Any suggestions for options for a day trip from Paris to the Normandy beaches and other historical sites in November? Thinking about renting a car for the day. Wondering if there is a train option- which one gets us close? Or I suppose a tour?
Welcome all comments and suggestions. Thanks.
There is a 1/2 day tour that leaves from Bayeux. Here is a link: https://www.overlordtour.com/product/tour-1-omaha-half-day-tour/. You would take a morning train from Paris and the tour guides finish in time to catch a train to Paris at around 5:30 PM. I think that is the most efficient way to do a day trip to Normandy D-Day sites with the maximum amount of time on the the tour and the least amount of time in transit. That being said, friends did the Paris City Vision day tour and enjoyed it though it was a 14-hour day.
We were just on this tour. We were staying in Bayeux already. I don't know for sure how people got from the Bayeux train station (for the 1/2 day Overlord Tour) into Bayeux to the square where they start the tour; perhaps taxi. But everyone who was taking the train back to Paris who were on our tour got dropped back off at the train station after the tour, so, that I know for sure.
bgl,
If you must visit the D Day beaches on a one-day jaunt from Paris, take the earliest train possible. Don't rent a car as the train will be much faster. And the advice for a half-day tour is a good one. If you get to Bayeux with an hour or two to kill before the tour, see the Bayeux tapestry. It is a magnificent piece of history!
Traditionally it has been said that there is little public transport to the beaches.
This year Cars Nomad (the local bus company) started a special D Day Beaches scheduled bus service. That won't apply to the OP as it only runs from May to September- but for anyone travelling next summer it is worthy of note- https://nomad.normandie.fr/lignes-de-cars/d-day-line-en
If you don't take a tour, you will need a car. Public transportation to the D-day sites is practically non-existent. I highly recommend staying longer than a "day trip." Most of that day will be spent simply getting there from Paris and back. And most of the sites are far flung from one another. The D-day beaches are 45 miles apart as the crow flies, and you can't fly. You have to go inland to get to more major roads to go between places. FWIW, I usually got for a week. This hallowed ground deserves more than a small part of one day.
I'd stay overnight in Bayeux, but if you must do it in one day, take an early morning train from Gare St. Lazare to Caen or Bayeux and have a tour company pick you up at the station. They can take you on a full-day or half-day tour and then drop you off at the station in the late afternoon for your ride back to Paris. Renting a car in Paris and trying to do this on your own will be extremely frustrating and exhausting. It isn't worth it.
