Paris - Normandy - Mont St. Michel - Paris (transportation logistics)
 

Hello,

I have found threads where people planned to follow the first part of his same itinerary, but do not see the results of how it went. Please advise if you have done this. Our family of four (two boys 11 and 13) arrive in Paris (CDG) from the US at 8:45am on a Sunday in July.

We would like to rent a car and leave directly from the airport for Normandy, visit the beaches and spend the night there. The next day we would spend more time in Normandy, then go to Mont St. Michel and the spend the 2nd night there. The next morning we would leave our car in Rennes and take a train from there back to Paris where we will spend 5 nights before taking the train to Nice for the end of our trip.

Mainly, I'm wondering about the logistics of the first leg of our trip. Is it best to rent a car at the airport or if it would be better to take a train close to Normandy (Caen?) and rent from there? Is Rennes the best place to return the car to and take the train back to Paris?

Thanks so much for any advice!

What about jet lag? I would first of all suggest you take a day or two out to recover from it. It is no fun driving whilst sleepy.
Train is going to be a better option if you want to leave for the coast as soon as you land.

I think you would have to go into Paris to get a train to Normandy. We rented a car and went to Rouen, and along the coast and then to Bayeux for a few days.
I think your itinerary is a bit too elided, particularly the first day.
You could drive to Bayeux, perhaps see the Tapestry, have dinner and go to bed. Then go to the beaches the next day. I think you really may need another day to do MSM and then train back to Paris. It is definitely not doable the first day with jet lag. The second day I suppose you could do several beaches and go to MSM. MSM is a "wonder" but I also "wonder" if your family would enjoy just "Normandy" more.

I think your plans are too ambitious. Are you sure your kids will sleep on the plane and be awake when you get to the beaches? Don't forget to factor lunch into your schedule.

If one of your reasons for seeing Mont St. Michel is to experience the tides, you'll want to time your visit accordingly. Personally, I'd skip MSM and go slower in Normandy.

Two points:

Have you driven a car after a sleepless night on an overnight flight before? I know some people aren;t subject to jet lag - but it;s not something I would ever contemplate (the most we ever do is and hour and we've done a LOT of road rips)

I think you're not allowing enough time to actually see anything. If your plane lands at 8:45 by the time you've gone through Immigration, collected you luggage, gone through Customs, headed to car rental, got a car and tested it out - it will be after 11. then driving to Normandy will take you about 3 hours. so you can arrive at 2 pm and starving or stop on the way to eat something and it will be 3 pm - so your day is mostly gone - and you will be crashing.

So you can see a little of the beaches, or the memorials or the tapestry - then head to Mt St Michel the next day. If you want to avoid getting there late (remember these are local roads - we've ben held up in a line of cars by a hay wagon doing about 10 mph).

I just think you need another day to do this - as in a full day in Bayeaux and then head for MSM.

Thanks for the replies. Yes, I've considered jet lag - but was hoping we might be energetic since it was the beginning of our trip! Originally we were going to stay in Paris for 5 days, then do the Normandy/Mont St. Michel loop. However I am wondering if we might appreciate "settling" into our Paris apartment a few days into our trip, when we're in greater need of a home base/laundry.

Also, if we did Paris at the beginning I believe we would still need to return to Paris from Mont. St. Michel before taking the train to Nice. I doubt we would feel like taking two train trips in one day, so we would have to stay in Paris one more night than I had hoped.

I'm not sure if my thoughts make sense to others, but I do appreciate the advice!

I really don't know how anyone, especially with kids, could fly all night, jump in a car and drive to Normandy, and "see the beaches," all on little or no sleep. And I'm a very energetic person who keeps going the day I arrive in Europe until about 10 pm. Even if your kids sleep all night on the plane and make it through Day 1, you won't be able to get them out of bed until noon the next day.

Some other points:

Renting a car for two days is typically as expensive as renting for three. If you planned this trip differently, you could take advantage of that.

You'd have to go into Paris to get a train to Normandy...more schlepping around with tired, dazed kids and luggage.

There are trains from Rennes to Nice. Granted, it's a long ride. Should give you at least one idea for how to reorganize this.

Thanks for the timeframe for immigration and driving. Even if we arrived late in Normandy I'm assuming we would spend a good deal of the next day at the beaches and not be in a hurry to get to Mont St. Michel. I've read that arriving at MSM mid-day would be terrible timing with the crowds. I was hoping that if we arrived in the late afternoon and spent the night (including some time there the next morning)- that would suffice for a good visit of MSM. We would not be in a big hurry to train back to Paris later that day.

That being said, perhaps I do need to scrap this mad dash at the beginning or our trip. My boys will likely sleep on the plane, but I'm not so sure about myself or our driver!

Thanks StCirq. I will look into the train from Rennes to Nice.

kanne says: "Yes, I've considered jet lag - but was hoping we might be energetic since it was the beginning of our trip". The key word is "hoping" - what happens if aren't so energetic.? Personally, I'd spend a day/night in Paris before driving off to Normandy. At the very least consider driving only part way. the first day after a transAtlantic flight that arrives early in the AM can be brutal - better to take it easy.

If there is a time to try that drive, its a Sunday morning in summer. Go here and plug in your destination
http://www.viamichelin.com/
Stay on the toll roads, and its a breeze. The CDG to Normany drive has a few quirks, like just getting out of the airport. Then you have a few Hollywood freeway moments until you clear la Defense. After that its easy, just stay awake rounding Caen.

I wouldnt try going to the beaches the 1st day as others have suggested. Stay in Bayeaux and go to the Cathedral and Tapestry Museum instead.

Sort of along what St. cirq may be suggesting, and what we prefer to do--I like to do all my travelling outside of Paris first, and then end in Paris. It is an easy cab ride to the airport from a hotel. So maybe go to Nice, and then train to Paris to finish your trip.
I am not a MSM fan, and I wonder what your children will find interesting--not that it couldn't be for them, but the time to do it is a fairly big investment for your trip.
Eat at Le Petite Bistro in Bayeux--make reservations.

I also like to save Paris for last. I tend to shop a bit there and don't like to schlepp purchases via car or train all over the country.

kanne:
MSM is totally worth the effort! In 2006, we flew into Paris/Orly from Rome arriving 10:45a, picked up our rent car, got on the road by 1:00p and drove to MSM, arriving around 5:00p. We shopped a little, drove to dinner off the Mont with the reward of a spectacular lit-up vantage point on our return (truly one of the most awesome sights to behold!), enjoyed walking all around the Mont with the feeling like it was our own private island exploring the ramparts and secret places, rose early to enjoy the sunrise, toured the church and was on the road by 1:00 and arrived Paris at 5:00p to start our four days there. It was truly one of the highlights of all the places we've been in Europe! In fact, we are returning to Italy and Paris next June, bringing our 12-year-old son with us this time, and he has requested that he get to see MSM, so we're doing the same thing all over again! There's something so neat about being on the Mont at night when you have the place to yourself (OK, it's certainly not private, but there were lots of times we walked and didn't see a soul.)

Highly recommend arriving MSM late afternoon, spending the night, watching the sunrise, and getting out of there before the crowds arrive!! Seems like a lot of fuss for just one night, but in my humble opinion (and my husband's and the other couple's we travelled with) one of the most "worth it" things we did! I can't wait to go back!
Happy Planning!!

Normandy is a very special place, first, of course, because of the history, the beaches and cemeteries. But the villages and the area are all very beautiful and you shouldn't be "sleepwalking" while you tour there, you'll miss too much of the countryside's beauty.

We were there last year with our 13 year old and stayed at a fantastic B&B called Ferme du Pressoir, a working farm. My son would get eggs from the chicken coop every morning and the owner of the B&B, Odile, would cook marvelous yummy breakfasts. Can't say enough about this beautiful place or about how much my son loved exploring the farm. The rooms were exquisite and very modern. I wrote a Trip Report about all this and our stay in Paris as well (Our Month in France). Good luck with your trip, it will be fantastic for your sons as well.

Forgot to mention. We rented a car in Paris and drove to Normandy. It's really quite easy once you get out of Paris. Once you get on the "peripherique", the roads are very accessible right through to Normandy. But I'm not sure if it is more difficult from CDG.

You could reverse your trip. Take the train from the airport directly to Nice. After your time there, train again to Paris, spend time. Then rent the car (or train to Normandy and pick up the car), drive around Normandy and back to CDG. Or drop the car in Rennes and take a train to the airport.

I don't know how long you have for this trip, but I think you're trying to cram in too many sights. As Jobo indicates above, kids prefer to stay longer in places. They like to getting acquainted with the ice cream seller and the boulangerie, spending time on the beach instead of speeding from sight to sight. In fact they may turn rebellious if you follow through on your rush trip to Normandy immediately on arrival.

I know how hard it is to cut things out. Who knows when you'll get back and there's so much to see. But less is more, especially with kids.

Tagging on to Mimar's suggestion, you could fly onward to Nice after you arrive at CDG.

If you arrive at Mt St Michel I do;t know when you're going to see the sights. It's a long, stiff climb up to the top - and then touring the Abbey is a lot of flights of stairs up and down. Probably will be closed by the time you get there and then you will have to do the following day - and then you'll be pulling into Paris fairly late at night.

We rented a car at CDG and drove to a B&B in Normandy, close to Arromanches. We settled in and then drove down to the beach and saw quite a bit. We spent the next night at the same B&B and saw the local D-Day sights. The next day we went to the Bayeux museum early and then drove to a gite near Mont St Michel. We went to Mont St Michel that night to watch the tide come in and explore the town (the cathedral was closed already) and then went back early the next morning and were there when it opened. We left after touring the Mont and drove to our gite in Brittany.

We did not want to go into Paris to catch the train to Normandy so decided to drive. That worked fine for us (and we had traffic because it was a weekday). We were tired but stopped for lunch for a break. I too recommend 2 nights in Normandy and staying on the water (Arromanches is great) if you can. I would think your boys would enjoy the beach and there is fascinating history there. I don't recommend you go to Mont St Michel twice like we did, too much for the boys. And you probably want to skip the Bayeux museum.

Unless you want to see Rennes you might just want to drive back to Paris and save the train fare. The car gives you freedom to see something you missed in Normandy on the drive back.

Another idea would be to stay in Normandy the whole time and do a day trip to Mont St Michel. It is a little less than 2 hours I think each way. You could leave Normandy after lunch and get there around 4 or 5 pm. See the Mont and drive back. Then you are back in Normandy to see more before your drive back to Paris.

Have a great time!

Theonly problem with this plan is that you won;t be able to see the Abbey. In summer the last visitor are admitted at 6pm and it closes at 7. And if you arrive there at 5 and park you car you then have a long, steep climb to get up to the Abbey.

And, IMHO, visiting the Mt and ignoring the Abbey is a complete waste of time.

Also, the drive is along country roads - so I think 2 hours is probably wishful thinking - esp in midsummer.

With this plan - IF you arrive at 4 pm (doubtful) you would be done at the Mt by about 8 pm - then, have dinner there and drive back later? Drive back to Bayeaus and try to find a place serving dinner at 10 or 10:30 pm?

Not a great plan.

A quick look at the route on viamichelin.com shows, at the moment, 6 "incidents" - I assume accidents on the road between the two. We didn't have that, but did have considerable construction and about 20 minutes wasted trying to get past a huge hay wagon that was going about 10 mph - and had a whole line of cars behind it.

If taking the train from Rennes, you have two choice: Change in Paris or change in Marseilles. In Paris you need to change train stations, in Marseilles it looks like it is the same station. In any case, it will be a 9 to 11 hour trip. I would not use the Paris transfer.

Kanne:

We're doing a similar trip in March, without the MSM. Arrive in Paris at 8, catching a train to Caen (11:25) and renting a car from there. Will arrive in Caen around 2:00, so will check out the Peace Museum that afternoon, before heading to Port en Bessin for dinner and hotel. Next day (saturday) will tour the beaches and, if enough time left, go to Bayeux to the tapestry. Hotel again in Port en Bessin. Will have about a half-day from Port en Bessin to Caen to return car and train back to paris for 6.5 more days.

I looked at pricing car rental from Paris vs. train to Caen and rental.

Sorry, unintentional early submittal above.

To continue: When you factor in fuel costs, tolls, etc., for us, our round trip to and from Paris was 22 euro more expensive to train and rent vs. rent car at Paris. I felt the 22 euro investment in the fear of jet lag, plus all the driving time getting to Normandy the train/rent car in Caen was a better investment. Not sure how it works out cost wise with a different drop-off point for the rental car, but the added trip to Nice does change the game. I'd recommend catching the train up and renting from Caen. You can expect a 60 euro 2nd class trip from paris to caen for all 4, but the train from CDG to St. Lazare will cost you nearly 35 euro as well. The benefit is that you can, at least for the 2 hour ride from paris to caen, hopefully catch a quick energy nap if you are tired, which will allow you to eliminate the risk of drowsy driving in a different country on unfamiliar roads.

Good luck and enjoy!

Good point nytraveler. I still think the day trip idea is worth considering with the abbreviated time in the area but you would want to arrive earlier to make sure you could see the Abbey. With sunset around 10 pm you could stay late, eat dinner on the Mont or in the area and get back at a "decent" time.

But, we drove it in May, not midsummer, and traffic was not bad.

Well - I'm all in favor of road trips - it's out travel of choice - but we've larned not to drive more than an hour right off an overnight flight - and not to plan to drive more than about 4 or 5 hours in any one day - even with 2 drivers.

the problem with eating on the Mt is that most of the restaurants are trouist traps - food is edible but not much more - and eating dinner outside of Paris after 10 pm (except for the Riviera in season) isn't going to happen.

the other issue is the age of the kids. Not sure how they are with long hours in the car or eating at later hours. Some that age are OK - some are botomless pits that must be fed continuously.

I think a daytrip is doable if they start early in the morning - but that youw give them practically not time in/near Bayeaux unless they ad another day.

The Bayeux tapestry should not be missed, and one should absolutely make the time to see it.

Wow - thank you for all the replies! We have decided to stay in Paris first, then visit Normandy/MSM. I think we can fit an extra night (for a total of 3) for this side trip before continuing on to Nice. I don't want to run my family ragged, but we are the type who lean towards packing in as much as possible and planning every excursion to minute! I know that horrifies many travelers, but it seems to work well for our family. I do especially appreciate all the notes people have made regarding times (driving, opening, tides, etc.) and train/vs car travel.

It is my husband's preference that we go to MSM & Normandy, actually MSM is his second choice after Lourdes which I just do not see how we could fit in at all without abandoning Nice altogether. I went to MSM when I was my around my boys' ages and really enjoyed the experience, and I hope they will too.

I know I will have more specific questions to ask from the replies above and hope to have those sorted and posted tomorrow.

Thanks to all again!

But, Michael, do you think boys 11 and 13 would be interested in the Bayeux tapestry? I don't.

Mimar,
We had the kids read a book on William the Conquorer before our trip to Bayeux, so they were really interested at the Museum.

Kanne,
If its been that long since you have to MSM, prepare yourself for the crowd.

Boys who are 11 and 13 will soon be, if they haven't already been, exposed to the history of William the Conqueror (or should be!). My kids were just about exactly that age the first time they saw the tapestry, and they loved it. In fact, two years later, when we returned to Normandy, they insisted on seeing it again.

To the person arriving at 8 and training to Caen, hope your plane is on time. Cab to Paris factored into the car rental price? Sure is a LOT to do after an all night flight.

For a squeaky clean and very reasonable hotel look at Hotel Bayeux. Five minutes from the Cathedral. Five minutes from teh Tapestry. Very near to the major highway out of town.

Considering the Bayeux Tapestry is essentially a cartoon, I think the kids will enjoy it. Make sure they have audio guides. Perhaps there's a child's version?

Not only the crowd, but the change from what it used to be. We were in Bayeux for 3 days (in addition to 3 more around Normandy) and still couldn't "make enough time" to go to MSM.
Normandy is known for its cider and cow's milk cheeses. There are a LOT of interesting things to do. I'm not sure my grands would be real blown away by MSM---the age of these children.
The beaches and the museums that are on each of them are going to be very interesting to boys.

Gretchen: Were not cabbing to St. Lazare, taking the RER. We each are limited to one bag per person, and you drag what you take. We figured getting to St. Lazare w/ transfer from RER B would be just as easy as trying to drive out. There's also a 1:45 out of Lazare if the 3.5 hours isn't enough from landing - thru customs and hopping on the RER to Nord, switching to Lazare thru Magenta. Would rather schlep through the stations after getting off the over-night than try to drive for the first time on foreign soil.

I see advice here regularly warning travellers of the impossibility/difficulty of driving significant distances after an overnight flight from the States. Speaking only for myself, I do it just about every time I fly to Europe. This past September, after an all-night flight from Philadelphia to Madrid, 3hr. layover, then a 1 hr flight to Barcelona, I drove a large van with 6 people for 3 hours north to our hotel on the Costa Brava - no problem. I've done this before with longer layovers and 5 hour drives.

I point this out not in a boastful way, but only to state that what seems unreasonable for some people may be perfectly fine for others. In my case, I arrive without the benefit of sleep (just can't manage more than a 20 minute nap on any flight, no matter how long), and am full of adrenaline to start my vacation.

I'm sure there are others who can, and do, make similar trips.

On the other hand, once I get home after vacation, all I want to see is my bed ...

<i>I point this out not in a boastful way, but only to state that what seems unreasonable for some people may be perfectly fine for others.</i>
That is why we advise folks about it. Then we let them make up there own mind.
it affects everyone in different ways.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jet_lag

DH and I flew into Paris, stayed 4 days, then took a train to Caen, mainly to avoid trying to drive out of Paris. We are used to driving in Los Angeles and Atlanta but we did not want to drive in Paris. So, we took the train to Caen, rented a car (reserved before we left the US) and did some of the beaches on our own, but one whole day with a private guide. We then drove to Brittany, stayed in Dinan, and went to Mt. Ste. Michele. There didn't seem to be an easy way to get to MSM, but we enjoyed the ride. Do beware of the lack of service stations and toilet facilities since you'll have children with you.
Also, if you do rent a car in Caen, allow plenty of time to fill up the car with gas before turning it in. We must have driven around an hour before finding a station. The rental car offices are right across the street from the train station.
Everyone is different and has different comfort levels. We loved exploring but we made the right decision, for us, not to try to drive out of Paris.
One last comment about the beaches. They deserve a decent amount of time. Don't miss the American cemetery above Omaha Beach.

I think it's a good idea to stay in Paris first. That way, you can either hit the ground running or laze away the first day, depending on how everyone feels when you arrive. (In our family, sometimes one parent and kid head out immediately and the other parent and kid feel like napping. I am almost always the napper, although I am proud to say on our last trip, I was NOT the slacker on the first day.)

We did this trip (Paris, Normandy, MSM) a couple of years ago with our boys (probably aged 13 and 15 at the time), combined with a week of canal barging, and it was great.

They were definitely most interested in the beaches and the American Cemetery, as compared to MSM or the Bayeux tapestry, although we saw and enjoyed it all. I am generally not fond of tours, but touring Normandy with a knowledgeable guide was really interesting, especially helpful in keeping the kids engaged. The food on MSM was the worst of our trip; wish we'd avoided it. Be rested and ready for lots of uphill hiking on MSM. The highlight was a Segway tour in Paris (expensive and not sure the minimum age though). We stopped at Giverny, since it was a convenient stop, which the parents loved and the kids were not interested in the least.

I think you will have a great time!