DD BEACHES/Normandy

My son and I did the Paris to Bayeaux trip in 2012, train stops in Caen and then continues to Bayeaux - no change needed. We took a mid-morning train, arrived in Bayeaux around lunch, had lunch and then walked around town, stopping to see the famous tapestry. I'm not familiar with the Rouen recommendation, so I'll let someone else respond to that. Bayeaux is a wonderful town - many small hotels/B&B's, the tapestry, many restos. We took the 1-day "Band of Brothers" tour thru Overlord Tours. Olivier was an excellent guide (small group, reasonable cost), and the pick-up lot was just behind our hotel. Our favorite meal was at La Rapier, located down an alleyway just a short walk from our hotel. We had the 3-part lunch menu, which was affordable and wonderful.

We stayed in Bayeaux recently to visit the D-Day sites and found it very convenient and charming. We took the train from Paris to Caen and rented a car there, stopping at the Caen Memorial on our way to Bayeaux. The train from Paris to anywhere in Normandy leaves from Gare St. Lazare, but public transportation from CDG takes you to Gare du Nord. Rather than figure out how to get easily from CDG to Gare St. Lazare, we decided to spend a night in Paris close to Gare St. Lazare. We took the Roissy Bus from CDG to the Opera Metro stop in central Paris and then we could walk to our hotel. It made the next morning, catching the train, very easy.

We stayed in Bayeux this past May and returning next spring with our sons. I have only stayed in Bayeux and just love it. Beautiful town, can walk everywhere to work off the jet lag. We did the Overlord Tours all day Band of Brothers, it was great. I highly recommend Bayeux. We will be flying into Paris and taking the train to Bayeux. Planning on taking Paris Shuttle to train station (Gare St. Lazare) instead of RER, especially after an all night flight. There is no direct train to Bayeux, trains leave Gare St. Lazare. You will have a great time.

I know most people posting recommend Bayeaux, but I'll just mention that we flew into CDG and took the train to Caen. We stayed there two nights, taking the Caen Museum WWII package tour - morning tour by mini-van to Omaha Beach and several other sites, and afternoon going through the museum. We were both completely pleased and no car needed. We took the city bus to the museum, and no issues. When we arrived at the cemetery, a small group was singing a few hymns and playing taps - very memorable.

The train from Paris to Bayeux has one stop only, Caen. Same fare whether you get off at Caen or stay on to Bayeux, so you will have additional train fares if you stay in Caen as most of the DD Tours leave from the center of Bayeux. It is less than 1.5 miles between Gare du Nord and Gare St. Lazare, straightforward walk, or 1 stop on a Metro that will unfortunately include walking close to 1/2 that distance between the train stations to get between the Metro stops and the train stations.

Going to Rouen makes for a much longer and slower pair of train trips, it's still almost two hours by train from Rouen to Bayeux. St Lazare to Bayeux is 2 hours 10 minutes.

There are no trains direct from CDG toward Normandy. For either destination, you have to go into Paris and connect to Gare St. Lazare. Rouen is a worthwhile destination on its own, but not recommended over Bayeux for D-Day visits. I believe that other posts discussing Rouen have had another factor involved, such as spending more time in the region.

Just check "Rome2Rio"-says to go from CDG to "MAGENTA" and then Gare St Lazare. Nothing regarding Gare du Nord.
What is "Magenta?"

Thanks,
Gladys

Hi,

Magenta (named after the battle ) is the RER station connected to Gare du Nord. Magenta and Nord blend in to each other. When you follow the signs at Nord heading towards the RER, you're going into Magenta.

Sorry for my ignorance but this means that we get to CDG. Then take a RER train to Gare du Nord. Get off and take another train to Gare St Lazarus? Thanks.

Yes. Two different lines. Line B (IIRC) airport to Nord, go to station "Magenta", Line E to ST Lazare. As I said earlier, this will also involve walking 1/3 of the distance between the two train stations, as neither Magenta nor Haussmann stations are directly with the respective train stations. On our April trip to Normandy, we opted to walk both from Nord to Montparnasse and again from Lazare to Nord on our return to get the Thalys. However, we use convertible backpacks.

Gladys,

As the others have mentioned, Bayeux is the best base for touring the D-Day beaches as it's somewhat of a central location and many of the tours depart from there (I'd highly recommend a tour, either full day or half day). While there you can also see the famous Tapestry which details a much earlier battle.

The most direct route to Bayeux from CDG is.....

• Take RER "B" from the airport to Gare du Nord, and then walk to Magenta station.
• Take RER "E" from Magenta to Hausmann St.-Lazare.
• Walk upstairs from Hausmann St.-Lazare to the St. Lazare rail station and buy your ticket to Bayeux. Some trains on that route may have a stop or change in Caen. You can check the bahn.de website for train specifics.

There are numerous other possible routes using Metro or whatever, but the one suggested seems like the most direct.

Thank you all for great information!!

Stay underground/thru the tunnels when you walk from Nord to Magenta. Do not exit "the system." It's all on one ticket from CDG.

Then buy your ticket to Bayeux when you go upstairs at Gare St Lazare.