Trains & Normandy
 

For those who have taken the train to Caen or Bayeaux, did you buy in advance ot the day that you travelled? Could anyone recommend a tour of the d-day landing sites once you get into Caen or Bayeaux.
Thank you in advance.

Cynthia

I've used the trains between Caen and Paris several times over the years and never needed to reserve a seat. It will depend what time of day you're travelling and which day of the week. The trains normally have unreserved seats at the far end of the train. Note that "Bayeaux" is not spelt like that - you'll need to use the correct spelling if you're checking schedules on www.sncf.com or www.bahn.de (the German site is quicker if you only want to check times).

I bought my ticket online before I traveled to France.

My favorite landing sites were the American Cemetery, Longues battery and Aeromanches, but I visited the sites in a rental car. It was nice being able to stop whenever a church or distilery looked interesting.

Keith

Attention: those to whom I sent our Normandy itinerary. On the day we're going to Le Havre we will probably also go to Fécamp and visit the Benedectine Monastery. On the way back we'll drive through the town of Ste-Addresse, which has fine villas overlooking the sea (my husband says to think of the 17-mile Drive near Carmel, CA).

Sorry--posted this on the wrong thread.

Mini-bus tours from Bayeux and Caen, such as those by BusFly are a great way to see the D-Day area highlights, or by renting a car, but this would take some planning on where to go. Mini-buses pick up at many hotels. I wouldn't worry about the rail fare as it should run only about $30 each way in 2nd class. Buy the 7-day advance tickets for discounts. The most popular D-Day sites are within about a 30 mile range of either town. Public transportation is lacking - an occasional bus.

I've been doing some research for a similar trip that I am putting together so I can share what I've learned about the tours. Most that go to the US beaches leave from Bayeux, if that is what you are interested in. Battlebus and Victory Tours seem to have a lot of positive reviews, at least on the Rick Steves site. The Memorial in Caen also offers tours in conjunction with admission to their museum/memorial.

Battlebus: www.battlebus.fr
Victory Tours: www.lignerolles.homestead.com/victorytours.html
Caen Memorial: www.memorial-caen.fr/portail_gb/hp/hp.asp

Hope this helps! I did put together some info from some of the tours that I found on the internet (cost, where they go, etc) that I am could email to you if you think it might be helpful. My address is [email protected] if you'd like me to send it to you.

Tish

Is this to be a day trip, or will you be staying in Normandy a while?

If you are staying in Paris, some people have recommended tour companies that start your tour in Paris, but I have no experience with them.

After doing my research, I concluded that we couldn't see all we wanted in one day, so we stayed there a few days and enjoyed ourselves.

One problem I found with the organized tours is that they seem to emphasize one thing over another. The tours aimed at Canadians, for example, did not go to all the same sights as those aimed at Americans. I scoured their itineraries and made a list of all the places I wanted to see. When we got to Caen (we stayed there rather than Bayeux as more of what I wanted to see was in Caen; Bayeux is certainly more scenic) we spent a lot of time in the peace memorial museum, since we had time. Then I asked our hotelier to arrange a knowledgeable taxi driver and we spent almost a full day on our customized tour, lingering where we wanted as we were not tied to a group. A rental car would be another option, but I prefer not to drive when touring.