What's the most hassle free, quickest way to get from Richmond/London area to Honfleur/Normandy? We'll be in England and want a 3-4 day excursion to France but want an easy, relaxing journey. Are there other French destinations that are better for us? Thanks!
Posted by
3124 posts
If Honfleur is your top priority, you can take a ferry from Portsmouth to Le Havre. However, be aware that the ferry companies don't run every route every day -- the boats periodically go in for maintenance etc. -- and some boats make the crossing faster than others. Also, a ferry can be canceled at short notice, requiring you to dash to a different port city to catch a different boat. (This happened to us with less than 12 hours' notice because of a labor strike.) All in all, the Le Havre ferry for a 3- to 4-day excursion to France wouldn't be worth it, IMO. It doesn't seem to qualify as an "easy, relaxing journey."
https://www.aferry.co.uk/portsmouth-le-havre-ferry.htm
Since you're starting from London, have you considered the Eurostar ("chunnel") to Paris? If it were me, that might be my choice for a short excursion to France.
Posted by
Chicago
8181 posts
The ferry nice but slower than u might want. Take the train London St Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord
then you need to find your way on the metro or by taxi from Gare Du Nord to take the train Paris Gare St Lazare to Bayeux
Posted by
Santa Rosa, CA, USA
1446 posts
We took the Eurostar to Paris and then a train to Bayeux. A taxi took us from the train station to our hotel. We rented a car in Bayeux and drove to the Normandy beaches (took a one day tour of them before we drove there), went to Mt. St. Michel, Honfleur and then dropped the rental car and trained back to Paris. It was very easy.