Hello!
My husband and I will be traveling in May from Paris to Bayeux to visit the D-Day beaches. I would like suggestions about other towns to see on the way there. We will have 3 days in between. We have already been to the Mt. St Michel and St. Malo does not seem to be that interesting. We will be traveling by train and public transportation.
Thank you all in anticipation,
Elvy
Caen is the last city en route to Bayeux, and has more facilities and services than that town so could be your headquarters for touring. It suffered seriously in the battles after D-Day so has lots of history and the Caen Memorial museum, also known as the peace museum, is well regarded. It runs tours of the invasion beaches. Going further back in the annals of warfare, Caen was built around the fortress palace of William the Conqueror, standing impressively in the centre, with an interesting small museum.
http://www.caen-tourisme.fr/en
How about Rouen and/or Honfleur. We did not stop in Rouen (old town, where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake) as we were short on time but we did enjoy our stay on Honfleur, a beautiful town with many historical sights. Many explorers departed from Homfleur among them Champlain who founded Quebec. Rouen is easily accessible via public transporation but Honfleur might be difficult.
You can start with a direct train from Paris to Rouen and visit there. Then you take a train to Le Havre and easy bus connection from Le Havre to Honfleur; this combo runs 6x/day on weekdays but only 3x on Sundays. From Honfleur, there is a direct bus to Caen. Continuing to Bayeux would be a train connection from Caen. Above info is all from the Connections info at the end of each chapter in Rick's France book.
I suggest Caen, Bayeux and Lisieux if you are going by train. Just outside of the Bayeux train station, ie across the street, used to be a bus "depot" schedule prior to all the construction. Check there if that helps.
Thank you very much to all of you that sent information regarding this topic. My vacation is shaping nicely.
Elvy
