Our family of 4 (all adults) are planning two nights in France (I know, not enough time, but it is what it is). We will be coming from London and our only specifc destinations are Normandy Beaches and a glimpse of Paris before continuing on towards Munich. Are we better off staying near CDG or ORY as homebase for those two nights? Any specific areas to avoid? Still debating on whether to rent a car or use the train. Thank you.
Posted by
Chicago
1265 posts
How are you arriving from London? I would recommend Eurostar London St Pancras to Paris Gare du Nord if you haven't purchased plane tickets yet. You can arrive in central Paris and have the evening of your first night stay to enjoy Paris.
Two nights = 1 day. If you want to travel to the Normandy Beaches area on that single day, there are good train connections from Gare St Lazare to Bayeux. Overlord and several other tour companies meet Paris trains for tours. I have used Overlord (not from Paris, but from Bayeux) and can recommend them. Other companies also get good reviews.
I (personally - everyone has an opinion on where to stay in Paris.... You are likely to get other thoughts.) would stay close to St Lazare if a Normandy day tour is your decision for your full day - not at CDG or Orly. Easy to get to St Lazare for an early train to Normandy.
How do you move on to Munich? Plane or train?
adding - Overlord tours from Paris. https://www.overlordtour.com/product-category/tour-from-paris/
I am generally a DIY traveler, but didn't want to rent a car a few months ago when I visited Normandy. Overlord was very efficient - I think I saw more places than I would have found on my own.
another edit - I stay at CDG once a year or so to accommodate flight departures. Convenient hotels for the airport, not much else. I, again personally everyone travels differently, would not stay out there if I expected to drop into Paris for a few hours. I would not find it convenient or relaxing - others are free to disagree.
Posted by
Uppsala, Sweden
7255 posts
Why would you even consider staying at one of the airports? That means you have to travel out to the airport after arrival in Paris (which takes time and money) and you're also staying in a boring area far away from any point of interest. With only two nights it makes a lot more sense to actually stay somewhere more central.
If you're coming from London and continuing to Munich it makes a lot of sense to stay somewhere between Gare du Nord and Gare de l'Est. But staying close to Gare Saint-Lazare is also not a bad idea as that is where the trains to Normandy leave from. Given the limited time you have you really should take the train to Normandy.
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
12116 posts
From OP's other post:
Next summer we will arrive at Heathrow around 10am. We plan to spend two nights in England before heading to France. Normandy Beaches is the only destination we are completely certain of and will plan to spend one night in the area. Our final destination is Greece, so we won't be spending much additional time in France.
Suspect OP planning to stay by airport for the flight to Munich. I suppose the choice of airport would be dictated by which airport has the flight schedule that best fits your plans.
OP's plans brought to mind the Triple Jump ( aka hop-skip-jump) track event.
Posted by
Uppsala, Sweden
7255 posts
If the OP is continuing to Munich afterwards I recommend the train, which leaves from Gare de l'Est.
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10758 posts
Orly or CDG? Neither. Take the Eurostar train city center to city center from London to Paris and the SNCF TGV train from Paris to Munich. Stay in Paris somewhere between the arrival station, Gare du Nord, and the departure station, Gare de l'Est. The two train stations are five minutes on foot. The difference between flying and the train to Munich is one hour when you add transportation to and from airports and checking in 2 hours early.
Are you planning an all-day organized excursion to the Normandy Beaches Landing areas on your one free day in Paris? I don't see how else you'd be able to visit the area efficiently. The above info on Overlord is excellent. Otherwise, there are excursions that leave very early from Paris.
Posted by
Ontario, Canada
5702 posts
I'm in the neither camp. If your main goal is to tour the Normandy beaches, then go there after arriving on the Eurostar from London. It will likely be mid to late afternoon when you get there, so explore Bayeux, have a relaxing dinner, then take the Overlord (or similar) tour the next day. Train back to Paris and stay at a hotel close to Gare de lest for easy access to your Munich train the next morning. Flying Paris to Munich wont save you much, if any, time. The train will take you city centre to city centre.