Normandy trip without a car
 

In mid-May, my wife and I will be passing through Paris on our way home from Spain to Singapore.

We have been to Paris a number of times. With only 3 nights to spare, we are thinking of visiting Caen, Bayeux (1st night), Rouen (2nd night) and Vernon/Giverny (to visit Monet's garden) then back to Paris (3rd night).

We plan to leave our heavy luggages at a train station in Paris and travel light for our Normandy trip. We will not be driving and will be depending on trains, buses, taxis.

Can someone tell us whether we can leave our light luggage at the train stations in Caen, Bayeux and Vernon as we go around sightseeing?

In addition, we will be arriving the first day in Caen at 12.30 pm on a Tuesday. Since we plan to stay for the night in Bayeux and the last train leaves Caen at 4.46 pm, we have only a couple of hours to visit Caen, unless there is a bus that leaves Caen for Bayeux much later.

While in Bayeux we have almost 24 hours before our departure for our next destination--Rouen.

What do you suggest we cover as a must see in both Caen and Bayeux, given our dependence on public transport? Which guided (bus or van) tours would you recommend? We love history, both modern and medieval.

In Bayeux, there is the famous medieval 'Bayeux Tapestry', as well as the magnificent Notre Dame cathedral(not to be confused with its more famous counterpart in Paris). They have a nice open market where you can get some great cheeses, breads, etc. as well as some good restaurants with hearty fare. I have made Bayeux my base a couple times for trips out to Normandy and love the city. I usually stay there for a minimum of 2 or 3 days to explore the environs.

IMO, I would not visit Caen, instead replace it with a trip out to Mont St. Michel (if you haven't seen it before). It is feasible to get a train out to the station near Mont St. Michel, then take a taxi back in order to catch your train. Alternatively, you could always take a taxi from Caen to Bayeux (I've done it before). The tourist office in Bayeux organizes tour trips out of Bayeux that go to Mont St. Michel, the DDay beaches, etc. so you might look into that prior if interested.

Re: left luggage at the train stations, there always seems to be some type of security issue going on at the stations France-wide (and in Europe as a whole), so more often than not, the baggage areas are not always available. However, I do not know what the case will be in mid-May in terms of any security alerts, etc so you might be fine. Note that the Vernon train station is very small. If they do not have a luggage area for customers, you might try a nearby cafe and pay the proprietor a couple euros to hold your luggage.

On our way from Diepe to Caen we made a short stop at Fecamp, to visit the palace of Alexandre le Grand, that it used as a plant to produce benedictine. The visit here is very interesting and the palace is very nice.
Another charming place is Honfleur.

Very few French stations have offered luggage storage in recent years. It's a police decree, so bus stations and tourist offices follow the same rules. Except at a few major stations, you should therefore assume you'll have to look after your own luggage. Caen had no luggage lockers the last time I was there, but it may have changed.
The last train from Caen to Bayeux is at 2248 or 2308 - check schedules on www.bahn.de or www.voyages-sncf.com.

Everything on that itinerary is within an hour or two of Paris. You could save a lot of luggage shifting (and uncertainty) if you leave your gear in your room, take the train to Caen, ride the http://www.busverts.fr around Normandy, return to Paris.

Second day: train to Rouen, stop in Vernon on the way back (they're on the same train line, which is different from the Caen/Bayeux line).