Samsaf

I'm thinking the best way to get to the Normandy area from Paris is by train; is this correct? How long a trip is this train ride? Where can I find info re trains in France?

And is this a good day trip from Paris (coming back that night), or is there enough to do to warrant staying a night or two in the area (Our son is very interested in this part of history).
Thanks!

Robespierre

There's more to see and do than a day's worth...but that's true of everywhere you go.

The earliest train from Paris gets you to Caen at 8:46, and the last train from Bayeux is at 19:36.

That gives you almost 11 hours to visit some of the cemeteries and museums and beaches (you can even squeeze in a peek at the Bayeux Tapestry), which is better than not seeing them at all.

But if you have more than a day, you won't run out of things to see and do.

StCirq

You can easily get to Normandy on the train from Paris (www.sncf.com is the French National Railway site), but to tour the beaches and museums you'll either need a car or to arrange for private tours.

There's a lot to see in Normandy, even if you're only concentrating on the WWII sites. It's a very long daytrip from Paris just to get to the Mémorial museum and the beaches, for example. If you can spare a night or two to spend in the area, I'd certainly do so.

rex

You should definitely consider relocating to Normandy for one or two nights. Not only will you spread your transit time over a few days, your lower cost lodging out away from Paris, can easily offset a car rental of a few days.

Best wishes,

Rex

Keith

.

And driving in Normandy is not a chore.

Be sure you reserve the car before you travel to France. It will save you money.

Keith

Samsaf

Thanks very much for all the replies!

PalQ

Yes day trip doable overnight better. By day i'd train to Bayeux, the only city in the area not largely destroyed in WWII, as Caen was, and a neat ole town with a splendid cathedral and the Bayeux Tapestry, woven just after William the conqueror's 1066 invasion of Britain - tells the story and have arranged a mini-bus tour of main D-Day sites - www.battlebus.com or .fr is one established company but there are about a dozen - take a half day tour and have some time in Bayeux. Last Sep i just dropped into the Bayeux tourist office and they said they could book any of the tours on the spot but have one arranged - not terribly expensive as renting private driver or taxi can be. Train takes just over two hours to Bayeux via Caen - leaves from Gare Saint-Lazare in Paris about hourly. check www.sncf.com for details. If you arrive by train without a minibus tour lined up just walk across the train station parking lot to a hotel with a big sign on it that they arranged tours on the spot. You may also find drivers at the station making offers for tours.

Dave_in_Paris

A day trip is indeed pushing it, but you might consider the train from Paris to Deauville/Trouville, and then a Bus Vert de Calvados connection from that station to Honfleur, a delightful town of about 8,000 on the Seine estuary, with cobbled streets, tall 17th-century buildings flanking a lovely harbor where yachts are moored, a huge wooden church built by ships' carpenters, a museum with an excellent collection of paintings of the Seine estuary, and fine restaurants. Honfleur is best visited in midweek when the crowds are thinner. Travel time each way (departure from the Gare St. Lazare in Paris) is roughly three and a half hours. You will not have "done" Normandy, but you will have a little of its best, in a place with over the top charm.

Dave_in_Paris

To save time in Honfleur for sightseeing, I would take lunch at La Ciderie on the rue Homme de Bois in the historic district. The best crepes in the world! Specifically, the boudin noir buckwheat crepe with apples poached in Calvados.

Dave_in_Paris

Please disregard my posts above. (I failed to read your last sentence.) You can also take a very long one-day tour-bus trip from Paris to the Caen museum and invasion beaches, returning to Paris a bit past 9 p.m., but I think the advice from others -- an overnight stay in Normandy -- is best.

Dave_in_Paris

For your information, from the just-issued Cityrama Paris brochure. I am not a bus-tour advocate.

"Landing Beaches of Normandy" tours leave Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday (you should confirm if you choose this option). A visit to the Memorial-Peace Museum in Caen is included. (No word on length of that visit.) Lunch with drinks included. Omaha Beach, American cemetery. Arromanches, and Gold and Juno Beaches. The tours leave Paris at 7:15 a.m. and return around 9 p.m. (This is why people on this board are recommending an overnight stay.) The tour price is 145 euros per person.

Samsaf

Thanks, Dave and PalQ and everyone else. Since there is so much in the Normandy area to do, what we might decide to do is that my husband and son might leave a few days before my daughters and I leave. We'll meet up either in Paris or in Rome. This will give my husband & son several days to explore the area.

I really appreciate all the information. I'm planning on doing lots of research (which is LOTS of the fun for me)