Normandy from Paris

Hi, assuming you mean a tour of the beaches? I prebooked, not sure you can just pick one up. There are many good guides, I went with Overlord and was happy with it, learned a lot. If you search through this site you will find the names of other guides and companies. There are a couple of different itineraries. We did the American beaches and the cemetery. I also prebooked the train. I'm not expert enough to advise if you can safely wait to buy train tickets. Are you going in the summer? Check out the various tours and dates and take it from there. We really liked Bayeux. The tapestry and the museum are very worthwhile, if you are staying in Bayeux.

Gare St Lazare

I do not think you can buy a ticket on the train - you have to either buy it from the ticket counter in the station, or a kiosk there (or you can prebuy by internet). Also, trains can fill up, so you might want to purchase well ahead of time. Just be sure to "composter" (stamp) the ticket in a machine before you get on the train - otherwise you can face a stiff fine. Peter

Gare St Lazare is located an 8-minute walk Northwest of the Opéra Garnier, kind of near Gallery Printemps.

I haven't read all the previous replies, so hopefully I'm not repeating anything. Regarding your questions....

Sunday or any other day is a good day to go, however keep in mind that trains probably won't be as frequent on weekends.

You can't buy tickets on the train (AFAIK). You can buy tickets at several locations in Paris prior to travel, or even at the station ticket office on the day of travel. Have a look at this....

http://www.sncf.com/en/services/points-of-sale

This map shows the location of Gare St.-Lazare.....

http://goeurope.about.com/od/paristrainstations/tp/paris-train-stations-map.htm

You can get to the station via Metro, RER or Taxi. Which option is best will depend on where you're staying in Paris.

It's not advisable to try and "pick up" a tour in Bayeux. Tours tend to book up quickly, especially in peak travel season so it's a really good idea to pre-book. If you can afford to pay €600 or so for a private tour, that's a different situation.

We stayed 3 days in Bayeux and took the train from Paris - with train change in Caen.
We found a tour of the beaches of Normandy with Viator.com - they are tour consolidator....
we were actually on an Overlord Tour.
1 full day of several of the famous beaches of D-Day and small towns, then we to American
and British Cemeteries, Our guide was fantastic and knew all the history....
had a great lunch in a restaurant recommended by our guide.

Next day same tour company and guide - we had a full day tour to Mont St. Michel

Thanks Phil - I corrected my post. When I was there Tracks were being repaired at Gare Lazare, so we did have to use the station I mentioned near Montparnasse Tower.
I corrected my post.
Thanks!!

Just a reminder that you do not need to composter tickets that you print at home. The "composter" machines are usually yellow or green and are near the platforms.

I bought our tickets online well in advance and printed at home. I didn't have to "composter" or validate anything before boarding. On the return trip from Bayeux to Paris, conductors came around and checked everyone's tickets. I presented my print-outs and had no problem. So make sure you hang on to those for the entire journey.

It's recommended to reserve tours in advance. The best tours probably book up fast, especially if you are traveling in high season. Tours can be booked through Viator or another tour consolidator, but you will probably pay less to book directly with a tour company.