Help with itinerary--Paris, Normandy DDay Beaches

We stayed in Bayeux for 3 nights and had a full day there ( great town to visit), a 1 day tour to Beaches of Normandy
with plenty of time to visit 4 different beaches, cemeteries, and several Normandy area towns. Our guide was very knowledgeable
about the area and D-day history.
The also booked a 1 day tour to Mont St. Michele.

Our hotel in Bayeux was Hôtel d'Argouges and it was right across the street from the main square in Bayeux

All was based out of Bayeux.
I really appreciated having a guide to tell us the history of d-day and the various cemeteries we visited and
things that happened in the towns that we visited.

We traveled from Paris by train to Bayeux (required a train change in Caen). Great relaxing train ride and enjoyed
the scenery.

We also took the train to Vernon and then hopped on the local bus fora short ride to Giverney. Spent several hours enjoying the gardens and area in the town of Giverney (including Monet's home)

PS - we booked our local tours through viator.com - a consolidator
They booked us with "Normandy Sightseeing Tours", our guide was Adrian and he was wonderful
If you need any specific info - just let me know.
You could skip the middle man and go directly to Normandy Sightseeing Tours too.

The train is to Vernon, and a shuttle bus to Giverny. Here's some good info about the Monet site, including getting there. Vernon has a Hertz rental agency, so your plan would make sense. You could drop the car at CDG if you're flying home after Normandy, or somewhere else near Paris if you're returning there. (Caen would be convenient, with good train service back to Paris.)

I think Bayeux would be your best base for the beaches. Mont St-Michel is best seen, most believe, as an overnight trip, so you can be there after the daytime crowds leave and before they return. But this may not be such a problem in October, making it a possible day trip from Bayeux or nearby.

I haven't stayed on the coast itself but a "trip" via Google Earth along the shore might find you the quiet place you're looking for. Look around Honfleur, Ouistreham, Arromanches, and points west.

I also stayed in Bayeux for 3 nights. Nice town - and wished I had taken the 2 day DDay tour instead of the 1 day. It was really interesting. Bayeux is a cute town, took the train from Paris. Stayed at the Hotel Churchill.

Thank you for the information. It's very helpful. I booked 2 nights in Bayeux and 1 night on the island of Mont St Michel. Not sure we will do the car rental after all.

Again, thanks!
erin

How will you get to and from Mont St. Michel without a car? Staying at Bayeux is a great idea. If you don't want to rent a car, you could look into getting a tour of Mont St. Michel from there, but I don't think you could do an overnight there.

My husband and I were in Normandy last week with my adult son, who is living in Geneva Switzerland. We arrived from Geneva at CDG airport around 11 am, rented a small car and headed out on A1 connecting with N13 all the way to Normandy. Easy drive but everyone but us was speeding! We stopped for lunch at a brassierie in a small town outside of Giverny after leaving the freeway. Following Rick's guide book and the many signs we had no problems arriving and parking at Giverny. After Giverny we headed for the bulk of the drive-straight on up the freeway to our hotel,La Maison Periot, which was west of Bayeaux, in the small town of Trevieres. Beautiful, clean wonderful hosted hotel that is a bit off the beaten path (not near the water or the tourist areas on the beaches). But, it allows for a quiet refuge and experience with wonderful hosts. We were offered to have dinner there for 15 Euros a person and decided to give it a try the first night. The food was so good (mackarel) we decided to eat there the next evening and had roasted lamb. Traditional fare of salad and cheese after the entrees each night. And delicious homemade apple tart night one and a chocolate fudge cake the next night. We were the only Americans there but it was a fabulous experience (really no functioning French on our part) but we still were able to get along at dinner with the other guests at the big table family style with 3 other couples and the hosts/owners. Wine was included and helped the spirit. The atmosphere and charm of the place is not to be missed. The owners recently bought and renovated the site as a hotel after moving from Paris. The host, Loic grew up in Bayeaux and knows the area well and speaks English well. We used the hotel to travel to the Normandy beaches and it all was quite convenient and lovely. I have traveled all over the world and had a few of these warm experiences in my travels. This is one that I will always cherish as the stay there simply added to the entire stay at a very reasonable price. Going to Paris after the Normandy visit was too frantic after the relaxing time being a tourist in Normandy! But, we spent time there after leaving the car at the airport. Our only regret is that we should have taken the train and not the Roissy bus as it was a Friday evening and the traffic getting to the airport and back into Paris meant the trip took hours. So, the long and short of it is rent a car, its worth the freedom of movement and the chance to see more and don't return to Paris during Friday evening rush hour.

You can get to Mont St Michel very easily without a car with the shuttle service offered by the Hotel Churchill.

65€ per person, save 5€ a person if you're staying at their hotel. You would need to book ahead to be assured your places.

Then you've completely saved yourself the stress and cost of renting a car and just put that money towards the guided tour of the D-Day sites and the shuttle for Mont St Michel.

http://www.hotel-churchill.fr/en/shuttle-mont-st-michel.html

We loved Bayeux and would recommend the Hotel Laura there. Its beautiful and overlooks the cathedral. I would also recommend Dale Booth as a tour guide (dboothnormandytours.com). He was the best and you will see everything your need to see during your tour. We took the Mont St Michelle tour offered from the hotel and were able to enjoy the place without too many crowds. We were there in November last year

Thank you for all of the wonderful suggestions. We are renting a car, staying 2 nights in Bayeux, and 1 night on Mont St. Michel. I hope it all works out!!
Erin

We took the train to C a e n and got our car right across the street from the RR station and drove 15-20 easy miles to Bayeux. We drove to MSM 90 miles beat the hordes from the tours and stopped in little towns on the way back buying cheeses etc. Take a D Day tour but use the car to return to spend more time at places you barely hit o the tour. Return the car to C a e n and train it to Paris.