Bayeux or Caen (or ?) for 5-night base city in Normandy?

We rented a car because we like the independence. You can take a train to Normandy and then rent a car from there. We stayed in Arromanches, close to Bayeux. It is the site of an artificial harbor built for the invasion and is still visible from the beach. There is a nice little museum right on the beach that explains it all. We really like being able to see sites at our pace, though many like the tours and the information gained by a guide. At a minimum, you'd want to visit Utah and Omaha Beach, the American Cemetery and Point du Hoc. My husband could have spent a day at Utah beach and wished that we knew how extensive it is. It seemed that we spent more times at the sites than the tours did. The Caen museum seems to have mixed reviews. My husband really liked it spent about 5 hours there. I felt it was overkill after seeing all the sites. We really enjoyed Honfleur and Etretat, and they offered a mental break of sorts after was sites. We drove there after Normandy beaches before we headed back to Paris. You can't get to Honfleur by train. Etratat is beautiful and there are also the remnants of German bunkers there.

Rick Steves’ recommended base, and our favorite, is Bayeux. A wonderful, charming, friendly town. Caen is an unattractive, no charm city.
I highly recommend renting a car at the Caen train station and driving to Bayeux to base. Driving in Normandy is not only supremely easy, it’s a pleasure. Driving the quiet, 2 lane roads to explore and see the sites is a treat.
If you want to do a guided tour (good idea), i’d do one that leaves from Bayeux.
The WWII museum in Bayeux is wonderful and our favorite. Don’t like the Caen museum. It’s expensive, crowded and confusing. It’s focus is the rise and fall of Fascism. The Bayeux museum’s focus is WWII. It’s not crowded, not expensive and it explains things well.

Sorry, no personal mass transportation experiences, as we had a rental car, too. Used it to see stages of the Tour de France and towns in Normandy and Brittany, but then stayed in Bayeux, touring D-Day landing and memorial sights (plus a renowned tapestry and cathedral in town). We actually turned in our rental car in Caen, and stayed there our last night north of Paris, before taking a train to Paris in the morning for a couple days’ stay before we flew home.

Everything Susan said!

I'll just add that Caen was largely destroyed in the weeks after D-day. It was bombarded for quite some time in a long, drawn out siege before finally being liberated. It is no a fairly nondescript, large city that I see no reason to visit (despite Rick raving about the museum, I was underwhelmed, and think there are many more museums I would put much higher on my list to visit—including the wonderful Utah Beach museum).

Bayeux was miraculously spared the destruction that occurred to most cities its size and larger throughout Normandy. Many medieval buildings, restaurants, etc. It is a great base for D-day sights. Plus for non-WWII attractions, you can walk to the wonderful cathedral, and the Bayeux Tapestry museum. Even if you take a D-day tour, I recommend renting a car so you can go back to sights you enjoyed but want to explore in more detail, and visit sights not on the tour.

We rented a car across the street from the Caen railroad station and drove the 15 or so miles to Bayeux for our first night. We had a B&B outside Villers-Bocage, drove to Mont St. Michel, about 90 miles via four lane motorway, drove around the bay to Cancale for a marvelous seafood lunch, then drifted back to Bayeux along the back roads, stopping where we wanted to buy local cheeses, meats, and the all important wine and Calvados. A car is the only way to thoroughly enjoy Normandy sights and little villages and explore the invasion beaches. Return the car at Caen and hop a local train back into Paris. Imagine having a full tank of fuel and the full day to drive where you want, when you want, and stop anywhere along the way to picnic or just marvel at the sights.

We already had car, stayed in Bayeux, and it was wonderful. We are not adventurous drivers but it was easy driving all around that region...we stayed for several days. We drove past Caen several times on our day trips and from what we saw of it, limited though it was from the road, we did not regret our choice. In Bayeux we stayed at RS recommended Logis les Remparts with lots of free parking outside the front door. We took some time to just drive the lovely countryside after a couple of days concentrating on D Day sites.

If you want to visit the D-Day beaches and do not want to rent a car, Bayeux is the only option that makes sense -- the vast majority of the full-day and half-day guided tours leave from Bayeux. (I'm not normally a guided-tour person but in this case I'd highly recommend them, even if you have a car, to give you some context for the area.) And if you wanted to go to Caen to visit the memorial or museum there, it's a direct shot on a train (about 30 min) from Bayeux to Caen.

That being said, when I visited Normandy we also rented a car for convenience's sake. It made Honfleur far easier to get to. (I have to say, personally I found Honfleur rather overrated -- I was unimpressed by the restaurant scene, which at least in the Vieux Bassin caters largely to tourists, and I have a feeling that many of the beautiful photos of the harbor I've seen have been rather doctored up color-wise. But I know I'm definitely in the minority on this board here!)

Thanks so much for all of the responses! We’ve driven in Ireland, England, and Italy and had some “interesting” experiences with car side mirror, stone walls, backing up down lanes for buses, etc. Very good to know that the driving sounds easier than that:) Bayeux sounds like the place to be with a car. I confess car rental looked like a better option, especially for getting to ocean.

Did anyone have trouble with parking at sites (rather than at hotel)? Paying for parking? I’ll have to read up on the conventions. This was a bit of a “last minute” trip for us — we usually have 5-6 months to plan.

No difficulty for us finding free and ample parking spots throughout the area, although this was 11 years ago, but I’d be surprised if that has since changed. The only parking lot that had many cars (but still an open spot for us) was at the American cemetery at Utah Beach, which happened to be on the 4th of July. It was interesting seeing the large number of German and other non-French license plates on visitors’ cars there.

We spent a week in Bayeux this spring and found it an excellent base. Caen was meh, so stick with the charming towns and the beaches. Normandy Sightseeing Tours does small group tours, only 9 passengers. Delightful French guides and a local perspective. Honfleur is charming and we day tripped there as well as to Barfleur. You can rent a car in Bayeux, as we did for just 3 days. Don’t miss Arromanches!

We stayed in Bayeux for five nights in April 2013. We took a two-day tour of (American) D-Day sites with Dale Booth and explored the town, cathedral, and tapestry on one day. Rented a car for one day on the spur of the moment for a brief trip to Honfleur. We found there was plenty to see and do, and didn't even get to the British and Canadian D-Day sites (so that's something we hope to go back for).

The reason you want a car is not to feel free, it's because 5 days in Normandy is impossible to do well or efficiently using only public transportation. You will also find that the popular D-Day site tours book up well in advance. The question is whether you can find one that is priced for people who DO have a car, and has good reviews. (It makes good sense to avoid a car if you have a full-day tour with transportation booked.) We used Rick and some other books to tour several sites and museums on our own. I didn't particularly love the scraps from the professional tours I heard around us while visiting, so I think I made the right choice. But many posters here loved their tours. Because we had a car, we stayed in a Chateau just outside Bayeux, partly to get air conditioning.

During the high summer season, we sometimes had to cruise around a parking lot until a space opened up. When we went to remote locations, like public gardens, it was easy enough to park. I imagine a few locations aren't run full-time off season, like the steam train at Paimpol. (We didn't have time for that drive anyway.) Are you going to MSM? A car is useful for that, and you might want to move to St. Malo or Dinan. Are you driving to CDG after Normandy? What time is your flight?

PharmerPhil makes an excellent point:

“Even if you take a D-day tour, I recommend renting a car so you can go back to sights you enjoyed but want to explore in more detail, and visit sights not on the tour.”

I agree completely. Very valuable to have a car to go back and spend more time at the sites. No matter how good a guided tour is, time is short at sites.

Maybe renting a car in Bayeux has improved, but we rented a car there once - the only “rental” place was a gas station on the outskirts of town on the opposite side of town from the train station which meant taking a taxi. They had exactly 1 car, it was not the car we had arranged to get, but our only option. Getting a rental in Caen is so much easier. The different rental places are right outside the station and have many cars, many choices.

We’ve been to Normandy 6-7 times, for a week each time, we love it.
We’ve always stayed at Rick’s recommended Hotel d’Argouges, in the heart of town, a wonderful place to stay.

I do agree with Tim on the tours. That said, my husband is very interested in WWII and has extensive knowledge of Normandy and the D-Day invasion. I wanted to add some info on Arromanches. When I say remnants of the Le Mulberry harbor, these are huge pieces that allow you to really visualize the construction and the museum looks out over the harbor to provide description of the invasion. We stayed at Le Mulberry BnB in Arromanches. The price and breakfast was good. Even if you do not stay at Le Mulberry, they have a wonderful restaurant with great pricing.

Only visit Caen to see the museum. Stay in charming Bayeux! We enjoyed having a car to explore Normandy, Honfleur, all the D-Day beaches including the British and Canadian. We also did a day trip to Mont St-Michel and explored more WWII sites.
We picked up the car in Paris.

Hello from Wisconsin,

Bayeux is one of the few cities in Normandy that wasn't heavily damaged by the Allies (well, I guess you can blame who you want). It managed to get captured early. So it is a lovely old city with a nice cathedral and a thriving Saturday market.

Caen was dead center of many tank battels and really got damaged. Caen has what I assume are rebuilt structures for the remains of William the Conqueror and his wife, Matilda. We found a good coffee shop and managed to buy two fresh quail for supper in a meat market. The castle is not worth the walk.

I would take a train or bus to either city and rent a car there. The back roads of France are a delight. They are in such great condition. They drive on the right side of their roads, and we drive on what is left of our roads. Really, it is wonderful rural territory. Parking can be a pain, but where isn't it?

wayne iNWI

I think based on all of your very helpful comments we’ll aim to take the train from Paris to Caen and rent car there, then probably base at Bayeux or nearby. We’re pretty cautious about allowing airport time, so we’ll probably just turn in car at Caen again and take train back to Paris sometime after noon on day 6 in Normandy. Our flight actually leaves from CDG on the morning of day 7, and we had some expiring Hilton stay miles that we decided to use for airport hotel near one of the concourses, as flight leaves around 10:00am.

Now for the reading and planning for our travels:) Always appreciate the quick and cogent advice here. Hope to post our own updates after return (esp. seeing how the Paris museum pass changes are shaking out by then).

Did just think of an alternative if it pans out price-wise and if the traffic wouldn’t be too terrible: could just arrange to return rental car at CDG airport, since our last-night hotel is there. Has anyone else returned a rental car there, and if so, how traumatic was it? Otherwise, we’re good to just return rental in Caen and take train back to Paris.

We’re going in November, so I have not returned a car at CDG yet. But if you return the car at Caen, then take the train into Paris, the train does not go straight to CDG. You will need to transfer trains at Gare St Lazare. Just something to keep in mind. If you have lots of luggage you may prefer to return the car to CDG. It may even be easier to drive straight to your hotel, drop off your group and luggage, then return the car at the airport.

We’ll be staying in Bayeux for 3 nights, and I’ve read that free parking is limited. There are public lots, and you’re going off season, but you might look for a hotel that provides parking. I haven’t read anything about parking being a challenge at any sites.

We used Bayeux as our base for exploring Normandy a few years ago and loved it. We stayed at a nice AirBNB across the street from the cathedral and a few blocks away from the Bayeux Tapestry museum. Bayeux is not too big, but big enough to provide ample dining and charming urban walking opportunities.I'd highly recommend renting a car, even though you might have to park it a few blocks away if you stay in central Bayeux. The only really stressful driving time is getting out of and back into Paris. You will appreciate the flexibility that having your own car provides when exploring Normandy. We also drove to and had a nice lunch in Honfluer with stops in the coastal towns of Trouville and Deauville.

I think you have a good plan, rent the car in Caen and sleep in Bayeux. I'm a fan of the museum in Caen so I'd recommend visiting it, but as you can tell there are differences of opinion. A car will definitely help you get around Normandy and see more. I think you'll find it easier than England. And with four full days you should have time for Honfleur too if you want to see it.

We drove from Bayeux to CDG and returned the car there. Traffic gets increasingly busy, of course, but you'll be used to the car and you can bypass Paris itself. Signage is good for the car return, no more difficult than at any big airport. Seems much more efficient than going into Paris, since you'll be spending that last night at the airport anyway.

We are almost doing the reverse of your trip!

We land at CDG and then start our trip in Reims (I can't not go to Champagne country), and Vimy Ridge (nights 1 and 2), then to Honfleur (possibly stopping at Etretat--depending on time) for night 3. From Honfleur, we are going to drive the coast to Juno Beach and Arromanches (maybe seeing some of the German bunkers along the way) and staying in Bayeux for 2 nights (nights 4 and 5). So we can spend some time in Bayeux and at Utah and Omaha Beach. Based on our itinerary, I think a car would be needed for yours.

From Bayeux, the plan is to go to Versailles, return the car at CDG, before heading into Paris for 5 nights. I cannot wait to drive through some of these little towns. We are even contemplating stopping at a Calvados Domaine to see "la recolte". I would echo the question of how easy is it to return a car to CDG? We don't want to get into Paris too late.

@ KTSB07, I'd suggest returning your car in Versailles rather than all the way on the other side of Paris at CDG. You can take the RER train from Versailles into Paris. If you want more input into your plan, I hope you'll start a new thread.