Normandy Dilemna
 

I am traveling with my husband to Normandy to see the D-Day beaches. I originally thought we could do a day trip from Paris, but it is starting to look unrealistic if we want to do some of the museums. If we make it an overnight trip, would it be better to stay in Bayeux or Caen. Any good places to stay or other recommendations?

Bayeux has more charm as a place to stay. We stayed at Hotel d'Argouges and liked its location, affordability, and quality of rooms.

I recommend Le Petit Bistro in Bayeux and Le Bouchon de Vaugueux in Caen for dinner.

I just stayed in Bayeaux last month at the Hotel Churchill. The Hotel was nice and clean, not anything I would consider luxury though, but very well situated to see the D-Day sites.

I would take at least one half day or full day tour with one of the better tour companies. As far as getting there, I think its much easier to rent a car, and drive, rather than take the train.

Another vote for the Churchill in Bayeux. We had a good meal at Le Petit Bistro, but loved our meal at La Fringale.

We did a full day tour with Battlebus which was excellent. The museum in Caen is a must, and then the tapistry is nice in Bayeux. We took the nonstop train from Paris to Bayeux and it takes exactly 2 hours. Very easy and worked well for us.

Another vote for Bayeux. We stayed at Chateau Gilly which I felt was overpriced.

We were just in Bayeux last week and stayed at the Hotel Churchill. We would highly recommend it, great location and the pick up for Battlebus is just beside their parking lot.

We did the Canadian tour as my husband's father was in D-Day and the guide Dale made every effort to retace the steps the Queen's Own Rifles took. It was very moving.

We really enjoyed Le Petite Bistro, not La Fringale so much. Make sure you have the Hotel make reservations. Even though it was Oct. it was still busy, especially for the good restaurants.

We took the train from Paris, got the Prem fare and it was a most enjoyable ride. Hope this helps.

You can do the Normandy beaches and the Caen Peace (Memorial de Caen) museum in one day from Paris.

It means an early start to take the train to join up with tours offered by the museum, which include the museum and the beaches. You're picked up and dropped back at the station.

To check for what's available at the time you'll be in France, go to their web site, www.memorial-caen.fr
They offer two or three packages, one of which is an overnight, depending on the time of year. The package we looked at was around 65 euros, not including train.

It would be a long day and you would not be able to do anything else.

I guess you could do it all in one day, but it depends on how into it you are. I could have spent hours at the museum at Colleville-sur-Mer where the American Cemetary and the same with the museum at Caen. We were there for over a week and still could have seen more! And the 360 movie at Arramanches should not be missed.
I am probably the rare exception in that I liked Caen more. We stayed in a charming B & B in Bayeux that I would definitely recommend to those who like B & B's but we really liked the day we spent in Caen. It seemed a bit more cosmopolitan than Bayeux. Our favorite restaurant in Bayeux was Le Petite Normand, but we never made it to le Pommier, which I heard was wonderful.

If you do stay in Bayeaux, the ONE restaurant I would not miss is: Le Pommier. This has to have one of the best Tarte Tartin I have ever eaten, and that would include thousands!