Is there a way to visit Normandy on a day trip. Train? How long does it take? any details would be appreciated.
Thanks

In March I took a bus tour to Mont. St. Michel. I wanna say it took no more than 2.5 hours each way. You wouldn't have much time to visit unless you make the time really long. I think we were at the Mont for 4 or 5 hours.

Paris to Normandy by train is easy. Take a direct train to Caen (2 or 2.5 hours), either see the memorial there and do a guided tour of D-Days sights they have or go on by train (20 minutes) to Bayeux and do from there. There are direct trains back to Paris from Bayeux. We did the day with something like a 7 am train from Paris, returning on a 7 pm train from Bayeux and had a great day. There are many posts about guides for D-Day sights on this forum, including mine. Just search my screen name laurie_ann and chesnel, the last name of our guide. Have fun planning your trip. (and I apologize if I assumed your interest was D-Day sights, there are of course many other wonderful attractions in Normandy).

We recently (June) did a day trip from Paris to Caen. We took the D-Day tour through the museum in Caen which was excellent. We left at 6:30 am by car and arrived in time for our 9:00 tour. We left Caen at around 5:30 and made our 8:00 dinner reservations in Paris. The day trip was probably the highlight of our trip.

The first train leaves Paris at 07:12 and arrives in Bayeux at 09:27 (change in Caen). This is too late to join a morning or all-day tour of the Normandy beaches. www.overlordtour.com does an afternoon tour. The last train to Paris (direct) leaves Bayeux at 19:36 and arrives in Paris at 21:45.

We did a daytrip to Normandy with www.paris-trip.com. It was the highlight of our two week trip. The van they use holds a maximum of 8 people, so that is the max. that can be on the tour. We were picked up at our apt. at 6:30am and dropped off at about 7:30pm. A long day but worth it.

Our guide, Lionel was wonderful. Our day included Ponte de Hoc (Omaha Beach), the new and old memorials, the American Cemetery, Arromanches, and the Caen Peace Memorial. He took us to an incredible lunch at Arromanches with views of the mulberries and the best oysters we have ever had.

Thanks for the help......... laurie_ann, my interest was D Day sites.