Normandy tour

Which Normandy?

If Lower Normandy, which part and what do you want to see?

If the WW II areas of Lower Normandy, do you realize that it's about three hours each way from most anywhere in central Paris?

Could you clarify what type of tour you're interested in, and also a general idea of your budget?

Visiting Normandy as a day trip generally isn't the best idea, due to the travel times back and forth as Ed mentioned. The D-Day sites cover an extensive area, so you'd only get a very limited look at them on a day trip. Staying for at least one night in Bayeux will provide more of an opportunity to take one of the full day tours to get a more detailed look at some of the significant sites. If you're able to manage one night there, I can provide information on some of the local tour firms.

If you have a generous budget and would be satisfied with a quick look, you might have a look at Paris City Vision tours. That should provide what you're looking for, but it will be a LONG day.

Bon Voyage!

We just returned from our 21 day Best of Europe tour. We stayed on in Paris after the tour ended so we would have the opportunity to day trip. I agree with Ken that Normandy is best done in more than a day but that isn't always possible. We did day trip from Paris to Bayeux and toured the some of the D-day sites. It was do it this way or not at all and we really wanted to pay our respects in this anniversary year. We took the metro to St. Lazare and a train from there to Bayeux. We pre-purchased train tickets prior to leaving on our trip. We used Normandy sightseeing tours (www.normandy-sightseeing-tours.com) and booked their afternoon package. Again we did this all before leaving. They pick you up from the Bayeux train station at 1:00 and bring you back at 6:00 PM to catch the train back to Paris. It was a very busy day but well worthwhile. We had an excellent guide Gwen (a gentleman FYI) who was passionate and knowledgeable about the history. Being Canadian we wanted to do the tour to Juno Beach but it wasn't going that day so we did the American tour to Pont du Hoc, Omaha Beach and the American Cemetary. I can't describe the emotion of actually visiting these sites. If you have time please stay a night or two in Bayeux and spend more time visiting the sites. If not you might want to plan something similar to our day trip. I am happy to answer any other questions.
JoAnn
Vernon BC

Thank you all for the advice. jpl I really appreciate your extensive reply. That helps us immensely and we will make a decision with your help. Thank again, Meryl