Paris, Normandy, London Itinerary

do the same itinerary but maybe reverse the order. Fly into London take train to Paris. It is faster than driving. Take train to Bayeux rent car there to explore Normandy Brittany train back to Paris where you fly out; you avoid a hefty drop off fee by not renting a car in one country and dropping it off in another

The best way, by far, to get from France to London is to go back to Paris and take the Eurostar train. The ferry system really isn't designed to make it easy for foot passengers anymore (and since you won't need your car in London, you'll want to return it someplace in France), so that journey is a big hassle and takes a long time.

What is your budget for hotels? Or alternatively, what standard of accommodation are you looking for? There are hundreds if not thousands of hotels in London, and we need some way to narrow it down.

Hotel budget is about $150 Euro/night. I expect to better that in Normandy and be higher in London. I don't mind budget conscious accommodations but also need something more convenient (lower floors and to transportation/sites) for my parents.

As far as reversing the itinerary, I did consider that, but I'd rather have the option to spend more time in Paris; Day 4 is my flex day, Day 6 is a hard date. I will plan to rent a car round trip at the train station in Paris and return for the Eurostar to London. I believe that's the fastest option anyway.

Thanks for the feedback.

Puzzled about Day 4. How can you go to Versailles and Bayeux on the same day? They are in 2 different directions. I would take a day trip by train to Versailles & back to Paris. Pick up rental car on a separate day and drive to Bayeux.

To get from Bayeux to London, I'd vote for ferry crossing, unless you are interested solely in getting straight to London. Depending on the date, you can get a daytime ferry or an overnight ferry from Caen or Cherbourg to a place on the English coast such as Portsmouth or Poole. From there, all roads (and public transport) lead to London so you can get a taste of southern England on your way up.

Don't take the car on the ferry. If you rent a car in England, you'll want the steering wheel on the right. You can drop your France rental car right at the ferry parking lot if necessary. (We had to because ... long story ... ferry schedule last minute change due to a strike). They have a red box for your keys & contract and "hot line" telephone to call the rental car company and inform them where you've left the car.

Hotel in Bayeux proper, I don't know, but can recommend Hotel Logis du Casino at Vierville-sur-Mer. It is right on the beach overlooking a D-Day monument.

Renting a car from Paris, I would pick it up at CDG airport since you are traveling to the north. If you were going south, I'd say pick it up at Orly. We made the mistake of picking it up at Gare Montparnasse, and the rental car staff people were really nice -- it's probably a nicer facility than you'd find in an airport -- but it took us more than an hour of very stressful driving to navigate out of the city to the Autoroute.

I would say you need to do a bit of an overhaul to this plan...both the big details and the little details. Agree on scrapping ferry for Eurostar. Agree that Bayeux and Versailles in same day is not doable. I would take the TSV train from Paris to Bayeux and back.

Want to add that both the Champs-Elysees walk and Rue Cler walk could both be replaced by other activities. Champs-Elysees is like walking through your local upscale mall in Paris and Rue Cler is not a real Paris market but largely a (short) market street prototype for tourists. You can find listings of the real markets Parisians go to...there are usually a few in each area on rotating days of the week.