9 day trip to Normandy area and Paris - Itinerary help and hotel recommendations

Janet, I can't help you with the Normandy area, but I recently stained in St. Germain in early April at the Hotel Left Bank. It was on Rue de l'Ancienne Comédie in a lovely area. The hotel was very nice, and very clean and comfortable. It had AC and also a small lift. The breakfast was an additional cost, but when I booked the hotel, they were offering it for €5 pp, so we got breakfast both mornings, and it was quite good. There were not only breads and pastries, but creamy scrambled eggs, crisp sausage links, fruit, cereal, yogurt, and tomatoes and cucumbers. The location was outstanding. It was so convenient to cafes, boulangeries, pastry shops, Luxembourg Gardens and was a block from the Odeon Metro stop. We paid just around €320 per night for a triple room (I had two grandkids with me).

Janet, I haven't hotel recs for you, but I recommend taking the train top Caen for better car rental options, then driving to Bayeux to stay. When leaving, return car in Caen and take the train from there to Paris. I'm sorry I can't help you with tour group companies as we always drive ourselves in the DDay area.

Have a terrific trip!

https://www.overlordtour.com/product/tour-4-british-canadian-sectors-tour-fdt/

How about this? I've heard only good things about Overlord on this site and have a 2 day tour booked with them for this October.

When are you traveling?

We took the train from Paris to Rennes. Picked up the rental car at the train station, then on to MSM. Stayed the night. Then on to Bayeux for 3 nights. (Met a lovely Canadian family at the laundromat, who were visiting the Canadian battlefields and were staying the entire week in charming Bayeux as their one central location.) We then left Bayeux; drove to Honfluer for an afternoon then on to Rouen for two nights.

If you want to only make the choice between Caen and Bayeux...take the train to Caen; pick up your rental car (there will be many more options) but stay in Bayeux.

We used Overlord for our tours, but there are also other highly recommended suggestions on this forum if you do a search.

Enjoy!

As noted above, Overlord tours has a full day tour covering the Canadian sites. If taking it, a stay in Bayeux makes sense, since the tour picks up and drops off there. There are other local tour companies that also focus on the Canadian sites. You should allow an extra half day to visit the Beny sur Mer cemetery and especially the Juno Beach Centre in Courseulles-sur-Mer. Because DH has made a lengthy study of Canadian WWI and WWII military history, we opted to do our own thing, stopping at sites on our own schedule. We also stayed in Courseulles-sur-Mer at a small hotel on the beach

Hi Janet,
We have just returned from our Bayeux/Paris trip and had a fantastic time! First time in France for us, travelled from Toronto. When we arrived at CDG we took a G7 taxi to Gare St. Lazare, then took a train to Bayeux. We stayed 5 nights at Le Petit Matin, a lovely bed and breakfast. When in Bayeux we took a day just walking around the town, visiting the tapestry, cathedral, and did some shopping. The next day we had a private Canadian D-Day tour with HQ Company Tours. The next two days we went on shared tours, Omaha/Utah D-Day tour and Mont St-Michel, again with HQ Company. This tour company was great, we learned a lot and highly recommend them! We took the train back to Paris for 4 nights, and stayed at Le Hotel Regent in the 6th, St. Germain des Pres area. The location of the hotel was perfect, we walked everywhere! Breakfast was included when booking directly with them.
Have a great trip!
Laurie

We did almost exactly what Jules did by train to Bayeau and two tours with HQCompany. We did not drive. Stayed at Villa Aggarthi in 9/23 and my family did the same six weeks ago. We all agreed the B&B was great, comfortable great fresh food with eggs from her chickens and in town, was walkable to everything. It also had on sire parking for our family as they had rented a car. Enjoy!

We took the train from Paris, and rented the car in Caan. Check the dates and times of your arrival, because we found that the car rental agencies were closed on Sunday, and they take long lunch breaks. Sylvain Kast was our guide; he is very accommodating to the wishes of his clients. We did visit the Canadian sites. https://d-day-experience-tours.com/

Consider booking trains to either Caen or Bayeux as soon as possible for best price and availability. I assume you arrive CDG, trains to either location from CDG take from 4½ to 7 hours.

https://www.sncf-connect.com/

https://www.thetrainline.com/en-us

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For car rentals, I suggest checking here:

https://www.autoeurope.com/

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My favorite hotel in Bayeux is the Lion d'Or:

https://www.liondor-bayeux.fr/en/

For dinner, book the Rapière:
https://www.larapiere.net/en/

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I am not familiar with any B & Bs around St Germain des Prés, but I can offer a few hotel suggests if you provide your budget window per night in euros and the month you are staying.

I was out that way for a week the end of May. I can't recommend the place I was in in Bayeaux, but if you go to the city of Rouen (which I highly recommend) the Hôtel de Québec was very good to me for several nights.

The beaches are fairly spread out, and there's really not a lot around the Canadian one (Juno). There are some monuments; they are spread out, and when I was there there were a lot of Canadians on the beach (tour groups). But do go to Beny-sur-Mer, the Canadian Cemetery; it's really quite nice, and almost nobody was there. Very well kept up!

https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/memorials/overseas/beny-sur-mer-canadian-war-cemetery

I can't speak for Mont-St Michel, but I highly recommend taking a drive over to Cherbourg. It was the biggest harbor in the world back then, and extensively fought over, wrecked, and rebuilt. You can find bunkers still standing around the harbor. If you have any interest in submarines, sea life, or the Titanic, spend some time at Cite-de-la-Mer. And make sure you try the local cider. Norman cider is the best you'll ever have, and it's very hard to find away from the peninsula.

https://www.citedelamer.com/en/