Side trip to Normandy
 

I just posted a message about a hotel in the Montparnasse area, but our other question is about the logisitics of a trip to Normandy: specifically a WWII trip. Is it a reasonable day-trip? We won't have a car so how do you go about finding a tour that accommodates English-speaking tourists to take you there? How much does it cost? How much in advance do you have to book it? How do you book it? Thanks for helping a serious WWII enthusiast!

If you're a serious WWII enthusiast, I'd suggest you spend at least 2-3 days in Normandy and rent a car. It's feasible to do a one-day tour (ParisVision and others do this, or you could take the train to Bayeux and hook up with a Battlebus tour), but it's an awfully long day and I imagine you'd just be whizzing by the main sites.

There's a lot to see in Normandy besides the WWII sites, too. Rouen's a great place for a several-hour stop. So is Honfleur. But even if your main interest is the WWII sites, there's tons to see - the Mémorial museum in Caen, the musuem in Arromanches, the various beacues, Pointe du Hoc, Sainte Mère Eglise, the cemeteries........last time I was there it took us two very full days just to see those.

I agree with St. Cirq that you really need 2-3 days for the various D-Day sites in Normandy, especially as you are a serious enthusiast.

However, if you only have one day and you won't have another opportunity soon, it can be done.

Take an early train from Paris to Caen, and book the one-day tour from Le Mémorial de Caen. They will pick you up and return you to the railway station. The tour includes the Mémorial (a must-see), lunch, and a guided tour of the American, British and Canadian beaches. For more information on the tour and the Mémorial, here's their website:
http://www.memorial-caen.fr/portail/...n/circuits.asp

There are many companies offering tours. This website gives you links to some of them:
http://www.normandy-tourism.org/gb/08dday/index.html

In your other post you indicated that you will be travelling in February. Remember that the hours of daylight will still be quite short, and it will likely be quite cold and blustery on the coast.

Since your declare that you are a serious WWII fan, then please don't short change yourself.

Let me give you an example. We were on our D-Day sites tour, at the American cemetery (Colleville) we were told that time did not allow us to walk any further than the mid-point pavilion at the cemetery. There is a lot more to see (than the cemetery).

We stayed in Bayeaux and found the town to be delight. (The train station is quite walk from most of the town however.)

My wife and I did it this way: We took an early train from Paris to Bayeux and went to our hotel (a cab from trainstation) which is called the Hotel D'Argouges (email at [email protected]) Nice hotel right in the center of town and steps from main street and the restaurants, cathedral, and the Bayeux Tapistry. We "did" the town after arrival and got up early next day and got a bus trip (all in English) to the D-Day beaches (saw Omaha, Pont de Neuf,American Cemetary, Briish Beaches and Museum) back for PM lunch in Bayeux and evening train back to Paris. If this is time frame you need it worked. Of course we would have liked a few days with Bayeux as base but didn't have it.