My first time to Paris, my husband's second, our 20th anniversary -- one week only; he really wants to see the D-Day beach areas (in late sept, after the summer commemorations). We likely won't return to France for some time, so its now or never (or almost). Do you think the very long day trip to Normandy would have a negative impact upon our short trip to Paris, such that it would be inadvisable to do it? Or will we be able to see enough of Paris (probably only a fraction of the must-sees) so we won't have been unhappy with our decision to take this excursion?

Assuming we do it, I am thinking it would be better to do it in the middle of our trip, so we have a few days in Paris remaining following the day trip. Any thoughts?

We did this a few years ago. We ended up having a taxi driver from Paris take us on basically a private tour for one long day. Our hotel arranged it for us. We only had 1 day and it was very important for us to go (dh was career military). Yes it was a long day, but so worth it! At a minimum so to the landing beaches and the peace memorial on Caen.

With a full week in Paris, a day trip to Normandy, though a very long day, would still allow you a nice period of time in Paris. I agree that I would make the trip somewhere in the middle of your time in Paris. Normandy is beautiful and the D-Day beaches are a wonderful experience. I believe there are a number of one-day bus trips from Paris but I don't recall the names of any.

If your husband has a strong interest in Normandy, I would recommend making an overnight of it in Normandy. I don't think you will regret it.

Take the train to Caen one morning, rent a car, site see the balance of the day, spend the night in perhaps Bayeux or Arromanches-les-Bains, site see the next morning and return on the afternoon train in time to spend the evening in Paris.

It will leave you with a whole different impression of France.

Keith

It will take a whole day, but I'd say it's a good idea to see something other than one city. Paris is beautiful but, like most capital cities, it's very different from the rest of the country. If you're staying in Paris for a week, you won't see all there is to see. Most people who live in Paris won't have seen it all, but if you've missed something, it's a good incentive to go again.
There is a good train service to Caen, taking two hours or less, and Bayeux, so I'd suggest getting the train then visiting what sites interest you by bus or taxi.

Take Keiths advice you won't regret it.

Several companies run daytrips from Paris to the NOrmandy beaches. I took the minivan tour with Paris Vision (they also do a coach, but that many people together did not appeal to me). It was a long day, but worth it. They pick you up at your hotel (very early), drive to Normandy, visit the museum at Caen, give you a good lunch, then on to the beaches and American Cemetary. AS there were only a few of us, we spent less time waiting for people and more time at the sights.
STaying overnight would be great, but without a tour, it's hard to get around. For an overview, a daytrip is ideal.

I enjoyed the trip to Normandy more than any other thing during our 2 weeks in Paris, of course I am a retired history teacher!! Paris-trip.com runs a first class operation. We had a mini van with a very good driver-guide...Lionel. I would highly reccommend them. Definitely a very worthwhile trip, in fact, we scheduled them for a trip to Giverny two days later.

Thanks everyone for your comments. It definitely sounds like we should go for it. Now it remains to be seen whether we take the train to Caen and drive to Bayeax/other locations, take a group tour (disinclined to do that because I hate the rigidity of group tours, but it might be the better choice here), or hire a private driver/tour guide, which sounds like it might be very expensive. Part of the fun is in the planning. (I guess first I should find a hotel in Paris!!)

Barbara, yes our private driver was expensive...but again it was one of those things that was worth it. He took us to his favorite restaurant in a village and it was a delight to have lunch with him. We learned a lot about his life in Paris, etc. He had children, and our kids were with us and so school questions came out. Just a lot of conversation that we definitely would not have gotten by going on a tour. Our hotel that arranged it for us was only a 3* (a
Best Western) so don't think it is only the high end hotels that can do this. Our driver was so nice that we asked if he would take us back to the airport on our last day and he did.

Another vote for Keith's advices. We spent a journey in Arromanches a month ago and it was worth it! Don't forget to visit the American cimetery in Colleville-sur-mer!

If you have the time and he's available, contact Col.Michael Chilcott (gooogle to find him). He lives in Bayeux, runs a B/B, retired British Army Col and expert on the normandy area. We had him as a guide for 1.5 days last august and it was unforgettable. He met us at our hotel in Bayeux but you might be able to work out meeting him in Caen or nearer to a train station instead.

My suggestion would be to land in Paris and immediately take a train to Caen or Bayeux and stay there overnight. You could spend the balance of that day, and much of the rest, seeing the invasion sites and museums, and still have a good block of time in Paris.

I did a lot of research before our trip, and found that none of the affordable tours included all the invasion sites I wanted to see, so I wrote down my own list of sites and hired a taxi. The advantages were that we weren't tied to a group and could pause or speed up whenever we wanted, and we saw what we wanted to see without getting lost; the disadvantages were that we didn't have the benefit of a knowledgeable guide (which I didn't miss because in doing my research I learned quite a bit myself). Yout hotel should be able to arrange a taxi or driver; there is a retired military man who does tours that are said to be wonderful, but I couldn't afford him. Bayeux is a nice village, but we chose to stay in Caen because I wanted to visit the peace museum and William the Conqueror's chalet. You can easily spend half a day in the peace museum. There is also a nice invasion museum at Arromanches, one of the British invasion sites.

Enjoy your trip.

Thank you for these helpful comments. I've been away from the computer, hence the tardiness!

Now am turning to the Paris hotel issue, am almost paralized -- unable to make a decision. Will spent $350/nt, for charming Parisian hotel in great location for sightseeing (the basics) but also strolling in cool neighborhoods, shops etc. We are late 40s - 50ish, are not into "clubbing" at night but would like very nice dinners as well. Le Marais? Latin Quarter? Left Bank? 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th? The possibilities are endless and I am lost!! HOw the heck do you decide?

Also, if we are going to Paris during the last week in September, are the Parisian fashion shows still going on? Will it impact hotel availability? Many thanks in advance.

Getting hotel space in Paris in September is always difficult because of the fashion and other shows. Best to start hunting ASAP and hope for cancellations. Two hotels I would recommend in the 6th are the Madison (on Blvd. St-Germain-des-Prés) and Le Saint-Beuve, near the Luxembourg gardens and Montparnasse. Good rooms at both can be had for around 230 Euros.

Try doing a search on paris.com for 3* and 4* hotels on your dates--that will narrow the field a bit.

Sorry--make that france.com.

I'm not sure and I can never get the SNCF site to work but I don't think you can take a train from CDG to Caen or Bayeux. Therefore it would require a trip into Paris and all that entails. And if you are concerned about a private driver's cost, Col Chilcott is eyewateringly so.
I would get a Cityrama or Paris Visions tour from Paris in mid-week for a very long day trip.
And since it is your 20th anniversary treat yourself to a nice piece of china as a gift for the china anniversary. When we were in Paris for our 20th we bought a set of Villeroy & Boch.
I think whether you do it or not is up to you--there is MORE than enough to take up a week in Paris. We just went to Normandy our last trip (after many trips to Paris and France) but we spent a week touring by car.

I am doing the week in Paris/daytrip to Normandy (with Parisvision) next week. I'll tell you how it went.

Hi Barbara;
We did a 7 day whirlwind Paris/Normandy beaches/Versailles trip a few years ago.
It worked out very well. We stayed on the Rue Cler in Paris for 4 days and saw everything we had on our list, then for the last 3 days rented a car and drove to Giverney, on to Bayeau where we stayed the nite, saw the beaches of Normandy and a few museums there, drove thru the countryside to Versailles, went thru the palace....had a GREAT time...dropped the car off at the airport and flew home with the most wonderful memories. And we went in late Sept! Have Fun!

I would go for it, and do the D-Day beach areas during your one-week trip.

I took my mom to Paris for a week, and we did a day trip to the Loire Valley. We went with Paris Trip tours. Our minibus tour with Lionel was great - only 7 of us, which allowed for personal attention and a comfortable ride. It was refreshing to get outside of the city for a day. I'm sure that they offer a D-Day tour. Definitely do the minibus day tour. The door-to-door service from your hotel is worth the cost, it won't take up too much of your week, no drama to deal with, just relax and enjoy the sights. It's your anniversary! It'll be good for the marriage, if you grant him this wish.