caen.
Day 8: Mont St. Michel guided tour.
Day 9: D-Day landing guided tour.
Day 10: Bayeux tapestry and walk around Bayeux in the afternoon.
Day 11: Morning train to Paris. After checking into the hotel next to the Sorbonne, went to Sacre-Coeur, then went up Arc de Triomphe, and ended the evening with opera at Palais Garnier.
Day 12: Versailles day trip.
Day 13: Notre Dame cathedral (outside only; lines too long), Sainte Chapelle, catacomb, and ended the evening with an elevator ride to the top of the Eiffel Tower.
Day 14: Day trip to Fontainebleau chateau. Late afternoon Seine river cruise in Paris.
Day 15: Reims day trip: Notre Dame cathedral, Palais du Tau, Mumm champagne house tour, Museum of Surrender.
Day 16: 8 AM mass at Notre Dame cathedral of Paris. Then spent the rest of the day at Chantilly.
Day 17: Mid-morning flights from CDG to home.
Day 1 (November 13): Night flights to Frankfurt, mine was first canceled (Lufthansa strike), rebooked, then delayed by 4 hours (first they could not get an available gate for our plane and then said there was an unmatched bag in our luggage hold, but I think really they weren't sure about the security/landing situation in Europe).
Day 2: Didn't get into Rothenburg ob der Tauber until 4 PM Saturday, so we just went out for dinner and a short walk on the city wall.
Day 3: Morning train to Salzburg, afternoon guided tour of Hallein salt mine and Berchtesgaden.
Day 4: Hallstatt day trip.
Day 5: Mauthausen Memorial day trip. Evening train to Munich.
Day 6: Nymphenburg Palace in the morning. Window shopping in Munich in the afternoon.
Day 7: Train to Caen.
Day 8: Mont St. Michel guided tour.
Day 9: D-Day landing guided tour.
Day 10: Bayeux tapestry and walk around Bayeux in the afternoon.
Day 11: Morning train to Paris. After checking into the hotel next to the Sorbonne, went to Sacre-Coeur, then went up Arc de Triomphe, and ended the evening with opera at Palais Garnier.
Day 12: Versailles day trip.
Day 13: Notre Dame cathedral (outside only; lines too long), Sainte Chapelle, catacomb, and ended the evening with an elevator ride to the top of the Eiffel Tower.
Day 14: Day trip to Fontainebleau chateau. Late afternoon Seine river cruise in Paris.
Day 15: Reims day trip: Notre Dame cathedral, Palais du Tau, Mumm champagne house tour, Museum of Surrender.
Day 16: 8 AM mass at Notre Dame cathedral of Paris. Then spent the rest of the day at Chantilly.
Day 17: Mid-morning flights from CDG to home.
Dec 3rd, 2015, 03:04 AM
#23
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It was a good pace for me. There were days that were very relaxed (we did 1+ hour picnic lunches, just watching the world go by), and a couple more rushed days. I intentionally padded in extra time each day in France in case we get lost due to language barrier. However my mom complained about the amount of walking in Paris, and walking up and down the stairs in the Metro. She is at a middle place where she is getting too old to travel by public transport in an unfamiliar city, yet too young to sit all day on the bus in a big group tour (her words). Anyways we will be focusing on a different part of the world for the next two years, so she won't have to worry about that.
Dec 3rd, 2015, 03:26 AM
#24
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The Mumm tour was average. We arrived five minutes late and it turned out we were the first ones there. The tour meeting place is not at where the picture they have on their visit website, but a little way down, and then one would have to walk through the parking lot and go the security check before checking in for the tour. So the tour started 15 minutes late while we waited for the others to show up. The tour itself I thought was typical, although I've only been to winery tours in California and not any champagne tours previously. We don't drink alcohol regularly but just wanted to learn about the champagne-making process.
Dec 3rd, 2015, 10:55 AM
#25
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In your new proposed train travels if you want to just hop on any train in Germany and Austria and all the trains you list in France (those you are taking require no reservations just hop on) look at the Eurail Select Pass, valid in any 4 countries - Germany, Austria, France and say Switzerland (U.K. not a participant) -
and the pass is first class if over 25 - a definite benefit, especially with longish train trips IME. Details on that pass from the same sites I referred you to way above, last February.
TGV trains in France require seat reservations before boarding but trains to Caen and Bayeux do not or Fontainebleau though the latter may be cheaper than using a day on a pass.
and the pass is first class if over 25 - a definite benefit, especially with longish train trips IME. Details on that pass from the same sites I referred you to way above, last February.
TGV trains in France require seat reservations before boarding but trains to Caen and Bayeux do not or Fontainebleau though the latter may be cheaper than using a day on a pass.
Dec 3rd, 2015, 12:16 PM
#26
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PalenQ, maybe there is some confusion, that is not proposed itinerary, but we already came back from our continental trip (Nov 13 to 29). We got some good rail deals using Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket (from Frankfurt airport to Rothenburg), Bavaria-Ticket (from Rothenburg to Salzburg), and then a ticket from Salzburg to Paris with long stopover in Munich (trick learned from seat61 website). For Fontainebleau we got a zone 5 Mobilis ticket. Thanks for the Eurail Select Pass info; I'll consider it if we go back to the area in the near future.
Dec 4th, 2015, 11:50 AM
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PalenQ, maybe there is some confusion>
Yeh I read too quickly and missed one clue in Day 2 that you had done it - otherwise on a quick glance sounded like a proposed trip - well we all can't be as perfect as janisj but only can strive to be.
Sounds like a great great trip - a fast-moving trip like I like but which if you posted as a possibility most here would say way too much in too short a time - that you must spend several days in each place, etc. Sounds like a very exciting trip to moi.
Yeh I read too quickly and missed one clue in Day 2 that you had done it - otherwise on a quick glance sounded like a proposed trip - well we all can't be as perfect as janisj but only can strive to be.
Sounds like a great great trip - a fast-moving trip like I like but which if you posted as a possibility most here would say way too much in too short a time - that you must spend several days in each place, etc. Sounds like a very exciting trip to moi.
Jan 4th, 2016, 06:50 AM
#29
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I should have mentioned that I had been to Bavaria before (April 2012), spent four nights in Munich, did some day trips, loved Bavaria/Salzburg, so I wanted to return to the area to show my mom why I like it, but at the same time go see new sites. So this trip might not be as whirlwind as it seems...
Anyways, I just came back from my Christmas/New Year solo trip to England and here was my itinerary:
Day 1 (December 18, Friday): Mid-morning landing at Heathrow and took the bus to Cardiff. Checked into hotel on St. Mary Street. 2-5 PM toured Cardiff Castle.
Day 2: "Castles, Mountains & Whiskey" day tour with Roam Wales.
Day 3: "Mountains, Mines & Ale" day tour with Roam Wales.
Day 4: St. Fagans in the morning; Cardiff Bay in the afternoon.
Day 5: Morning train to Bath (hotel near Parade Park), then Roman Bath Museum, followed by the Mayor of Bath free walking tour, a late lunch at The Pump Room, then Bath Abbey with tower tour.
Day 6: Morning train to London (hotel near Victoria Station), Museum of London at Docklands at noon, and then Churchill War Rooms in the mid afternoon.
Day 7 (Christmas Eve): Half day trip to Windsor Castle, then mid-afternoon Eurostar train to Paris.
Day 8: Half day trip to Chartres Cathedral and attended their Christmas Day service; at night attended Christmas concert at St. Ephrem Church, next to my hotel in Paris (near La Sorbonne).
Day 9: Day trip to Vaux-le-Vicomte, and then evening Eurostar train back to London (hotel near Kings Cross/St. Pancras).
Days 10 to 14: Rabbies 5-day tour of Devon and Cornwall. Followed by New Year's Eve fireworks in London (I had a ticket on the Victoria Embankment) and hotel near Victoria Station.
Day 15 (New Year's Day): Late start with 10 am train to Canterbury and toured the Cathedral and attended evensong service. Hotel in Dover (right next to the train station).
Day 16: Dover Castle until 3 PM and then train back to London, shopping at Fortnum and Mason, and hotel near Victoria Station.
Day 17: Mid afternoon flight back to Newark.
Anyways, I just came back from my Christmas/New Year solo trip to England and here was my itinerary:
Day 1 (December 18, Friday): Mid-morning landing at Heathrow and took the bus to Cardiff. Checked into hotel on St. Mary Street. 2-5 PM toured Cardiff Castle.
Day 2: "Castles, Mountains & Whiskey" day tour with Roam Wales.
Day 3: "Mountains, Mines & Ale" day tour with Roam Wales.
Day 4: St. Fagans in the morning; Cardiff Bay in the afternoon.
Day 5: Morning train to Bath (hotel near Parade Park), then Roman Bath Museum, followed by the Mayor of Bath free walking tour, a late lunch at The Pump Room, then Bath Abbey with tower tour.
Day 6: Morning train to London (hotel near Victoria Station), Museum of London at Docklands at noon, and then Churchill War Rooms in the mid afternoon.
Day 7 (Christmas Eve): Half day trip to Windsor Castle, then mid-afternoon Eurostar train to Paris.
Day 8: Half day trip to Chartres Cathedral and attended their Christmas Day service; at night attended Christmas concert at St. Ephrem Church, next to my hotel in Paris (near La Sorbonne).
Day 9: Day trip to Vaux-le-Vicomte, and then evening Eurostar train back to London (hotel near Kings Cross/St. Pancras).
Days 10 to 14: Rabbies 5-day tour of Devon and Cornwall. Followed by New Year's Eve fireworks in London (I had a ticket on the Victoria Embankment) and hotel near Victoria Station.
Day 15 (New Year's Day): Late start with 10 am train to Canterbury and toured the Cathedral and attended evensong service. Hotel in Dover (right next to the train station).
Day 16: Dover Castle until 3 PM and then train back to London, shopping at Fortnum and Mason, and hotel near Victoria Station.
Day 17: Mid afternoon flight back to Newark.
