Paris to Normandy Car? Hotels?

We took a train and stayed 3 nights in Bayeux. Loved it. We took a D-Day tour for one day and wished we had taken the 2 day tour it was so interesting and good. We stayed at the Churchill Hotel, recommended in Rick Steves book. It was a nice hotel. Nice town too, and we found this path along the canal/stream in the middle of town that was such a nice walk and views.

We took the train from Gare St. Lazare to Bayeux and it couldn't have been easier - although the queue for taxis at Gare du Nord was so long that I was afraid we would miss our train. But that didn't happen. It's a very easy walk from the Bayeux train station to the city center. We also stayed at the Hotel Churchill and loved it. Their restaurant recommendations were spot on. Another thing that I loved about the Hotel Churchill is that is adjacent to the meet up place for most of the minivan tours. The Bayeux Tapestry and the Bayeux Cathedral are a short walk from the Churchill. I wish we had stayed an extra day in Bayeux and taken the Churchill's van tour to Mont St. Michel.

My husband and I are World War II buffs and I can't imagine a scenario in which we would have seen more D-Day sights if we had been driving around on our own. We took a two day "American Experience" tour and a one day "Band of Brothers" tour with the now defunct Battlebus. I believe that our guides, Sean Claxton and Jules Vernon, are still available for tours. If I were to go there today, I would use Overlord tours, based on the comments I've read on this forum.

A friend and I were in Normandy earlier this month. I have to admit I was a little nervous about driving around CDG, so I connected at CDG to Rennes, picked up a rental car there, and made a stop at Mont St. Michel on my way to Normandy. At the end of our time in Normandy, we drove to Rouen, dropped off the car at the train station, and caught a train to Paris.

We stayed at an amazingly cool B&B (B&B les Oiseaux de Passage) in Isigny Sur Mer. The Guest House is a renovated centuries-old stone barn that has been lovingly and modernly decorated by the absolutely delightful hosts. We enjoyed the country lane location, but if you are looking to walk to dinner, Bayeux is a much better option.

We did the two-day American Experience Tour with Paul Woodadge, who is based in Bayeux and whose company is named DDay Historian Tours. We absolutely loved it. The first day was made up of Utah Beach and US Airborne sites. The second day included Omaha Beach sites, the La Cambe German cemetery, and the Normandy American Cemetery. The tour was an excellent (though emotional) experience. Paul is not cheap, so he is a fairly terrible choice for the casual tourist who is looking to check off a list of sites. But he is an excellent choice for anyone who wants to truly understand what happened at D-Day or anyone who is well-read on the topic and wants to see some of the less popular (but more meaningful) sites in Normandy. For me, this tour was money very well spent. For anyone interested, he has a nice "Recommended Reading" page on his website.

We found the Airborne Museum in Saint Mere Eglise (part of our tour) and the War Museum in Caen (not part of our tour) particularly impressive. And of course, the Bayeux Tapestry is pretty much a must-see.

If you can squeeze out a few more days in Normandy, I would recommend it. I would definitely recommend doing a tour of the D-Day sites to help you understand what you are seeing -- try to do a 2-day tour if you can swing it. I will definitely go back to Normandy and will spend more than this trip's 4 days there next time.

Lisa,

I'd suggest taking the train from Gare St. Lazare and staying in Bayeux for a couple of nights. While in Bayeux you could also see the famous Tapestry which depicts a much earlier battle, and also visit the excellent WW-II Museum there.

I would highly recommend taking a tour as you'll learn FAR more about the history and the events that took place on D-Day so that will provide a much more interesting and memorable experience. There are lots of tours to choose from and it's a good idea to reserve a spot well in advance. While it's certainly possible to drive around to the various sights, you won't necessarily know the significance of what you're looking at. The tour companies know the area well, so can get to each them in the shortest time possible.

We visted this area in August, 2015. I can recommend the Logis les Remparts in Bayeux. Comfortable and well maintained, it was closer to our price point than other hotels in town. Pleasant hosts, continental breakfast was an additional charge (maybe 7 or 8 euro?) and optional on a day to day basis. Ample free parking along the park just outside the front door. Just a few minutes walk to the cathedral and town center. Also recommend the nearby restuarant L'Assiette Normand for well prepared meals, friendly service and reasonable prices. I spent a lot of time researching, and don't think I came across any negative reviews of any D Day tours but in the end we opted to drive ourselves. Cost for 3 and a general distaste for tours drove our decision, but we were satisfied with our two day touring with guidebooks and history texts. We already had our car, rented in Colmar earlier in our trip. Driving after an all night flight, or anywhere near Paris are not on our list. But that's just us. Safe travels.

With no prior French driving experience, we had no problems getting from CDG to Bayeux in May 2016. Arrangement thru AutoEurope put us in a Hertz rental. With GPS and a Michelin map purchased in advance, navigation wasn't a problem. (We detoured through Giverny/Monet Gardens, so we had some non-autoroute sections. A few thoughts: (i) we asked the Hertz attendant to help set up GPS (very valuable since it "opened" in German and I doubt we could have reset it to English without help); (ii) our US chip/no-pin credit card worked in most toll booths, but we were glad we had Euros handy for the time or two when the card was rejected; (iii) we quickly learned to turn on our emergency "flashers" when entering the toll lane to avoid delays to others in case we had a credit card issue; (iv) there's no shame in repeated trips around a traffic circle until you are certain which exit to use. We enjoyed the freedom and flexibility of having the car (day trips to Honfleur, MontStMichel and the Cider/Cheese backroads in the Pays d'Auge.)
D-Day tour: we were happy we booked a tour. Among other advantages, no worries about navigation or parking. Our guide was Bertrand Saudrais (http://www.executived-daytours.com) Excellent; you may want to read his reviews on TripAdvisor. He will pick you up at your hotel, customize the day to your interests, and return you to the hotel. He's charming, funny and possessed of an encyclopedic knowledge of the subject.

I've driven from CDG to Normandy after a 10-hour flight, but be sure that you are comfortable with that scenario. If you do drive, try to avoid the Paris preferique (ring road). There is a northern autoroute--the A86--that will connect you with the autoroute to Normandy--traffic is still bad, but it's not as horrible.

Lisa,

To expend on the comments in the previous reply, driving after a long international flight is not a good solution for everyone. It's been compared to impaired driving, and while some people may be able to manage driving in a different environment (ie: differerent road signs, etc.) while jet lagged, it's not recommended for everyone.

For driving in France, you'll also need an International Driver's Permit or a certified translation of the terms of your driver's license, along with your home D.L.

It's a long drive from CDG to Bayeux, one I wouldn't make after an overnight flight (but I hardly sleep at all on the flight). It would be safer to take the train. Depending on your time and budget, you could RER to Gare du Nord, and Metro to Gare St-Lazare for the train to Bayeux, or you could taxi from the airport straight to St-Lazare for 50 euros.

We had a car in Normandy but we were there longer than you. We drove to some of the D-Day sites but I'd recommend a tour for the reasons Ken gave. You could give one day to the tour and the other day to the Bayeux tapestry, cathedral, and museum, in which case you wouldn't need a car. But if you do rent a car, you might find it easier from Caen, where the rental offices are right across from the station.

We stayed in the Novotel west of the center of Bayeux, just inside the ring road, which made the driving easier. It was about 15 minutes walk to the center. But without a car you might prefer a more central place like the Churchill or Hotel d'Argouges.

Thank you everyone. This helps with planning. Where do you purchase train tickets from Gare St. Lazare to Bayeux? Is this the most direct train to Bayeux? Do you purchase in advance? How long of a train ride is it? My husband thought about it and maybe renting a car isn't right for us. We get in on a Thursday morning around 8:30 am and maybe riding a train that day would be a better choice. We could sleep on the train before getting to Bayeux. How does luggage work on the trains? Is it kept right by you? I would hate to fall asleep and how our bags gone. We need to take a evening train Saturday night to catch a flight to Italy on Sunday.

Lisa,

RCA again. I wrote earlier about driving to Bayeux from CDG, but I failed to mention that we spent our first Paris night in a hotel at CDG, and hit the road after a good night's sleep. Apparently your itinerary won't permit that trick. We would NOT have made that drive immediately after arrival. I concur in the suggestions of others that warn against flying and driving without rest. Relax on the train, be safer, and have a great trip! If you are interested, we can offer some suggestions on dining in Bayeux; we were there almost a week and mostly ate dinner in town.

rca

We get in on a Thursday morning around 8:30 am We need to take a evening train Saturday night to catch a flight to Italy on Sunday.

To get to Bayeux you have to leave the airport and get to Paris (taxi or RER). If RER you have to take the metro to the train station where they depart to Bayeux. Then get there, drop your bags, etc. It's easily after noon by the time this happens. Maybe see the Tapestry and walk around town. I wouldn't bother with a car this day.

On Fri you can take an all-day tour of the D-Day beaches, and frankly that isn't even enough since there is so much to see and think about. No need for a car today.

So that leaves Sat. You may wish to rent a car this day to visit the area, perhaps Honfleur and the Deauville area, drop the car somewhere in that vicinity and take the train into Paris. Mont St Michel is better done as an evening visit; arrive in late afternoon as crowds leave, stay the nite. Personally, though, I'd just as soon take the train Sat to Rouen and spend the day exploring the town. I don't know if they have luggage check at the train station there, but I bet you could find a hotel that would hold your bags for a small charge.

Lisa, this website explains a lot about train travel in Europe, including how to look up schedules, how to get tickets, and what the trains are like. See the links labeled "Buying European train tickets" and "How to look up train schedules and routes." As I suggested before, if you have the budget for a taxi right from CDG to Gare St-Lazare you'll save time and energy at a net cost of maybe 25-30 euros over the RER and Metro. Allow several hours between your scheduled landing and the train you plan to take, for possible flight delay, possible baggage claim, certain passport control, getting through the big airport, and possible traffic into Paris. I'd suggest a train leaving around noon. But I don't think you'll need a reservation, you can just buy your tickets at the station, so you don't have to sweat the connection. Trains leave St-Lazare for Bayeux every couple of hours and take about two hours, some with a change and others without. Likewise returning. Another good source re trains is The Man in Seat 61.