Normandy & Paris itinerary - 1st day quandary

You would be foolish to try to drive while jet-lagged. You would be driving a strange car on strange roads while jet-lagged -- that's no different than driving drunk.

Rail is your best option. The first day is a wipeout anyway, so you may as well add a 3-4 hour rail trip on top. Just let your hotel in Rouen know you will not be arriving until 10 or 11 pm (it will take a while to get out of CDG and then to your train to Rouen). Then you can start Day 2 fresh with sight-seeing and not more traveling.

Or...Similar circumstances in May 2016: We arrived CDG (late morning); collected bags; bought Euros at ATM; bought SIM card. Then took Marriott shuttle to nearby hotel for naps/decompression. Took Marriott shuttle back to CDG late on same day to pick up Hertz car rented thru AutoEurope. (This effectively lopped one day off our rental period, but there was a parking charge at the hotel. Probably a wash, in hindsight.) The airport hotels are mostly clustered on the edge of the surprisingly charming village of Roissy en France with a handful of shops, restaurants and a little market for snacks, the first baguette, etc. Departed CDG early next morning after good night's sleep and great breakfast. With GPS and map, found Giverney, did the gardens, and arrived in Bayeux late afternoon for start of week-long Normandy visit. No regrets. We would have been reluctant to go any further on arrival day, but we're pretty cautious in our early 70s. (Decades ago, I did drag the family onto trains after arrival for short, first-day trips: Bath from London; Lucerne from Zurich. I recall it being hard work.)

FastEddie's plan might work for someone as fast as him, but I'd suggest spending that first night at a CDG or nearby hotel (there are some at the airport and others at the nearby town of Roissy), then picking up your car in the morning and driving straight to Rouen. After your days in Normandy -- and five days is a good long visit compared to many plans we see here -- you can drop the car in, for example, Caen, and take a train into Paris.

An alternative might be a taxi from CDG to Gare St-Lazare for a flat fare of 50 euros, then a train to Rouen that evening. But you may find yourselves in rush-hour traffic so don't book those train tickets ahead of time.

Last choice, to my mind, would be RER into Gare du Nord, a taxi or Metro to Gare St-Lazare, and a train to Rouen. That will cost the three of you almost as much as the taxi option and you'll be lugging luggage on and off RER and Metro.

The worst you could do would be drive jet-lagged from CDG to Rouen, on fast highways with lots of evening traffic and disappearing daylight. That's risky for you and others.

EDIT -- RCA describes a great strategy, even better for you because you'll be landing later in the day. I haven't been to Roissy but it sounds appealing, and there may be car rental offices there to save you a trip to the airport next morning.

We drove to Bayeux after our early-morning landing at CDG, but only because we landed so early. We knew we could take our time and stop along the way if we got tired. No way I would do that at 5 pm. You'll be lucky to get out of there by 7. Just plan to sleep nearby and drive the next morning when rested.

This advice assumes you're arriving after a long flight from the US. Is that accurate?

Thanks very much! That's all very helpful, and confirms my intuition. We were leaning towards spending the night near the airport and starting off fresh in the morning. It's good to know Roissy is accessible in the event we feel restless, but I imagine we'll probably crash.

We are flying in from the west coast of the US, so time difference will be pretty big.

Under different circumstances (sans teenager) I might try to be more ambitious with the train right off the plane...maybe next time.

Thanks again!
JB

It's not hard to sit on a train when you are totally jet lagged. It might be hard to keep your eyes open, but that's not a problem on a train.

The problem with taking a train to Rouen the day you arrive is your late arrival. You need some cushion time -- time for long lines to get through immigration, time in case your plane is late. You can purchase discounted train tickets in advance, but if you miss the train because your plane is very late, you have to repurchase tickets, this time without a discount. With the late plane arrival, it doesn't sound realistic to get as far as Rouen.

But you could easily get to Paris, walk around a little, have dinner and get to bed. Then take a train to Rouen and pick up a car there (check rental car opening hours). If you pick up the car in Rouen, do so after you've done your site seeing so you don't pay for parking -- but be careful that you pick up the car before closing time. And be extra careful if you are picking up on the weekend! If you need an automatic, then maybe then maybe staying at the airport makes more sense. I would much prefer to stay in Paris.

I don't want to oversell Roissy. But for proximity to CDG, it wouldn't be on anyone's top 10. It's just a pleasant surprise if the adjacent hotels make sense on one's itinerary. It struck us as something of a miracle that it survived the growth of CDG that almost surrounds it and maintains charm even with the jets roaring overhead. http://www.hotels-roissy-tourisme.com/en/

Hi,

Don't count on getting jet lag. You may not be affected. The others in your party may be exhausted, it's possible. If you were going solo, then I would consider taking the train after a flight from the west coast. The flight is eleven hours, the time difference is nine hrs. I do the same, put up with that 11 hr. direct flight usually squished in that Economy seat.

It is doable going to Rouen by train on arrival day, if you don't mind arriving ca. 10 pm. ...forget driving the stretch. Take the train, sleep on the train. I have not taken the train immediately after landing at CDG, staying the first night in Paris, but in Germany upon landing at FRA. within 2.5 hrs or so, I've been on the ICE train for the multi-hour ride direct to Berlin or Munich.

If you prefer staying at a hotel at Roissy, I would recommend Campanille, a 2 star French chain, stayed there a few times, always satisfactory, good restaurant.