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Comments about Luxembourg after Normandy

Posted by (Philadelphia) on

Hello, I'm planning to visit Normandy in October. I'm travelling solo and would prefer not to have to rent a car. My travel style is no long trips (10 days at the most), focusing on 1-2 places of interest rather than trying to squeeze too much into a trip, and walking as much as possible. In other words, I pick out the few top sights that I'm interested in and that's enough for me.

My itinerary so far is:
Fly to Paris CDG
3 nights in Paris
Train to Bayeux
3 nights in Bayeux - plan to do organized D-day and Mont St. Michel tours.

My question is, what can I do after Bayeux for 3 nights which might be interesting and not involve needing a car? I was considering 3 nights in Luxembourg but that would involve 6 hrs on the train (Bayeux to Paris then Paris to Lux City) which would kill an entire day. I'm not super interested in other areas of France. I'm very selective about what I want to see and most of France isn't of interest to me. There are a few sights in Luxembourg of interest to me such as Clervaux Castle (Family of Man exhibit) and Benedictine abbey and the Belval area. I like old castles, abbeys, interesting architecture and towns. Not a big shopper, not interested in Versailles or Monet's Garden, I don't wine and dine so restaurants are not of interest to me.

Any comments about the Luxembourg portion of the trip?

Posted by
33814 posts

all buses, trams, trains in the whole country of Luxembourg are free to ride.

The atmosphere and buildings are different than most of the rest of Europe. I like it a lot - will be there again next week.

You are going diagonally across a large chunk of France and France is a large country - the trains will, agreed, take a fair amount of time.

I wonder about your October travel to the Normandy coast - the days are getting shorter and there is a fair chance that you may run into bad weather. Are you still ok with the tours you are thinking about if it is rainy, windy, or both? I like Normandy and Bayeux a lot but go in the later Spring towards the end of June.

I see that WW-2 and Battle of the Bulge are not on your Luxembourg list yet you are taking an organized tour of the D-Day beaches. Would you be interested in the excellent Battle of the Bulge (from the viewpoint of the Luxembourg residents and told from the viewpoint of everyday soldiers on both sides) in Diekirch?

Posted by
7882 posts

If you don't take "long trips" (over 10 days), it makes no sense to spend a full day travelling to Luxembourg. It just pairs poorly with Bayeux. Now, Bayeux is a very walkable town, but as you seem to know, transportation is ESSENTIAL for visiting the WW II Normandy beach sites. If you want a "no car rental" stop, you need to pick a relatively major town, like Chartres or Rouen (haven't been to either.) I would not sleep three nights Bruges myself, but more people at home will ask you about Bruges than about Luxembourg.

It makes no sense to go that far to Luxembourg when you could go to a superbly walkable destination like Antwerp, Gent, Amsterdam, or even (less travelled) Lille. Have your already bought a plane ticket home? Is it from Paris? Both Antwerp and Amsterdam cannot be seen in three days.

Posted by
41 posts

I didn't intend on including a tour of the Battle of the Bulge in this specific trip. It seemed like a large area to cover, possibly requiring a car, so I decided early in my research that I would do this in a separate future trip if it's of interest to me.

I knew Normandy would be cold and rainy at this time of year and get dark earlier but that doesn't bother me. I specifically wanted to do this when tourism may be slower there. As it was, I had difficulty getting reservations for the D-day tour. It was booked in early October.

Due to the 80th D-day anniversary being in June, the Olympics in France in July, and other personal commitments in August and September, October is the best month for me to go to Normandy this year. I had a sudden desire to go there because of the 80th anniversary plus recently reading The Longest Day.

Instead of trying to squeeze in Luxembourg, I think I might just add a day to Paris and a day to Normandy and only do those 2 areas. I'm thinking I might take the train from Bayeux to Cherbourg for a day trip.

I will do Luxembourg with the Battle of the Bulge and Antwerp in a future trip.

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