Hello - My husband and I are traveling to Paris for 8 days. Our priority is visiting Normandy and the WW2 sites. We want to do this on the front end of our trip - we land at 11:30 am
Should we 1- rent a car at the airport and drive to Bayeaux or 2- take a train to Caen and rent a car there - we would then return to Paris by train. I like the flexibility of having a car but am terrified of returning a rental car back to CDG
If you land at 11:30pm, definitely head to a hotel in Paris and train to Caen the next day. Rent a car there, return there and train back to Paris.
If you meant 11:30am, then just train to Caen that day, get a hotel room there and pick up a car the next day. No sense in spending money on a car that you will basically park for the rest of the day and night.
If you land at 11:30 pm, you might just want to spend the night at an airport hotel and rent a car the next morning.
We trained to Caen from Paris and rented a car there…….so much easier and you will want a car in Normandy!
Take the train to Caen; rent there; return the car there; train back to Paris. Check the hours car rental agencies carefully, as many are closed on Sunday, and they close for lunch. You definitely need a car to explore the WWII sites. You may also want to time your visit to the American Cemetery at the end of the day, when they play "Taps". It's an extremely moving experience.
Yes, I think we really need to know if that is a typo on your landing time or if it is correct. Are you coming from elsewhere in Europe?
we are landing at 11:30 am coming from Philadelphia. I am have been to Paris many times but not with my husband and son - I will have to navigate and plan out everything. I Chat GPT'd directions to take a train from CDG to Caen seem a bit complicated - I will have to drink many cups of coffee.
If you want to use ChatGPT, good luck! Otherwise with 3 people, you might want to just take a fixed price taxi to Gare St Lazare and take a train to Caen.. Otherwise. RER B to Gare du Nord, then RER E to Gare St Lazare.
3 people with the RER B & E will be 39 EUR, while the taxi will be 56 EUR. The RER B & E will also involve a bit of walking for the transfer and to Gare St Lazare.
that is a great idea - take a taxi to Gare de Lazare - Also do you think it may be too ambitious to drive to Bayeaux that night or would you recommend just staying overnight in Caen and driving to Bayeaux the next day.
Another side trip - my husbands grandfather is buried in Lorraine Cemetery which is the completely opposite direction as Normandy. This is the main reason for our trip. Do you think that is a day trip from Paris or would you recommend an overnight. I looked at trains to St Avold and again it is about 3 hours.
You will be very tired when you arrive in Caen, so just spend the night and rent the car the next day and continue on.
Please do not plan on driving from CDG to Normandy after an overnight flight from the US. Take the train to Caen or wherever and rent your car the next day. You will not be at your peak for the long drive.
Judy we are making a very very similar trip in April.for almost the same reason. We are starting in Paris for three days then drive to Normandy for three days. We have booked a one day private tour of the beaches for one day.then two days for touring the area. Then drive to St. Avold which is a good six hours so we can Go.to the cemetery. Spending a day there then taking two days to return. To Paris. We also did a similar trip two years ago by train. That.time.we went from.London to Bayeau all by train then train to.St..Avold, train to Paris and home. I seem to remember it is three hours from Bayeau then transfer to another train station and then three hours to St. Avold. it is doable.either way, just don't drive on arrival day. If you want hotel and other tips just send me a PM. Good luck..We are also leaving from Philadelphia.
I agree with others to take a train to Caen and rent a car there. For three people, I would simply take a fixed-rate taxi to Gare Saint-Lazare (only from the official taxi lane—don't be tempted by the scammers asking you if you want a taxi in the airpport). If for only one person, I would (and usually do) take the Roissybus (exits right outside of arrivals, €13 per person, arrives right next to the Palais Garnier, which is a 7-minute walk to Gare Saint-Lazare).
