We will be visiting England and France during June '24. We are flying in and out of Heathrow. We will be going to France from London. While in France we will stay in Honfleur, Paris and near Aix-en-Provence. Any suggestions for the order in which we visit these destinations. After researching, it seems the following is a good option....London to Honfleur (we will be visiting Giverny while in this area and renting a car for the Normandy portion of the trip). Since it appears we need to go back to Paris regardless of how we do it, I thought wedging Paris in between Normandy and Provence makes sense. From Paris we would head to Provence and at the end of the trip I'm thinking fly Marseille to London the day before our flight home. The only thing booked at this point are the flights, so flexible to change the order of the France itinerary. Is there an easier way to do this than the above? Also, I might be overally cautious but, should I plan a 2 day buffer and get us back to England before flying home in the event flights are cancelled? Thanks for any insight you can offer.
Posted by
Paris
7028 posts
Hi,
I like your order.
London to Normandy is a bit of a schlep; ferries are not that convenient from London proper and the train goes via Paris. You do not mention Mont St Michel as a destination, however, you could fly from Lyon to Rennes, rent a car in Rennes and easily include the Mont.
Also, unless you have a specific reason to go for the D-Day anniversary, I would avoid the D-Day beaches area around June 6, 2024. 80th anniversary will be very, very busy.
Flying from Marseille to London the day before seems fine to me; maybe take a morning flight for extra buffer.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Thanks for the suggestion. Honfleur and Giverny are the top priorities. How difficult will it be to go from Gare Nord to Gare Saint-Lazare? We will be renting a car outside of Paris. I was thinking train to Vernon where we would rent a car, but is this too much from London to try to fit Giverny in on the way to Honfleur?
Posted by
Paris
7028 posts
Hold on.
There is a direct daily TGV in the afternoon from Le Havre and Rouen to Aix/Marseille. It is very convenient. I just remember it now, and if you can use it, then my recommendation changes and becomes :
London-Paris
Paris-Normandy
Normandy-Aix.
Otherwise, Vernon has limited car rental options. Mantes La Jolie has more, access is also from Gare St Lazare. And getting from Gare du Nord to Gare St Lazare is just one stop on RER E, or a usually quick taxi ride.
Posted by
OP
3 posts
Great news! Thank you so much, that plan is perfect.