Hello,
We are ending our Europe trip this coming summer with three full days in Paris with two teenagers (their first time). Any hotel recommendations would be great. Would love rooftop Paris views for breakfast if possible (loved this in Rome) and great location as well. Looking to do daytrip to Normandy if that is manageable. Our son is a history buff and this is a must-do on his list. We will not have a car. Any tour groups recommended for this? Thank you.
Any chance of adding a couple of days and spending at least two nights in NOrmandy? You can probably find a day trip from Paris but it is a long way and of necessity will give the WWII sites short shrift. If possible train to Bayeux early enough one day to visit the Bayeux Tapestry and then the next day do a day long Overlord tour of the beaches -- they do a great job and you visit Omaha, Iowa, Pointe du Hoc (the most interesting IMHO), Angoleme, the American Cemetery and the Airborne Museum. All very interesting for a history buff.
If you had just one night, you could train up in time to do Bayeux in the afternoon and then do a half day tour the next morning and train back that afternoon/evening.
We like the Churchill Hotel in Bayeux which is near the Overlord pick up spot and the Tapestry and Cathedral. It is full of WWII memorabilia -- pictures etc on the walls and a comfortable friendly place. We enjoyed hanging out in the downstairs parlor where we could get local favorites like Pomeau and cider (they would have soft drinks for the kids).
We spent 5 nights in Normandy a couple of years ago; you can see snapshots of Bayeux here: https://janettravels.wordpress.com/category/normandy/
Unfortunately I haven't put together a post on the beaches yet.
kristen,
As mentioned, if you can and decide to head to Normandy area, spend more than one afternoon there. Theres so much to see.
happy trails.
When were you planning your day trip? We would like to do the same trip June 13, but it would appear that the direct train from Paris to Bayeux is not running in June. If so, that makes it a multi-stop, 4- to 6-hour train ride each way, making a one-day trip to Normandy pretty much impossible. If the direct train is running, that's a manageable 2-hour trip each way, and we would take a half-day tour of the D-Day sites, returning to Paris in the evening.
Under the "Travel Tips" link on ricksteves.com, you'll find advice and links to check train schedules.
Cheers.
Paris CityVision has a one day bus tour of the Normandy beaches. It leaves from their office on Rue du Rivoli around 8 am. You don't have unlimited time at each stop, but I thought the tour was very good.
I have taken a teen on two separate occasions to Paris (both boys) and while they loved Paris, the trip to Bayeux, Normandy and Mt. St. Michel was a really special part of the trip. I always had a car so I can't comment on the logistics, but if you only spend a half day I feel you will spend lots of time getting back and forth and not a lot of time at the destination.
I am interested in the comment that the direct train to Bayeux is not running in June and causes the ride to be many more hours. Can't you take the train to Caen and then transfer to Bayeux? I thought from reading the train schedule that that route only added 10 minutes. Or is it not running too?
Also, I wanted to add that my granddaughter, who was 13 at the time, and I, took a cooking class in Paris. We had a great time. It was conducted in English and we made french desserts. She still remembers it. The name of the school was Cookin with Class. Teens also enjoy Napoleon's tomb and the multiple coffins. Boat rides on the Seine are fun too. I don't know about breakfast on a rooftop, but I recall a department store that had rooftop dining. Rick names it in one of his books, I think. We spent a wonderful Sunday afternoon in Luxembourg park, listening to an American choir, picnicking and watching children sail wooden boats. The best learning experience for your children/teens, is just soaking up the atmosphere! Oh, and don't forget to bring or buy a lock and lock it onto one of the bridges. Your teens will remember that and it seems to be all the rage.
Oh, please, please do not recommend that people put locks on the bridge in Paris. Have you seen how ugly it looks? Are you aware that the authorities are doing everything possible to discourage it, including cutting the stupid locks off? It is worse than graffiti and a terrible thing to do in beautiful Paris.
Horreur-- I'm with Norma about the lock on the bridge. Nothing more herd mentality, since the idea came from some soppy movie a few years ago --nothing original there, just herd stupidity by tourists. When you see the 19 C. impressionist paintings of the Pont des Arts in the Musee d'Orsay before these idiots started putting locks on it, you'll know how the tourists have been ruining it. In fact, that's the debate in the Paris city government since it all revolves around tourists, tourists spending money, letting it go on to keep tourists happy or stopping it and disappointing tourists.
Non! Non! No locks on bridges. It amounts to vandalism and is threatening structural damage to at least one of the old bridges. This will be a lesson for your son in how impulse can scar history.
