My soon-to-be husband and I are traveling to France and Rome for our honeymoon in the middle of May. While in Paris, we are going to do a guided day trip from Paris to Normandy to see the D-Day Beaches. I am debating between a small group tour that picks us up by bus in Paris, or a small group that meets us in Normandy after we have taken the train. Any suggestions on whether we should go the bus route or the train route would be greatly appreciated. As an aside, I have traveled through Europe before, and am not adverse to trains. I am wondering more about in terms of the scenery and best use of our time.
Posted by
Seattle, WA, US
1005 posts
I'd take the train to Bayeux and meet up with a local guide or a local tour company there. They will meet you at the train station. After your tour, you can have dinner in Bayeux, walk it's lovely streets, and even see the tapestry if you have time. Then take a late train back to Paris. There are may guides and tour companies listed in Rick's book that are excellent.
Posted by
Knoxville, TN, USA
7209 posts
Take the train from Paris to Bayeux. It's simple and easy. I'd much rather do that than be cooped up on a bus all the way. Bayeux is a wonderful little town, and you would do well to spend at least 1 night there. The D-Day beaches are enormous and far apart. You'll not be able to see everything so be aware of that upfront. There are many tours leaving from Bayeux, but we opted to hire a licensed local guide to take us around. We used www.toursbylocals.com as we have used them in several cities each with great success. Have fun!
Posted by
East Peoria, IL
786 posts
I also suggest the train. There's a direct train from Saint Lazare to Bayeux, where most of the tour companies will pick you up. I believe the train is at least an hour faster each way than bus, and if you're just doing a day trip, as we did, that couple of hours will make a difference. We even had time to dash into town to see the Bayeux tapestry before our half-day tour began, and a little time to grab a gelato in town before catching the train back to Paris. It's a long day, but if that's all you have time for, it's well worth the effort.
Posted by
Louisville, Ky
205 posts
I am also traveling to Normandy in May, and taking the train from Paris so that I can enjoy what Bayeux has to offer.
One note: Book your D-Day Beaches tour soon. I booked mine more than a month ago and the date my ideal tour was still available dictated changing my travel itinerary. Fortunately, I was not set in stone, so changes made no difference.
Just do it soon so you get the program you want at the best time for you and that you're not just taking what's available.
Best wishes in your marriage and enjoy the honeymoon trip.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32201 posts
mk,
I'd also suggest taking the train from Paris and booking one of the local tours. For one thing that will give you more flexibility in terms of not only timing (ie: leave early, come back late) but also which tour to take. If you use a big bus tour from Paris, you'll not only be able to see a very limited number of sights, but you'll be chained to their schedule.
If travelling from Paris, you'll likely be limited to one of the half-day tours. You might have a look at Overlord Tour to see if one of those fits your criteria. As others have suggested, it's a really good idea to pre-book the tour well in advance.
In planning the train journey, you'll need to allow adequate time to get from wherever your Paris hotel is located to Gare St. Lazare (the Normandy trains leave from there). You can use Metro, RER or Taxi to get to the station, depending on your budget. If you decide to use the Metro, I'd suggest having tickets on hand the day prior to travel so there are no delays buying tickets on the day of travel. If you're planning to buy a Carnet when you arrive in Paris, that will take care of that.
If you have a bit of time left over after the tour, you could have a fine meal in Bayeux and perhaps also see the famous Tapestry, which describes a much earlier battle.
Congratulations on your upcoming wedding!
Posted by
USA
382 posts
It's about 2 hours to/from Paris which makes for a lot of time sitting in a train on one day. And if you're going to invest time on your trip to see the D-Day beaches you might as well see as much as you can; if you look at websites most of the tour companies abbreviate the tour for those arriving from Paris in the morning compared to their full-day offerings for those staying locally.
Instead I'd spend the nite before the tour in Bayeux and meet a full-day tour fresh and rested in the morning. I'd go to Bayeux the nite before in time to see the Bayeux Tapestry, walk around town, have a nice dinner. You won't have time after the Normandy tour, many full-day tours go to 6pm or later and so the museum will be closed. Then after the Normandy tour take the train back to Paris in time for dinner.
BTW I took the Overlord tour this past summer and thought they did a great job!