isu_steph

I am working on planning a trip with my husband, step son, sister in law, her husband and nephew. (5 adults and one child) We are going to be in Paris and then go to London from there. We were thinking of going to Normandy in our travel from Paris to London. But when I start looking at things it appears that maybe that isn't a logical (or the easiest) way to do things. Would we be better to do a day trip or organized tour from Paris while we are staying there? Then travel from Paris directly to London via the Eurostar. Or is our orignal plan just as doable? Thanks!

Challiman

We did the Paris to Normandy trip by train, arriving in Caen. If you are thinking you could do the train or other transportation, do the WWII sites (if that is what you want to see in Normandy), and then make it to London in one day, I would strongly urge you not to do that, if it is even possible.
We did take the train back to Paris after our trip to Normandy and Brittany, so I would imagine you could make connections with Eurostar that way. We just returned from two weeks in Europe, taking trains around Netherlands, Belgium and France, but I still don't understand the distinctions between train systems. There are many experts here who can help with that.
If you do some sort of organized tour from Paris to Normandy, especially with that many people, you might be better off. And from Paris your trip to London would be pretty easy.
You don't say how much time you'll have in France, so that will be a big factor in how you arrange your time. Also, travel days seem to eat up a lot of time, so consider that when you are planning.
Whatever you do, don't miss Normandy!

jamikins

I really dont see how you can go to Normandy on the way to London from Paris...that doesnt make any sense logistically. Unless you are taking a ferry...

How long do you have in each place?

Mucky

Your right there isn't really a logical or easy way to go from Paris to London Via Normandy.

Unless you travel by ferry to Portsmouth and get a train from there.
Or you can fly from Caen to Shoreham (Brighton) http://www.skysouth.co.uk/
You can then get a train from Brighton to London.

No idea how successful or expensive this would be it seems very time consuming to me, which leads to the obvious route of Paris to Normandy then back to Paris for Eurostar through to London as you suggested.

Good luck

Muck

isu_steph

Thanks for your insights. Our original thought patterns did not involve a map or attempting to understand the train systems. After doing reading I realized that Normandy really isn't on the way from Paris to London. Especially when you consider the Eurostar between Paris and London and how quick it is... any side trains or buses or whatever we would end up taking seem like they would probably be a PAIN! Very appreciative of all your input... keep it coming.

isu_steph

Oh, forgot to mention our time frame... we will have approximately 6 days in Paris... then plan on spending a day or so in Normandy... and on to London for about 6 days. Like I said before... initially ignorant thinking to hit Normandy on the way to London... revamping that plan!

annhig

hi steph,

the obvious way to do Paris - normandy - london, is by car - pick up car in paris, drive to normandy, get ferry from caen [in fact, quite a way outside caen] to Partosmouth, drive to London.

to do that properly woudl take most of your 6 days in Paris, so I wouldn't recommend it.

6 days in paris is barely enoguh anyway - especially if you factor in a day in Versailles.

there is a company which is well-spoken of on this forum that does day trips to normany battle-fileds if that's why you want to go to Normandy, but I can't remember the name of it. if you start another thread or do a search of the forum for "normandy WW11 tours" I'm sure it'll come up.

regards, ann

jamikins

I'm not sure where you are coming from, but you could fly into Paris then head straight to Normandy on the train, spend 2 nights there renting a car if required, then head back to Paris for 6 days, then head to London for your final 6 days...

nametaken

Most people who post on Fodor's prefer the Battlebus tours. These tours leave from Bayeux at about 8:30 AM. We did the American Battle tour and thought is was very good. The tour is in English. It is an all day tour so, an overnight would be in order. If you wish tocheck them out just google Battlebus tours. You will need to reserve ahead of time. Hope you can fit Normandy into you schedule.

mari5

Is there any chance you would want to rent a car....a good way to see Normandy. You can rent a car back at the airport in Paris OR take the train to a city like Caen, Rouen etc..and drive to Normandy...
THEN:
We have done this twice,,, both ways, and it was great~~~~Hertz has a program (called Le Swap), where you turn in the car at Calais and "swap" for the opposite drive,,, put the car on the Eurostar "chunneL train" 25 minutes, drive off at Folkstone and continue on in England.
IF you dont want to drive in England and London, just turn the car in at Calais,, and make your way to the Eurostar.
The year we went THAT way, I think we were going to smaller places,, Rye, down to Devon etc
Having said all this,,, Hertz may not have this program any more, but it was great and it included your fare under the channel on the Eurostar.
OR a tour, picked up in Bayeaux is another good option.

bratsandbeer

We flew by Ryanair to Dinard France, rented a car, went to Mont St Michel, Normandy and a few other places before dropping our car off at Orly.

You could do this in reverse, rent a car at Orly or wherever, and drive to Normandy, Mont St Michel and then to Dinard and drop off the car there and take a flight to London.

annhig

<<Most people who post on Fodor's prefer the Battlebus tours.>>

well done, nametaken, that was just what I was thinking of. unfortunately all I could think of was "batobus" which of course is something completely different.

am i right in thinking that the Battlebus trips run from central paris too?

regards, ann

Gretchen

I don't think it works well to go through Normandy en route to London. I also think a little more time in France and less in London would be good--and a benefit to your pocketbook.
Arriving CDG you could rent a car (might need to be a van) drive to Bayeux for 2 days. Maybe train from Bayeux to Paris. Paris for 5 days and then Eurostar to London for remainder of time. I assume you are flying home from England?
You don't say exactly why you want to visit Normandy but if it is for the DDay beaches, you could possibly take a long day trip from Paris--but really only if you extend your time in Paris. You have comparatively little time there as it is. Remember that days of arrival are "short"/jet lagged, and days of departure are spent packing and getting "somewhere" and count for very little as far as productive content is concerned.

nametaken

Ann, I am quite sure Battlebus tours do not leave from Paris. They pick up their passengers in front of the Tapestry museum and wait for no man--need to be there on time.

jgg

We did a similar trip in 2006 - 7 nights London, 7 nights Paris and we did a daytrip from Paris to Normandy with Paris-trip.com. We were also 6 people (4 adults and 2 kids). This is what I wrote about it in my trip report:

We just returned from Paris a little over a week ago. We did our daytrip from Paris to Normandy with www.paris-trip.com. It was the highlight of our two week trip (one week London, one week Paris). Our driver was Lionel and he was excellent! He has travelled all over the world and was extremely knowledgable in French history and current politics. His own family story is quite interesting.

He kept us entertained and informed the entire trip, despite the long drive. They usually only do the trip on Thurs. and Sat. but if you have a group of 6 or more you can schedule any day. We were 6 (my husband and I our two kids (age 10 and 13) and my Mom and Dad), so we scheduled it for a Wed. and were the only ones on the tour. The van only holds 8 people, so that is the max. they can take anyway.

The tour is 160€ per person, not cheap but we felt it was worth it. (The price does include admission to the Caen Peace Memorial, everything else was free). He picked us up right at our apt. and returned my parents there, and then dropped us off at a restaurant not too far away. The most difficult part is getting picked up at 6:30am, we were at the restuarant for dinner a little after 8:00pm.

We saw 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.

I agonized for months whether to do this as a daytrip or wait until another time when we could spend more time there. A month before we left I decided to just go for it. I am so glad we did, as I said, it was the highlight of our trip. I admit, I could have spent more time at the Caen Peace Memorial, but with the kids, I think it was just right.

Intex

I just got back from France and Normandy, a daytrip to Normandy is doable, but there is so much to see other than a few beaches, that you might want to spend more time there, but then again you aren't in France for that long.

With that many people, it might be more economical to drive. The drive is extremely easy and fast, and if you leave very early, you can probably make a full day tour with a tour operator, just for your family, then return back to Paris via car or van.

Depending upon where you arre staying, you may be able to pick up a car within walking distance. In St. Germain there are several right in the ST Sulpice parking lot.

Let me know if you need more info.