Cynderelli

Has anyone rented a car in paris and drove to the landing beaches in Normandy. We plan to rent a car and go for the day. Does anyone have any suggestions as for key places to visit?

Cynthia

PalQ

It's a long tiring drive going for the day from Paris - either stay overnight or consider taking the train to Caen then renting a car there, or train to Bayeux and hop the mini-bus tours that hit the highlights of the beaches. the train may not cost all that much more considering the $4-5/gallon gas costs and to get there quickly steep autoroute tolls - probably $40-50 return. If you rent from Avis, they are in the train stations in France and when you buy your train ticket ask about their train + auto plans. Paris-Caen about 235 km, or about 140 miles - even without encountering the ubiquitous bouchons - road bottlenecks - endemic in the Paris area, at the speed limit of 120 km/hr (72 mph) this means four hours of driving in optimal conditions, I guess is doable but seems exhausting. Trains take two hours as well but are more relaxing.

PalQ

It's a long tiring drive going for the day from Paris - either stay overnight or consider taking the train to Caen then renting a car there, or train to Bayeux and hop the mini-bus tours that hit the highlights of the beaches. the train may not cost all that much more considering the $4-5/gallon gas costs and to get there quickly steep autoroute tolls - probably $40-50 return. If you rent from Avis, they are in the train stations in France and when you buy your train ticket ask about their train + auto plans. Paris-Caen about 235 km, or about 140 miles - even without encountering the bouchons endemic in the Paris area, at the speed limit of 120 km/hr (72 mph) this means four hours of driving in optimal conditions, I guess is doable but seems exhausting. Trains take two hours as well but are more relaxing.

DAJ

Last year we did a week in the Normandy and Loire area and one week in Paris. Arrived at CDG rented a car and attempted to stop at an Abbey on our way to Rouen....Loss #1. Another stop got blown off to make up the time. I do not consider ourselves to be directionally challenged or afraid of quick driving but boy were we challenged in the Normandy area. Roundabouts: finally figured out how to approach these: pull over and examine the Michelin map to find the usually obscure town that each direction is going. Process of elimination for each one.

We finally made is to the beaches, but there would have been NO WAY in a day trip, even if the driving fairies were smiling on us. Took a ride from one of our base stops in Honfluer (great little base town).

PalQ

It's a long tiring drive going for the day from Paris - either stay overnight or consider taking the train to Caen then renting a car there, or train to Bayeux and hop the mini-bus tours that hit the highlights of the beaches. the train may not cost all that much more considering the $4-5/gallon gas costs and to get there quickly steep autoroute tolls - probably $40-50 return. When you buy your train ticket ask about their train + auto plans, where you pick up a car at the Caen station. Paris-Caen about 235 km, or about 140 miles - even without encountering the bouchons endemic in the Paris area, at the speed limit of 120 km/hr (72 mph) this means four hours of driving in optimal conditions. Doable I guess. Trains take two hours as well but are more relaxing, at least for the driver.

PalQ

to get there quickly steep autoroute tolls - probably $40-50 return. When you buy your train ticket ask about their train + auto plans, where you pick up a car at the Caen station. the speed limit of 120 km/hr (72 mph) this means four hours of driving in optimal conditions. Doable I guess. Trains take two hours as well but are more relaxing, at least for the driver.

PalQ

Pardon my duplication, it was not on purpose and i'm not sure how it happened. Sorry!

Keith

I rented a car in Caen. Starting out, driving in a country where the road rules were new to me and the signs in a language I don't know, I found driving in even this small community uncomfortable. I wouldn't have wanted to start in Paris.

By the second day, I was pretty comfortable with the driving.

Keith

rlbplf

In spite of my best planning and maps, I still managed to get lost trying to find my way out of Paris on the way to Bayeux. Several hours later, the jet lag didn't help, we made our way to Bayeux but we were to be there for 3 days so having lost the 3 hours wasn't the end of the world. My advice like others is to take the train to Caen and rent a car. Another option I have read about here but not experienced is to book a tour of the D Day beaches from Paris. You didn't tell us how long you plan on being in Paris or how many times you have been there and how much you want to see the landing beaches. Personally I wouldn't miss the opportunity to visit Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery. If you have the time you should consider spending at least two days in Normandy and Bayeux is a great place to base yourself in for sightseeing. We plan to return to see Utah Beach, St. Mere Eglise, etc. on our next trip.