D-Day Normandy tour for the day with round trip transportation from Paris

I don't know what date(s) you're looking at, but if you really cannot spend even one night up in Bayeux, I believe your best option is the Overlord Tour that picks up at the Bayeux train station at a time that allows you to take an early train from Paris that same morning. The tour drops you back at the station so you can return to Paris that evening.

Overlord does good tours, and taking the train up to Bayeux means less travel time than you'd have with a bus tour from Paris. Overlord tours are by van, and I think there's a chance a bus tour from Paris would involve a big bus.

Now, whether you can find space for four people on the particular tour I'm recommending on short notice, I do not know, but you can inquire.

We were hoping to have a tour from Paris to Normandy and back to remove any possible train strike issues.

Stephanie,

Have you checked this tour firm - https://www.pariscityvision.com/en/normandy-landing-beaches ? It will be a long day and you won't see as much as staying in Bayeux and taking local tours, but it's certainly an option.

We did this last year with normandysightseeingservices.com with a private tour. Was totally worth it for a one day trip. We took the train at about 7am to Carentan where he picked us up and we toured until about 5 and were back in Paris around 8. Was helpful with the private guide for a one day trip as there was no wasted time and we were able to see a lot.

Look at reviews. We picked city wonders over city vision for this reason. Compare prices and Google reviews not from the tour office website. I tend to think you get what your pay for.

I think it's going to be pretty hard to find a last minute DDay tour AND one from Paris. You'll probably need to get to Bayeux to get a decent tour.

To get to Bayeux, make your way to Paris Gare St. Lazare. There is a train info ticket desk there in the corner near the trains that says something like "Normandy tickets". You can also look up times at www.trainline.eu

How to find a tour: at Tripadvisor.com search for "Dday Tour" in "Normandy". You'll see dozens of them, with ratings.

I appreciate your "we could do this ourselves without a tour" in a Rick Steves' independent sort of way. DON'T! This is one exception. I'm as frugal as anyone on this board, but the 90 or so Euros I paid for our tour guide (Alan Bryson) was the BEST money I've ever spent in Europe.

If you do it yourself, you'll see some beaches and some graves. If you go with a good guide, you will re-live that day thru the eyes of the survivors, the strategies, the use of terrain, the emotions, the errors, and the hard-fought victories. This is a great investment in your kids.

You can take a later morning train to Bayeux and do the Overlord half day Omaha tour.
It starts at 1:45 pm and ends at 6:00 pm. There is a 6:35 pm train back to Paris and they will drop you at the train station if you request.
The tour visits Longues sur Mer, Omaha beach, American Cemetary and Pointe du Hoc.
You can check to make sure the day you choose is not a strike day for the train.

The tour is small group, much better than the large bus tours.

The train strike days are announced in advance. You can check now (or post your dates so we can check); if it's not a posted strike day, you can book a train from Paris to Bayeux without fear.

Is it really that bad to book a tour from Paris to Omaha Beach and back? I am just reading that everyone is saying take the train into Bayeux for the day - I have never done this and just trying to get the whole picture. My husband is flying in one day he will have one partial day, one full day (hopefully Omaha Beach) and one partial day before he flies home. He is a history guy and I think he will really love Omaha Beach, but I want him to experience Paris for a couple partial days. Am I crazy?

Thanks, I am being jovial with my post, please do not think for a moment I am not grateful for your replies, you are helping me immensely! <3

Stephanie

stephanie,

You won't be able to see as much if using a day tour from Paris, such as the one I suggested above, as the travel time to Normandy and back uses a lot of "touring time".

With such a VERY short time frame, it's going to be a compromise at best. If you can devote a full day for the D-Day tour, you could.....

• Pre-book a half-day tour with Overlord
• Take the train from Paris Gare St. Lazare to Bayeux; the tour may be able to pick you up from the Bayeux station.
• at the end of the tour, have them drop you back at the station and take the train back to Paris.

Of course, the "wild card" in this scenario is the train strike situation. I'm not sure what's happening with that but I'm sure the others can provide more details. With the Paris City Vision tours, no worries about strikes as they use a large coach.

If it's what you have to work with, then let's see what we can find for you. A tour from Bayeux would be ideal, but it doesn't sound like that will work with your schedule and the number of people you'll need to move. So, assume there will be a next time. You've gotten a couple of suggestions already, but also Goggle Viator tours from Paris to Normandy and see if they have something you can work with. They do not run the tours, they're a consolidator, but guides will list with them. Read the reviews and see if anything works.

We did the tour mentioned in my previous post. We took the train leaving Paris at 10:10 am arriving Bayeux 12:19 pm.
We met Overlord in the center of Bayeux where all the tours meet, a short distance from the train station.
The tour departed at 1:45 pm and they dropped us at the station for the 6:35 pm return to Paris. We were back in Paris before 9 pm.
This was all that we had time to do and it was an excellent day.

I just did the CityWonders tour last week. Left from the Trocadero at 7 am and returned by 9 pm. It was a strike day so I didn't have to worry about the trains which was a big plus. There were 46 on the tour and there were empty seats. You go to Utah Beach, tour a cider farm, have lunch and go to the cemetery. We were taken down to Omaha beach but it is not advertised and I am not sure if they do that on all the tours. Had planned to spend 3 days in Normandy but that got nixed as plans changed. This was the only way I was going to be able to go and was glad I did.

Has anyone done a Grayline tour for the D-Day, I have never been on a grayline tour and do not know much about them..

Stephanie

Does anyone have any experience, good or bad, with the company Private Tours Paris. They offer a one day trip to Normandy from Paris in a van. Thank you.

I would recommend the Bayeux Shuttle. They run various Normandy D-Day tours. We took their "American D-Day Experience - Paris Day Trip" last Wednesday. With Bayeux Shuttle, you just need to take the train out of Paris that morning and their rep will pick you up out of the designated station.

I would recommend the Bayeux Shuttle. They run various Normandy D-Day tours. We took their "American D-Day Experience - Paris Day Trip" last Wednesday. With Bayeux Shuttle, you just need to take the train out of Paris that morning and their rep will pick you up out of the designated station.