dendinge

Hello,

I am in the process of planning a trip to France and was wondering if it was possible to do Bayeux and Omaha Beach and Mont St. Michel in the same day or as day trips from Paris. We are not planning on renting a car so this trip would have to be done through train and bus.

Many Thanks,
Emily

Gretchen

In short, no. MSM is a trip in itself. The DDay Beaches are a trip in themselves. You can probably get a Parisvision tour for a long long day for each. Driving to Normandy and touring is very easy.

adamsparks

dending: I just got back from Normandy. No way can you do all of those as a one day day trip. I see them all as separate day trips at the very least. A train down to Bayeux is easy. If you spent the night in Bayeux you could give both Bayeux and the D-Day area the time they both deserve. I did rent a car and was glad I did. I was solo and it was easy, and gave me a chance to see some of the wonderful small villages and scenery in the area. But if you simply do not want to do that a train to Bayeux and easy access to the D-Day area via a tour is very possible. Mont St. Michel would be tougher to access by train only.

StCirq

Absolutely not. I would recommend a minimum of three days to do justice to the three places you're interested in, preferably a week because there is so much else to marvel at in between them.

Robespierre

Can Normandy and Mont St. Michel be visited on the same day? Yes, but you wouldn't see much because of the timing.

Bayeux and the invasion beaches and museums can just barely be covered in a long day <i>if</i> you don't linger very long anywhere. If you take the first train from Paris and the last train back, you have about 10 hours to explore. Better to go out in the evening and spend the night. You can get on a tour at the railroad station or book one downtown at the Tourist Information Center.

Mont St. Michel cannot be reached conveniently from Bayeux by rail. But it's only 1.5 hours by road, so maybe you can get a bus or driver to take you.

msuguy78

You'll need at least a full day for the D-Day beach tour, preferably 2-3. Personally I could have spent a week exploring all the beaches and museums up there. But I have a passion for history and a family connection to
D- Day.

The cost for the day trip was 150 Euros, so it can get expensive if you plan multiple trips. Better to lodge up there and rent a car.

I caught a tour bus from a Paris hotel and felt very squeezed for time. We saw the Caen Museum- the actual video with D Day footage is a must see, and there is a great gift shop.

Pointe du Hoc was the next stop and the huge preserved bomb craters are fascinating.

We only got to spend about 20 minutes at Omaha Beach- not nearly enough time.

The Arromanches at Sword Beach and the huge American cemetery rounded out the day. Far too much to see in a compressed time frame. If you can, overnight in Caen or Bayeux and spend a full 2 days in Normandy. Haven;t been to Mont St. Michel, but it too would take some time to get there and explore, probably at least a day-day and a half.

Not having a car does make it a bit limiting.

So much to see in France, so little time! Have a great trip. You can't go wrong, no matter what your itinerary, hopefully we all get back there and enjoy more of a wonderful country!

MaureenGP

There would be no way to see all of these places in a day. Normandy was the highlight of my trip to France and deserves more time, especially the D-Day sites. I will never forget sitting in a restaurant in Arromanches eating mussels when a bus filled with WWII veterans pulled up. I was so choked up I almost made a fool of myself, and that was before I even visited the American Cemetery and Omaha Beach...
Mont Saint Michel is awesome and also deserves a day. Wonderful atmosphere. We stayed overnight with a view of the Abbey, and it is so much quieter and less touristy.

cruiseluv

Maureen,

I know what you mean by chocking up and making a fool of yourself. I did both when I got to the American Cemetary. No picture can prepare you for the impact of seeing all those rows of crosses and Stars of David. I started sobbing and couldn't stop myself, it was that powerful.

And I agree with all the previous posts. You can't do both in one day, specially not in buses and/or trains. We drove and stayed overnight in the Normandy beaches area and also overnight near Mont ST. Michel. I have to be honest, I was underwhelmed by Mont St. Michel. Don't get me wrong , it's very different and I guess if you're on the area it's worth a visit. However, I don't have it in my &quot;must do again&quot; list whereas the Normandy beaches and surrounding areas are. We also went to St. Marie Eglise which was very interesting.

gradyghost

Hello Emily:

There's a helicopter service out of Paris, www.frenchadventures.com. With daylight saving time, you probably could do all three in one day. Happy take-offs and landings. Gradyghost