Hi All

We are 4 adults planning a trip to France. My husband and I have never been to France, and our friends have been to France many times! The itinerary below is an attempt to work for all. We plan to arrive Paris 2 days earlier than our friends, for 'first time' impressions and experiences just the 2 of us. Once our friends arrive, we'll spend 2 days together in Paris and then head to Normandy, where we plan to stay in Honfleur, tour historic war sites and some local towns, before stopping in Giverny before returning to Paris for departing flight.

I think our itinerary may also diverge en route to Normandy as well. Our friends want to rent a car in Paris and drive to MSM, and then continue on to Normandy ... est. 7 hours of total driving. My husband and I just don't care enough about seeing MSM on this trip. My thought was that we could take a train to Normandy, and meet up with our friends that evening or the next morning whenever they finally arrive. That will give us an extra half day in Paris and an extra half day in Normandy (although without a car).

Some questions:
- Honfleur doesn't have a train station, but there are high speed train options to Bayeux, Caen, and Rouen. Which would you suggest? Is it easy to get an uber or taxi one of those cities to Honfleur?
- We are 4 adults (2 larger people, 2 average size people), and we will each have at least 1 carry on. Is it easy to rent a car to accommodate all?
- Would you suggest to stay over on our last night in Giverny? Or some other options for the last night, after visiting Giverny for an easy drive to CDG the next morning? Appreciate any hotel suggestions (local small hotel / B&B type accommodations preferred -- budget approx. $300E per night))

Thanks for any suggestions. Detailed itinerary below:

Paris Day 1 -- Arrive CDG; relaxing day for Couple #1 to explore
Paris Day 2 -- Couple #1 continues to explore, PM Seine River Cruise
Paris Day 3 -- Couple #2 arrives Paris, meet up for lunch and whatever
Paris Day 4 -- All visit NotreDame/St Supplice Concert?
Paris Day 5 -- Dior exhibit? Montmartre tour? Cooking class?
Travel Day 6 --
Couple #1 … Paris-> train Normandy? (Stay Honfleur?)
Couple #2... Paris rent car, Drive MSM, stay TBD
Normandy Day 1 -- Full day beaches historic tour
Normandy Day 2 -- Normandy towns explore
Normandy Day 3 Normandy ->> drive Giverny, stay Giverny? or TBD
Departure Day -- Giverny (or other)--> CDG.

I'd appreciate any comments on itinerary and also re: my specific questions. THANKS IN ADVANCE!

PS sorry for double posting on Fodors. First time accidentally posted to Europe forum, but I wanted to post it here on the France forum and didn't know how to correct that.

For your transportation options, consult rome2rio.com; be sure to click through to the underlying links.

You should be able to get a car large enough for you and your luggage. Most rental car websites provide information about the number of people and suitcases each class of vehicle can accommodate. But I’m confused … you will be waiting until your friends reach Honfleur to connect? I’m not sure you’d have time to tour the Normandy beaches if that’s the plan. I could be wrong! You could, perhaps, switch your "Normandy Days" 1 and 2 and take that day to explore Honfleur itself and anywhere else you can reach by public transportation.

For a concert in Paris, consider glorious Sainte-Chapelle.

There is no “France Forum” – the forum is for all of Europe, with tags indicating country. Please click on the orange triangle and use the screen you get to ask the moderators to merge your threads. They’re accustomed to such requests, as you are far from the first poster to make that mistake!

When you state a budget, especially for your not-always-together group, specify if it is for one couple or for all four of you.

Recently took the train from Paris to Bayeux for WWII beaches tour and stayed 2 nights. The train was easy, Bayeux station is tiny. We had to have the hotel arrange for a taxi as there was no dedicated taxi line. Bayeux was a lovely little town, beyond what I expected. From Caen to Honfleur is about 45 minutes I think. Are you committed to staying there?

The effort and logistics to visit Honfleur using a combo of public and hired transportation wouldn't be worth it for me unless staying there for a couple of nights. Yes, it's charming and picturesque but difficult to include unless you already have a car. (Car rental options in Honfleur are very limited.) If Honfleur is high on your list, you should rent the car in Paris. You could stop in Giverny on the way to Honfleur.

If you don't want to drive from Paris (actually not difficult), train Paris to Caen, rent the car at the train station, and stay somewhere in the Bayeux area for easy access to the MANY sights related to D-Day. If possible, visit the Peace Memorial (museum) in Caen for an excellent overview of the invasion events.

For the last night, consider Evreux.

This sounds like wonderful trip!
A few questions:
When is this trip?
Is staying in Honfleur a must?
Have your friends been to Normandy before?
Would you be open to renting your own car for 24-48 hours?

I don't see basing in Honfleur for the Normandy beach visits. For your friends to meet you there, that is quite a bit of backtracking.

It would be a shame to not stay in Bayeux because it is a wonderful place and the best base for the Normandy tours. I don't see giving Giverney a night. And on your departure day, be in Paris or staying at CDG. Maybe Normandy day 3, stay in Honfleur, drive to and visit Giverney and then drive to CDG? Enjoy!

I agree with all of this !

I don't think it's that difficult to get from Bayeux to Honfleur if you want to go there. You just take a TER train direct to Lisieux, which is about 20 miles from Honfleur, and then a taxi. Or there is bus 123, see Nomad Normandie for that. Https://Nomad.normandie.fr. I really liked Honfleur, I went with a group from a piano conservatory in Paris where I was attending one summer, we mainly went to visit the Satie houses, but also were around the port.

We deleted the duplicate thread. An FYI, there is no France forum. There is one forum for Europe and all threads reside there together. One can tag a topic for France or Italy or the UK or multiple countries, but it will still be on the Europe forum.

Agree with the other posters in that Honfluer isn't the best base for exploring Normandy beaches, WWII sites. Several years ago we drove from CDG to Rouen, toured Rouen and spent the night there, the next day drove to E'Tretat and Honfluer, then to Caen for the outstanding WWII museum and then spent two nights in Bayeux before heading to MSM. Actually three nights in Bayeux would be ideal to see and do everything.

If one is going from Paris to Honfleur by train, I would think that Le Havre would be the logical train terminus, where you would pick up a rental car, taxi, or bus. But, if you are planning to do the landing beaches the next day, Honfleur is a good hour and a half drive to Bayeux, where most tours start, and it would be somewhat illogical for your friend to drive from MSM to Honfleur, only for you all to backtrack to Bayeux the next day. Frankly, I think that I would take the train to Le Havre first thing in the morning, pick up a rental car there, cross the Seine to Honfleur to spend the day, then drive on to Bayeux for the evening to meet up with your friends coming from MSM and spend the night there. Then you'll all be ready for a full day tour of the beaches starting first thing in the morning, and will have the next day to explore other stuff in the area (to see the cathedral and tapestry in Bayeux, for one thing).

You might consider taking a train to Rennes via TGV, renting a car there and driving the 1 hour to MSM. Should be able to catch an early enough train to arrive in Rennes by 9:30 or so, rent a one way car and that will get you to MSM by 11 ish. You'd have several hours there, and still have time to drive back to Bayeux, Caen or the like to base yourself. From there, you could spend the next several days using the car to visit the beaches, head over to Honfluer on Day 4 and stay one night there. The next day, you could drive to Giverny from there and after, head back to paris to return the car. Or instead of staying overnight in Honfleur, you could visit there and then drive to Rouen and stay there one night after returning the rental. On day 5 you then take a SNCF train down to Vernon to visit Giverny via cab. You'd then be able to catch another SNCF train to Gare St. Lazare. Train back to CDG and stay in a hotel there for your flight the next day?

If you have a car you do not have to go to Bayeux to visit the D-Day sites. You can make your own tour. However, there may be value for you in joining a group for a guided tour.

As I've said in other threads, my favorite sites are:

Musuem of the Atlantic Wall, Ouistreham.
Arromanches
The American Cemetery at Colleville sur Mer
Pointe du Hoc

Although our tour guide of the D-Day sites wasn't the best guide I've ever had, we did learn some interesting facts that we weren't aware of and having her drive the van and maneuver all the narrow country roads was helpful. My husband and I were the most well informed about D-Day of all the people in our van and as with most things, it is the luck of the draw.

Thank you all for helpful suggestions re: itinerary, trains etc..

Agree that Bayeux is the most logical place to stay. With a budget of $300E per couple, can anyone suggest a nice hotel/B&B in that city?

Will be looking into tours from Bayeux to the D-Day sites. A friend recommended Overlord as a good tour provider.

I urge you to consult booking.com.

In Bayeux, we loved Le Petit Matin, a very lovely B&B, very close to town but quiet. It is immaculate with lovely linens and beautiful grounds. The host is gracious and accomodating. They serve a gourmet breakfast and their prices are well under your budget.
https://www.lepetitmatin.fr/chambres/

On our trip, I was responsible for arranging the guide for the 4 of us, and I started contacting Dale Booth and Overlord tours who were both highly recommended. Even months out they were both fully booked for our time in September, oops! So, I found Bertrand Saudais, for a private tour. We liked him very much, especially his French perspective. His grandfather was in the war so his stories were fascinating. We did a half day tour, from 1-6 and felt like we got a good overview. He made sure to have us the cemetery for the flag lowering and the playing of taps, a very moving experience. The next day, we just had to be in Paris that night and we planned to do a little more WW2 related on our own, but we felt we were ready to move on. I know many dedicate days to visiting the sites, but for as much as we are interested in the history and appreciate it, that tour was perfect for us. You just have to decide what suits you.

The reason I asked if Couple1 would be open to renting their own car, is that I would suggest that you take the train to Rouen visit, rent a car and go up to Etretat, drive to Caen, turn in your car and meet your friends in Bayeux. That would require an early start. Or you could enjoy a leisurely breakfast in Paris and you could take the train to Caen and then meet your friends.

Please note there are new restrictions on visiting Etretat and severe fines for not obeying those restrictions. This is due to over tourism causing damage and erosion affecting public safety.

https://www.infonormandie.com/Seine-...te_a40549.html

Use a translator in your browser to read it.

Thank you for the great recommendations of B&B and Guide. Will look into all. Not sure about the car situation, but after a busy week in Paris, I think a leisurely travel day by train suits us well. THX Again!