After spending a week in Paris, I am considering renting a minivan and taking my family of 5 to tour the WWII beaches, museums and cemeteries of Normandy.

Am I unwise to do this with a rental car and spend one night out of Paris in a B+B?

The 16 hour bus tour might be a problem for my youngest, 9. But a tour will never give my children a chance to get a feel the French countryside, only Paris.

Thoughts anyone?

Thanks in advance.

Mark

You are going to do that in one day?

Thank you. Yes. I plan to limit our travels to the WWII sites and return to Paris for the flight home at noon the next day.

Is that too ambitious?

I was OK with the idea of renting a car in Paris, driving to the D-Day sites, seeing them on your own, staying overnight, seeing some more sites and then returning to Paris in the evening of the second day. But when you mentioned a noon time flight home the next day your plan went up in smoke.

I'm assuming you're flying out of CDG and if so it is a 3 hour drive from Bayeux to CDG non-stop assuming traffic is good and weather is good. If your flight is at noon and you are flying internationally then you need to be in the check-in line at the airport at a minimum of 2 hours before your flight. In your case, 10AM. Which means you would need to leave Bayeux before 7AM because you have to return the car and get to your terminal. Plus, that also puts you driving near Paris during rush hour when heavy, slow traffic is the norm.

If you really want to see D-Day sites do it as a day trip from Paris with a guided tour so you are in Paris on your last night before a flight. There are bus tours that leave from Paris with Cityrama and Parisvision or you can take the first morning train from Paris to Bayeux and pick up one of the mini-van tours. Look at the Bayeux tourist office website for a list of tour operators.

Also, if you really just want to see the countryside then rent a car and go explore some really beautiful countryside less than an hour or two from Paris. The possibilities are endless. Here are links to a couple of reports I've written (with lots of photos) about exploring the countryside near Paris.

http://tinyurl.com/7edejbz

http://tinyurl.com/3co8u28

There are also loads of day trips you can do by train from Paris strictly with public transport. I bet your 9 year old would love to go to the medieval walled town of Provins. They've got all kinds of medieval re-enactments like jousting, horsemanship, falconry, siege warfare machines etc. Check out the tourist office website: http://www.provins.net/

Yes, way too ambitious if you have a noon flight out the next day.

Thank you for your kind and informed thoughts. Perhaps two days then.

Great thoughts.

Regards,

Mark

If you have a noon flight out the next day - you need to be at the airport on line to check in by 9 am. This would mean leaving Normandy around 5 am. This trip makes sense only if you can return to Paris at 9 or 10 the following night. Otherwise limit youtselves to the day trip if you really want to see any of Normandy.

I do agree with all of the above. It does seem very ambitious to rent a car to do all of this if you need to be in the airport by noon the next day.

If you really want to go to Normandy, you will be best to go on a guided tour for a day, as trains are not very convenient unless you only go to Rouen.

So, I'm not really sure if I follow this? Is it better to take a train to Bayeux, or Caen, and then take a mini-van tour? Or is it better to rent a car in Paris and drive to Normandy, with either a stay overnight or driving back the same day? Or is it better to take a guided bus tour leaving from Paris and returning the same day?

I'd agree with the last day advice above. Renting a car in Paris, driving up to, and back from the Bayeux area in one day (or leaving very early the morning of the flight) isn't a prudent use of time, given the risk of missing the flight.

I'd recommend taking the late train from Paris to Caen or Bayeux the evening before, getting a hotel or b & b for the night, then heading out from there with a rental car the next morning, early. If you leave the hotel early enough, you can be at the museum at the American Cemetery when it opens, then visit other sties/beaches as you see fit. I'd then return to Bayeux/Caen in time to return your car and catch the last train back to Paris. Once in Paris, I'd stay at a hotel close to the airport to make your transition into and through the check-in process simplest.

good luck and enjoy.