Juno Beach tours from Paris

A one-day trip from Paris will not give you much time at all actually seeing invasion sites, even if you can find a tour targeting Canadians. Can you not manage at least one night in Bayeux? Most of the tours depart from Bayeux. Staying there the night before the tour means you get the benefit of a full day in Normandy.

Overlord Tours has a Canadian sectors tour, but you can't get to Bayeux from Paris early enough to catch that tour. The anticipated end time for the tour is 6:20 PM. I'm sure that's not carved in stone. On weekdays there are currently trains leaving Bayeux at 6:39 PM (cutting it too close, and the tour end point is something of a walk from the train station) and 8:11 PM. That last train arrives in Paris at 10:51 PM. That would work for you if you could spend the previous night in Bayeux.

Consider the geography. It is like saying you will be in Washington, DC, and you want to be picked up and taken on a tour of New York City. You want to see Manhattan, Long Island, the Met, and Coney Island. And you need to return to DC afterwards. And actually, the sights you want to see in Normandy are more spread out than that.

I understand the geography completely. I have found tours from Paris, but don't want to pay $550 Cdn to do it so was wondering if there were other options.

acraven staying in Bayeux is my other option but afraid that is beyond my budget too. I guess we will have to be happy with the resistance and war museums in Pairs.

Though you've decided against going, I will post this info for others with your question: when we took an Overlord Tour, they dropped people off at the train station in time for that 6:30 train back to Paris.

bcgirl,

Unfortunately getting a one day tour from Paris is likely going to be one of the more expensive options, and I'm not sure there's any way around that. The bus tours from Paris can only provide a few hours in Normandy due to the travel times, and they tend to cover a synopsis of the landings without too much emphasis on any one country.

As someone else suggested, your best and least expensive option would be to spend a couple of days in Bayeux, as some of the best and most cost effective group tours such as Overlord Tours are located in that area. The guides are experts and they really make the history come alive, and can answer just about any question about the D-Day landings. There's also an excellent museum in Bayeux as well as the famous Bayeux Tapestry.

Tours of the Canadian battle sites can easily take a full day or more, even just for an overview and adding British sites would require more time. If you have specific sites you want to see, that could certainly be configured in a private tour.

If you really want to do a one day tour, it would be possible but it would be a long, tiring and expensive day. Something like this would probably work.....

• There's a direct train departing Gare St. Lazare at 06:12, arriving Bayeux at 08:43 (time 2H:31M).
• Book a tour with a private guide (yes, it will be expensive) and arrange for pickup at the Bayeux station (a few suggestions on guides below).
• When you book a guide, provide some indication of which sites are of most interest to you. The Abbaye d'Ardenne, the area around Authie and the cemetery at Beny su Mer are usually important sites for most Canadians. With such a short time frame, I wouldn't bother with Juno Beach Centre. Of the British sites, Pegasus Bridge would be a solid choice as there's a very good museum there.
• At the end of the day, have the guide drop you back at the station. You might want to pick up a sandwich or something and a beverage before you get to the station for supper. The station is a short distance from the restaurants in town so walking after a long day is not ideal.
• There are direct trains back to Paris departing at 18:39 and 20:05. That means a late return to Paris but sometimes a long day is necessary.

Some of the guides you could consider......

• Overlord Tour: they do offer tours from Paris, but again they won't provide much time. You'll have to check with them to find out if they offer Canadian tours. They also offer personalized tours - https://www.overlordtour.com/ .
• Dale Booth tours: He does offer a Canadian tour but I don't know the cost - https://dboothnormandytours.com/ .
• Chris Emery: I'm not sure whether Chris is providing transportation, so you'd have to contact him for details. I'm sure he could put together a custom tour to suit your interests - http://www.visitdday.com/home.html .

If you decide to take a tour, you may want to read up about the landings so you're familiar with the various sites. One book that I would highly recommend is this one - https://www.antonybeevor.com/book/d-day-the-battle-for-normandy/ . It's a cracking good read!

Hope this helps. Good luck!