Are there any trains (or other public transportation) that will take us from Brugge to northern France...Rouen, Hon Fleur, Giverney area without too much trouble? I've read a few things about backtracking to Amsterdam or going to Paris first & we'd like to avoid that & have as direct a trip as possible. Would it be best to rent a car & drive or are there buses? Appreciate any guidance!
Posted by
California
492 posts
You can try Brugge to Lille, Lille to Rouen.
Posted by
Basel, Switzerland
8889 posts
Depends where in Northern France. You may be able to get a train changing at Lille, but it will probably be quicker to go via Paris. Paris is not much of a detour, "All trains lead to Paris", and the time saved by taking a TGV Brussels to Paris will be more than make up for the extra Km. The only disadvantage is you will need to use the métro from Gare du Nord to Gare St Lazare.
Go to www.bahn.de and look up Brugge to for your required date and time. This will give you the quickest option.
Backtracking to Amsterdam does not sound logical.
Renting a car would be slower, and give you a large surcharge for an international one-way car hire.
Long distance buses are infrequent, cover far fewer places and a lot slower than trains.
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16893 posts
If you want a car for Normandy, then you could pick it up at Lille and drop at a different location in France, usually with no penalty.
There are just a couple of direct regional trains per day between Lille and Rouen, at about 6:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., running at least Mon-Fri. A couple of others include one connection at Amiens, which is more convenient that connecting in Paris and having to change stations in the city (but not faster).
Posted by
OP
Georgia
77 posts
Thanks so much. Now, I have an idea of what's possible.