Paris and Normandy Itinerary

I know that when I was 15 I would have loved to see Chartres Cathedral, Versailles and the Palaces in the Loire. The Bayeux Tapestry and Mt St Michel are cool; but maybe not the Beaches of Normandy unless that is for you. Look at the Scrapbooks of France taken by RS members for some places of possible Photo shoots. Bon Voyage.

The general consensus here is to try to avoid getting behind the wheel immediately after a long overnight flight, which I'm assuming this will be. Probably safer (and easier logistically) to consider just taking the train to Bayeux and settling in for your days there.
Doesn't sound like you'll need a car for the first couple of days anyway - the first day exploring the town and the next booking a tour of the D-Day sites, of which there are a number of excellent options that you can research.
There are several rental car outlets in Bayeux. Maybe pick up your vehicle the afternoon/evening of day 2 so you'll be ready to hit the road early the next day for the relatively short drive over to MSM and your overnighter there.
It's a longer drive from MSM to Honfleur but if you're into meandering the countryside anyway it wouldn't be an unpleasant one.
Rather than driving all the way back in to Paris you might consider returning the car in either Bayeux or in Caen and taking the train in from there. You can visit Giverny, Versailles or Rouen via a day tour, or by train from Paris if you'd prefer to do it independently.

One thing to investigate as soon as you have a tentative itinerary sketched out is hours of operation of the rental-car agencies in Bayeux and Caen. They probably will not be as long a those at an airport. Even here in Washington DC, my local spot closes no later than 6 PM during the week and on weekends is only open Saturday morning. I suspect picking up the car after your D-Day tour may be a challenge; there is some variation in the time those tours get back to Bayeux. It would be a shame, but you might need to pick up the car the afternoon before the D-Day tour if you don't want to wait until the same morning you head over to Mont-St.-Michel.

I haven't been to Giverny but did like Rouen a lot. Its large historic center was gorgeously restored following heavy WWII damage. However, it isn't a small town, so you might end up spending some time navigating to the historic area and finding parking.

If it were me I'd slide things around a bit. By spending a few days in Paris at the start of the trip instead of the end you can get over the jetlag before driving. It decouples the flight from getting to Bayeux, something I like to do since it can be a few hours between flight arrival and the train out of town you want; starting a trip by waiting in a train station isn't fun. Staying in Paris up front also lets you adjust how much you do each day, while once you head out to Normandy you're going to be more on the go.

By going out to Bayeux, then MSM, then Honfleur, you are doing some doubling back. I'd also do the trip in more of a circle. I suggest start with a few days in Paris and then taking the train out to Rennes (beautiful city, lots of pedestrian-only streets) to pick up the car. Then onto MSM. Rick Steves recommends arriving at MSM late in the afternoon when crowds have lightened; we did that and it worked out well. So you could either visit Rennes for a few hours, or perhaps drive instead to St. Malo and/or Cancale (great oysters!) Then around 4pm drive to MSM, still plenty of daylight to visit. Then on to Bayeux, then Honfleur. While in Honfleur you might want to consider driving to Etretat to see the scenery where so many Impressionists painted.

You might want to get the Michelin Green Guide for Normandy that lists just about every town worth visiting along with some driving route suggestions. You can also watch travel videos on Youtube, Amazon Prime, etc. so your daughter can get an idea of what's out there to see to help her suggest what she wants to visit.

We did a 2-week trip to Normandy and Brittany and still feel there is so much we still have left to see. If you can lengthen your trip by a few days I promise you won't run out of places to visit there!

I'll echo the advice not to drive on arrival day. The simplest thing would be a taxi (50 euros) from CDG to Gare St-Lazare, then train to Bayeux. You'd save money by taking RER train to Gare du Nord, then taxi or RER or Metro to St_Lazare, but I'd think not enough to be worth the hassle (on and off trains, watching for pickpockets, maybe stairs with bags).

It seems a little rushed but an intelligent plan if that's all the time you'll have. Not knowing your daughter, I wouldn't know how interesting or not-interesting she'd find the Normandy beaches, but I don't think it would hurt to expose a US teenager to some sense of what D-Day was about. I haven't taken one of those tours but Overlord and Dale Booth get high ratings from others on this forum.

Rouen and Giverny are both great but quite different experiences. You might consider Rouen as the dropoff point for the rental car, it has good train service to Paris. But so, I think, does Vernon, next to Giverny. Your limited time in Paris makes any day trip from there a less than optimal use of time, unless daughter is really into Versailles or some such. Have fun planning what will surely be a memorable adventure!

I might be tempted to go another route and after landing in Paris take the train to Rouen, explore a bit and have a nice dinner then spend the night there. In the morning I would pick up a rental car, drive to Giverny, and then in the afternoon drive to Bayeux. From there I would pick up your itinerary for Bayeux, D-Day sights, MSM, and Honfleur. After Honfleur I would drive to Caen, drop the rental car and take the train back to Paris. Just an idea of a different route and you'd be able to see both Rouen and Giverny without rushing too much trying to get back to Paris.

If you spend a Monday night in Bayeux, most of the restaurants will be closed. Be sure to book ahead for a table, or have your hotel do it for you.

I can't speak to late June. But early June (i.e., D-day anniversary) is very hard to get accommodations for, or to arrange tours in Normandy. Now is definitely not too early for that. Likewise, Mont-Saint-Michel on-island accommodations are very limited. Book as soon as you know when you will be there. I am in the camp of staying on island—it is truly magical. You definitely want a rental car in this part of France. Public transportation is extremely limited. As mentioned, I also recommend taking a train to Normandy. It will be a long slog after your flight, but get it out of the way, and be ready to go the next day. Many ideal connections from CDG, to Gare Saint-Lazare, and on to Bayeux or Caen brings you there right when the rental agencies are closed for lunch. So coordinate your flight/train with this in mind. If you want to walk to dinners, Bayeux is ideal. Honfleur and MSM are at opposite ends of Normandy. You may want rearrange things to put them at either end of your Normandy trip. Enjoy!

I want to thank everyone for the wonderful advice. I think I am going re-route us a bit so that we do not double back. Train from CDG (or Gare St Lazare) to Honfleur. Rent car in Honfleur on the Sat and head to Bayeux. After Bayeux and MSM I will return car in Rennes with a stop in Dinan, and then on to Paris via train. That may mean skipping Rouen and Giverny but I can do Dinan. And there is a day that we could drive to Rouen if we choose to do so. I wish we had a month for this trip. So much that I want to see. Greatly appreciate the feedback!

There is no rail service to Honfleur. You can get to Caen and to Deauville/Trouville by train--and to Le Havre if you go a bit farther than Honfleur. There's bus service to Honfleur from Caen and Deauville/Trouville; I assume also from Le Havre but haven't checked that.

Thank you for that info. Will look into training into a location close to Honfleur.

Hi Megan,

I did a similar itinerary with my daughter when she graduated high school, it was a wonderful trip! Are you picking up a car? When we left Paris, we left early and took the train to Giverny, picked up a car there (Avis had a station near the train station at that time), and spent a good amount of time in Monet's gardens before then driving on to Bayeux for the next couple of nights. It was a nice little day trip on the way to Bayeux and then we also didn't have to deal with Paris traffic and drivers.

Neither of us were WWII buffs either and I didn't really have much time on the agenda for that. However, we went to Arromanches and it was pretty cool seeing the temporary harbor and other sites there which then inspired us to visit the American cemetery and Vierville-sur-Mer (really just eating, drinking, and hanging on the beach here lol). Then on the way out of the area as we drove on to MSM we stopped at St Mere Eglise and Pointe du Hoc. As I said, not originally planned but once we got there, we found it all so interesting we decided to build it in. MSM was cool and we too just had 1 night there, which is sufficient because not much else to see. However it was pouring rain the whole time which made it difficult to explore the streets and get any good photos. We were there in July. So just be prepared that the weather there can be wacky.

Have a fantastic trip!

Colleen

My experience going from Paris to Normandy was this: A car rental in Paris was much pricier than in Caen for the same car, same company, same days. The price difference plus the fairly steep highway tolls basically paid for our train tickets, not to mention the angst of driving into and out of Paris. Besides, are you really going to be in a condition to drive after your red eye flight?

Double check the return requirements for rental cars from smaller towns -- we planned to pick up in Rouen but they needed the car returned to the same place , whereas Caen allowed return anywhere (we returned to CDG for our flight home.)

Your itinerary is exactly the one we took several years ago. We spent several days in Paris first and then took the train to Bayeux. We did sightseeing in Bayeux and then rented a car. We hired Dale Booth for the Normandy beaches, and he was wonderful. We did spend the night on MSM and then drove to Honfleur. From there we were to go to Rouen before returning to Paris. Unfortunately, my husband got sick in Honfleur and we never got to Rouen. Lucky enough to get back to Paris to fly home. It was a very wonderful trip up to that point.

It’s been almost 20 years since I was in Normandy but at the time we only had one day to visit the invasion sites. A second or even third day would have been nice. The roads in that area were small with slower speed limits, so it took more time to get to the next stop than one would think, especially if there is a lot of traffic or you get stuck behind a tractor. If driving on the interstate roads I recall there being plenty of tolls. We avoided them when we could, opting instead for the more rural roads. CDG airport to Honfleur is about 110 miles. It is doable after a long flight, but is at the limit of even what I would drive after a long flight. Since the airport is NE of the city, you wouldn’t have to drive through it.

If you want to pick up a car near Honfleur, the nearest mainline train station where you can do so is Le Havre. It is a quick drive across the impressive Normandie bridge to Honfleur.
However, CDG to Honfleur is just a 2 to 2.5 hour drive, with frequent rest stops after the first 45 minutes or so of circumnavigating Paris. And the road is not treacherous (all motorway), although it can be busy around Paris on weekday rush hours and towards the sea on sunny Saturdays.
So in my opinion, while not the safest option, it is not reckless either. Driving straight from the airport will save you several hours, and it won't necessarily be more tiresome than dealing with getting to St Lazare station (1 hour+), waiting around for the train (they come more or less every 2 hours), taking it all the way to Le Havre (2.5 hrs) and driving to Honfleur.

Driving all the way to Bayeux, which is about 45 minutes farther, would be pushing it a little bit much, hence the frequent recommendation (which I share) NOT to drive there straight after a transatlantic flight.

We did something similar but spent our first 2 nights in Paris so we didn't have to drive on arrival after overnight flight. We were not returning to Paris (Been there before) so didn't have the concern about splitting our Paris stay.

We did 2 nights in Paris then picked up car at Orly- super easy- drove to Honfleur- super easy- but we found Honfleur skippable. Lovely little town but we wished we had given this night to Bayeux. If this is a must maybe give the night to Bayeux and day trip to Honfleur to see the few sights? It's a lovely drive and that eliminates a 1 night stay.

2 nights in Bayeux was not enough and we arrived quite early on first day- if you head there from Paris arrival you will be jet lagged and arriving in afternoon I suspect?
Tapestry, cathedral, market, other museums and cemeteries there are all worth a visit.
We did an all day organized tour WW2 sites with Bayeux Shuttle and were very pleased with it- included lunch. I believe they also have half day tours which might be enough for you and your daughter.
I would not attempt to self tour the sites- too far flung and confusing.
https://www.bayeuxshuttle.com

Be sure you make dinner reservations for whatever nights you stay in Bayeux- we were there on Sat and Sun and were almost shut out for dinner both nights. This was in mid September, June will be a lot busier.

From Bayeux we went to MSM and then onwards to Amboise, etc for the rest of our 3 week road trip

One thing to note about car rental- if you need an automatic you may not find readily available outside of Paris.
We use AutoEurope for our rentals.

I don't recommend half-day D-Day tours from Bayeux. The sites are some distance away, and on a half-day tour a significant amount of your time will be spent driving out and back. There's just more sightseeing time available on a full-day tour.

I would not rent a car from CDG directly after a transatlantic flight. But taking the train will take a good portion of the day: 1-2 hrs to leave CDG, then 1 hr train to Gare St.Lazare, then wait for next train, then 2+ hrs to Bayeux. So at least 6+ hrs travel time.

I think I would stay one night in Paris near Gare St. Lazare. Spend that first day wandering, maybe do the river cruise. Nothing too taxing, but keep moving and get some sun to adjust to the time difference. Then take the train the next morning to MSM. Spend the night and take the train to Bayeux the next day. See the town and tapestry that day. Next day do a D-Day tour (full day). I would skip Honfluer.

Fri: arrival, train/taxi to Gare St. Lazare area hotel
Sat: early train to MSM, stay overnight
Sun: train to Bayeux
Mon: D-Day tour
Tues: Bayeux
Wed: morning train to Paris
Sun: fly home

So many replies ,lots of info. We did this trip in 2019. Came out of Paris on train to Mantes Le Jolie to rent a car right at the train station. Drove to Giverny and it was one of my favorite days, peaceful and charming, even with the crowds. Walk up the hill, away from the crowds and there is a small outdoor restaurant. We did go to Rouen but it was not our favorite. It was dark, congested, seemed like it might have been a shopping destination for locals (like our malls). We drove the coast to Entret and Fecamp. but would not recommend it for daughter (having done an English road trip with my 20 year old). Honfluer is charming but very touristy, did enjoy the Maison Sate. Picked up some lovely inexpensive jewelry for my grandchildren there. Lovely dinner at Cote Resto in Honfleur. Loved the tapestry in Bayuex, go when it opens and you will have a front line viewing. Two wonderful restaurants in Bayeux, La Rapiere and L' Alchimie. If you go to Arromanches it is best at low tide so you can actually see the temporary harbor. I would definitely include a tour of D-Day. It is such an amazing story that all Americans should know.
We did want to spend the night at MSM but the weekend train schedule prevented it. Yes, it was miserably crowded.My final comment is that we returned our car in Caen and the Peace Museum was incredible and sad. We were unable to finish and would like to return. Make sure when checking schedules you clarify day of travel. We ended up sitting in Caen for 2 hours because I had looked at a weekly schedule not Saturday. Oh, you are close to Brittany so you might get a chance to taste Gateau Breton...make sure you do!
One other note, there is a charming handcraft umbrella shop in Normandy, H2O Parapluis, 7 Rue de Creully, 14480 Crépon, France.
Rather expensive by my standards, 100+, but a great souvenir if you can. You might want a peak on your driving around.
Safe travels.

Have little of quality to the good advice already but to add, aside from your trip is highly sought. It is my trip, in reverse, that was cancelled last year due to C-19. I was going to take the long way back to Paris thur Loire Valley and check out the several picturesque / photographic Chateaus along the way. I would add that I got refunds or credits for my cancels at most places except the Churchill Hotel in Bayeux, so if I ever get there I won’t be booking.

Just wanted to say Hi and that I am also planning a June 2022 trip to Paris & Normandy with my teen daughter too!