After reading some of the travel forum advice, I was reluctant to attempt a one day trip to the Normandy coast, but our Friday trip from Paris went very well. 4 of us took the train to Caen from St Lazare leaving at 7am arriving at 9am. Because of the SNCF strike, I verified with one of the SNCF attendants that this line was running fine to and from Caen. Upon arrival, I rented a car with GPS from the Avis store across from the station at Place de la Gare (I reserved it on line earlier and by the way, its cheaper if you rent the car from the Place de la Gare across the street than through the SNCF site) and drove over to Bayeux to visit the tapestry museum and have lunch. There is a large free Tapestry Museum parking lot on the right as you drive into town and it is located close to the museum. After lunch, we drove to Omaha Beach where we walked the beach, surveyed the terrain and read the various information posters. Being on the beach itself is not only moving but it gives one a sense of what our soldiers endured on D Day. We then drove over to the American cemetery which overlooks the beach. Bayeux was so lovely when we stopped there in the morning that we stopped on the way back for coffee and some souvenir shopping. Dropped off the car in Caen at 1800 and had dinner at the Taverne Normande just across the river. Took the 2030 train back to Paris and took the Metro home. The train wasn't pricey nor was the car rental in Caen ( I did take full insurance coverage to avoid any issues, but the piece of mind was definitely worth it). The GPS wouldn't be necessary if you have a smart phone. We also found the directional signs from Caen to Bayeux and D Day beaches better marked than we expected.
Please sign in to post.