ashelybeau

I'm planning a trip to France in the end of November for 7 days. We'll be staying in Paris for the majority of the trip but are looking to travel to Normandy for perhaps 2 days. Do I need a car to travel in Normandy? Any reccomendations on where to stay? Not looking to spend a lot on tours as I'm very in to "self guided."
Thanks for your help!

Underhill

A car would be very useful if you want to cover the maximum territory in 2 days. In Honfleur you could stay at L'Ecrin and in Bayeux at the Château de Cottun, a highly praised B&B.

ashelybeau

Thanks for the response.....Is it possible to do it without a car?

Gretchen

You could take the train to Bayeux and arrange a tour of the DDay sites from there. It would be less confusing than renting a car in Paris and driving. Driving for 2 days in Normandy would just not be enough in my opinion.

cmeyer54

We did something similar but with more days in each spot. We started in Normandy - stayed in Bayuex at Lion D'Or. In November, the rates should be pretty good and its a charming old coach inn with a very good gourmet restaurant. We drove from Paris to Bayeux but since my husband works in Germany and was already over there, it was both easy and familiar. For only two days, I'd take the train - I think you make a connection in Caen or Rouen. Anyway, we had a guided tour that was supposed to be one day but got extended due to our 'dwadling' at one site. I would recommend a guide since there is just so much to see and small things that are very key can easily be overlooked. Our guide had just our family with him and tailored the day to our interests. Without a car, I'd do a one day tour and then take the second day to see the Bayeux cathedral and tapestry. there are also several WW2 museums that are worthwhile, the Eisenhower statue, etc. In Paris, we stayed at Claude Bernard -its a 3star, about 2 blocks off the Seine and easy walking distance to the Pantheon, Seine, Notre Dame, two or three metro stops, etc. Right on Rue Des Ecoles if you have a map. The property has an elevator, nice enough breakfast room, adquate rooms, etc. If you're looking for Westin or Hyatt quality, this won't be it but for our family, the location and service were just fine. the only guided tour we did in paris was on Segways and it was fantastic. The company was called Mike's Bikes at that time but it may have changed. It was founded and is run by US folks so the narration was easy to follow. Don't know if they will be running in November. You will get to see the entire champs lit for Christmas - I envy you! The cruise on the seine was very forgettable - hard to hear and not that great if you've already done a fair amount of walking and touring. Have a great trip!

Sue6

In May I and my sis took the train to Vernon. We rented a car there and drove to Giverny to see the Monet Gardens, a must, then on to Honfleur. We spent the night at Hotel L'Ecrin, just ok. The next day we drove to Bayeux, stayed at the Hotel d' Argouges, nice, you can walk to see the church and the tapisseries. We then drove to see the American Cemetery, a full day. We continued on to Mont St. Michel and ended up in the Dordogne area. We had a wonderful two weeks of fun. But you could drop the car off and return to Paris on the train. Have a wonderful trip.

Underhill

Sue6,

More about L'Ecrin, please--we have reservations there for a night next week.

ira

Good advice from Gretchen.

It's about 2 hr by train. RT is 59E.

See http://www.voyages-sncf.com

Europewithkids

My family did this last month. We took the train (2 hours and 5 minutes going and 2 hours 30 minutes returning to Paris) and did not have to change, although some trains do require a quick change. We stayed in Bayeux at a B&B named Logis Les Remparts, which I recommend very highly. Fantastic location, wonderful hostess (Christele), beautiful rooms in a historic building (the rooms have modern amenities) and great rates (we paid 100 Euros in August for 5 people in two very large, connected rooms sharing a very nice bathroom).

http://www.bayeux-bandb.com/indexEN.html

We took a private tour with Battlebus (www.battlebus.fr), which was excellent. We would never have appreciated what we were seeing on our own (and I am not an organized tour person at all). However, sounds like you want to do it yourself.