Beechtree

My wife and I just returned from a wonderful 11 day trip to Normandy, Brugge and Amsterdam. It worked well in part because of a lot of planning including good input from Fodorites (answers to my questions, recommendations and trip reports). Thank you!

Our trip report will be in sereral parts (as I get them done). What follows is for U.S. to Paris and Normandy. I hope it is helpful and again thanks to all.

Bob

Trip Log ? Normandy, Brugge and Amsterdam

Sept. 6 ? U.S. to Paris - Depart PHL 2100 on US Air

Sept 7 ? Paris to Versailles, Giverny and Bayeux

? Arrive CDG 1100
? ParisShuttle pick up worked well @ 36 Euro for 2
? Hotel Langlois, 63 Rue Saint Lazare, Paris (Quaint hotel & double room ended up
being a suite which was a bargain @ 116 Euro incl tax and breakfast for 2
? Metro to Musee d?Orsay (10 minutes from hotel) Wonderful displays of & pre-
impressionists and impressionists, ice cream on open air terrace overlooking Seine and Louvre, return on Metro, walk to find Hertz St Lazare offices, sandwich dinner at Brasserie on Triesti Square opposite Catherdral Saint Lazare & early to bed

Sept. 8 - Bayeux

? Breakfast at hotel & walk to Hertz arriving when they opened at 0800
? Rented Pugeot 370 diesel & drove to Versailles. (Detail travel maps/instuctions from GoFrance most helpful for Paris - see http://gofrance.about.com/gi/dynamic...ex.europe.html)
? Arrived Versailles 0900, took tour of private rooms (excellent) followed by nonguided tour of state apartments, hall of mirrors (partially closed for repairs) and views of gardens.
? Departed Versaille 0100 with stop for lunch in Vernon. Crossed Seine to Giverny and visited Monet gardens. (Well worth the visit. We could visualize many of Monet?s paintings)
? Took Rt. A13 past Rouen, Caen and on to Bayeux arriving at Hotel d?Argouges
(Delightful small hotel with wonderful gardens, onsite parking, gardens/flowers/ roses everywhere, & excellent breakfasts)
? Walked around Bayeux ending with dinner at leBistrot de Paris. (lucky to get seated without reservations. Good food w/fixed priced menus @ 11, 16 or 26 Euros)

Sept. 9 ? Bayeux & WWII beaches

? 9am hotel breakfast, drive to Normandy beaches starting at small town of
Grandcamp-Maisy and Point deHoc. Walked around German defensive positions, cliffs & experienced expansive views of Utah and Omaha beaches.
? Drove east on D514 - Many views of beaches, visit to Port-en Bessin where 2 jetties formed U.S. harbor during the invasion - called Mulberry A.
? Picnic lunch of jambon/gruyer & locally brewed cidre
? Stopped at American Cemetary ? 10,000 grave sites (well done & very moving)
? Continued to Arramanches & remnants of British invasion port - Mulberry B. Saw
360 degree cinema depicting the invasion.
? Returned to Bayeux and repeat dinner at leBistrot de Paris

Sept. 10 ? Bayeux & Le Mont Saint-Michel

? Breakfast at 0800 at hotel and off for 1 1/4 hour drive to Le Mont
? Arrived LeMont relatively early & at low tide therefore no problem parking.
? Walked thru gate, up narrow street with many shops and people
? Escaped to outside stairway, climbed to the top & tour of 11th-16th century abbey.
Enjoyed tour & incredible views including groups walking over sand to Rock Tombelaine. We were blessed with great weather during visit itself. Before leaving purchased
sandwiches. As we left big rains arrived.
? Tried without success to find good local road along the coast so ended up eating lunch in the car at a rest stop on N175/E03.
? Return to Bayeux, see 900 year old Tapestry with story of Harold & William the
Conqueror (Unique experience and presented very nicely). Ticket included access
to Hotel Musee showing local history.
? Visit Cathedral where we learned about performance by organ & trumpets that night.
? Back to hotel, relax and return to Catheral area for excellent dinner at LePommier & concert at Catheral.

Brugge and Amsterdam to follow

wren

Did you go to Versailles and Giverny on the same day? How did that work out?

Beechtree

wren;

Sorry for how messed up this report looks. In answer to your question, we went to Versailles and Giverny on the same day. We left Paris at 8am and and had to be at Bayeux by 6pm. We drove from Paris to Versailles in an hour and spent 3 hours at Versailles which was enough for us but we didn't walk around all the gardens. If we did I doubt we could have gotten to Giverny with enough time to get to Bayeux by 6pm. We arrived at Giverny around 2:30pm having stopped for lunch along the way. We spent 2 hours in Giverny. We didn't tour Monet's house but spent our time walking around the gardens which we loved. Hope this helps.

lexluther

beechtree, how did you like the langlois? I have it booked for december based on the reviews but am thinking of switching it to something in the st germain des pres area. Was the area okay at night? Lots of places to eat etc around the hotel in the evening?

Beechtree

lexluther

The Langlois served our needs quite well but we were there one night. There aren't a lot of restaurants close to the hotel but there are lot of bars/brassaries(?). I felt quite safe in the area but it seemed to be an area of young working class people. If I were going to spend more time in Paris I'm not sure I'd stay there.

lyb

Beectree,

I'm glad your trip report was brought back up on the list of threads because I'm planning the same trip. I've been struggling with the logistics and whether to try and do it all by train or pick up a car.

How did you find driving out of Paris? I drive very comfortably in San Francisco and I learned to drive in Los Angeles, so perhaps I'm apprehensive about driving from Paris for no reason.

I'm looking forward to hearing more about your trip.

Beechtree

lyb;

I don't know about the train experience but can tell you that renting a car worked very well for us. We liked the freedom of doing what we wanted when we wanted. For example we went to the Normandy beaches when the weather was perfect and visited museums when it wasn't. Leaving Paris wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. We made it from Gare St Lazare to Versaisse in under an hour at 8am on a week day morning. I had done a lot of homework with maps...via internet and had my wife ready to do the navigating. My guess is if you can do SanFranciso, you can do Paris prior if you study a good map prior to picking up the car.

I found that in all instances it was important to know the names of the towns you were heading to as many road signs have names of towns vs. route numbers except for major motorways.
'm looking forward to hearing more about your trip.

You may want to check comparative prices...train vs. car. We rented a Peugeot 307 diesel for about $600 (for a week), drove about 1,100 kms and spent about $100 on gas. However we had to pay extra to pick it up in Paris and leave it at the airport in Amsterdam.

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cbl30911

Bob, Thanks for your report. My husband and I are leaving on Sunday Oct. 17 from Cleveland on USAIR. We will arrive at Charles DeGaulle airport on Monday morning (Oct. 18). We are planning on picking up a rental car and driving to Bayeux. We have a room reserved for 2 nights at Hotel d-Argouges. I'm glad you liked the hotel. Do you think driving to Bayeux after an all night flight is too much?

On Wednesday evening we are planning to go to Mont St. Michel and have a room reserved at Hotel de la Digue. On Thursday afternoon we plan to drive to Honfleur with some sight-seeing along the way. We are staying overnight in Honfleur at Hotel L-Absinthe. Then we would like to do some more touring on Friday with a stop in Giverny and then to Paris by late afternoon to return the car at CDG.

Do you have any ideas to flesh out our itinerary or any suggestions for restaurants or sites?

Beechtree

cbl30911;

I envy you. Your trip sounds wonderful. I don't think your drive to Bayeux on Monday morning will be too bad. Also if you are spending the night at Le Mont Saint Michel on Wednesday you will be able to see most everything Wednesday night and early Thursday before the tourists arrive. You should be able to be off to Honflour mid day on Thursday. You will like Honflour but you don't need a lot of time to experience it. I'd recommend a visit to Giverny and perhaps even Versailles on Friday before you turn the car in. you