Provence to Normandy transportation

The train seems like a much easier option in my opinion, no faffing around at airports. There is a metro line that take you direct between the stations in Paris.

for locals - I just use a map and go from there, for folks connecting from Gare de Lyon to Gare Saint-Lazare, it looks to me that the RER-A to Auber and then use the underground passages to the station might be faster and perhaps more comfortable than using the Métro 14 to Saint-Lazare (2 stops instead of 4). What do you all think. (I was fairly happy with RER-A before covid, although the cardboard seats could have been better, but at least they were actual seats.)

True, if you don't mind the walk the RER is probably the better option.

Why not take an official taxi(s) or van from the taxi rank from Gare de Lyon to Gare St. Lazare?

I'd give some thought to what seems easier for nine people, an unusually large party for this newsboard. Avignon doesn't pair particularly well with Normandy; Do you in fact mean "The D-Day Beaches", or a more complete picture of Normandy? Since you are going to train to Lyon anyway, I agree that you don't have to go by air. How "obedient" the party will be is a factor, like re-grouping after airport security, in the face of coffee, wine, and shopping opportunities!

Was there no interest in stopping in, say, the Loire on the way? Are you going to slightly backtrack to Mont St. Michel? I only mean that this is a very large "jump", especially in what is surely a crowded two-week trip. Is it the best layout of overnights? Just asking.

We gladly spent three nights in Bayeux (outskirts) with a car, but we were on an efficient circular routing Paris-Tours area-Dinard-Bayeux-Paris. (TGV to Tours). As an example of "efficient", we made the decision to skip the important chateaux well East of Tours and concentrate west of Tours. Not bragging about cutting out major sites, just an example of travel compromise.

Thank you for the responses! We are spending a week in the Riviera and Provence (Luberon) followed by 3 nights in Normandy to see Bayeux, the Caen Memorial Museum, and the D-Day beaches (we have some WWII buffs in our party). We are finishing the trip in Paris for 4 nights. Yes it is a large party (all family). I’d be worried about taking a cab from Gare de Lyon to St. Lazare because I assume we would need 2 cars, and I don’t want to split up the group in transit. I think it sounds best to train from Avignon to Paris to Caen, and I will instruct everyone to expect to take the Métro or RER between Paris stations. Hopefully they will all see it as an adventure as I do!

With only 3 days, I would steer clear of the Caen "Museum," particularly if you have WWII "Buffs" in your group. If it weren't for Rick Steves fawning over it, I suspect most people on this forum wouldn't go there on their own accord. There is so much else to see in the area—particularly regarding D-day history. I could recommend several other museums in Normandy that I would recommend above the Caen place, and they are all much closer to the D-day activities, and more relevant to D-day as well.

FYI: FarmerPhil is very expert on D-day sites on this Forum. Anyone who reads his previous posts will learn a lot about visiting the area.

Thank you for the tip! I would like suggestions for D-Day museums; we want to make the most of our limited time.

If you are in Bayeux, there is a wonderful museum that gives a good overview of the whole D-day battle, including preparations, right on the ring road across from the British Cemetery. Beyond that, it can depend on your interests, and the list is long. But here is a list of some of my favorites.

One of my favorite museums of all is the Utah Beach museum. It mostly covers that western portion of the battle, but it also has amazing displays and kiosks about the French citizens living under occupation that I found interesting. Just inland in Sainte-Mère-Église is the Airborne museum which concentrates on the U.S. Airborne operations which were mostly around that area. Across from the entrance to the American Normandy Cemetery is the Overlord Museum, which has one of the most comprehensive collections of tanks, armored vehicles, and transport of all kind (including regulation-issue German horse drawn carts, the Germans were still very dependent on horses for transport). Some of the battle sights you may go to include small museums or walking tours as part of them which I found enlightening. If you go to the Azeville Battery, you can get an audio guide that comments on how the Germans lived and operated in this type of place as you walk through it. Over to the East is the soon to be re-opened D-day museum that has a wonderful exhibit on the artificial harbors—the remains of which can be seen right outside the windows on the beach. They're also fun to walk around when the tide is right. Further on East is the Museum of the Atlantic wall built into a tall German observation tower. And inland, on the Eastern Flank of the D-day battle area is the Pegasus Bridge museum about the highly successful and quick capture of this draw bridge in the early morning hours of D-day by the British Paratroopers. I'm sure I am missing some others, but these are all very good.

If you are interested in the artificial harbours - Mulberry Harbours - which were taken over from England so that the men and materiel could be brought ashore in vast quantities in the immediate aftermath of the landings, the place to head for is Arromanches, full name Arromanches-les-Bains on the coast just north and east of Bayeux.

Go to the overlook of the beach, or onto the beach and you can still see many of barges brought over and sunk, and an exceptional view from the really excellent museum just above the beach. I have spent hours in that museum. They even have a large scale model of the harbour with demonstrations of how it worked.

Easy to get to, evocative, and very informative.

I liked the Caen Museum (official title = Memorial de Caen), but it's very large and covers WWII in Europe, plus the Cold War, not just Normandy. We spent most of a day there, which I wouldn't recommend for your timeframe. Caen is the best place for car rental, though, with good train connections to/from Paris. The museum is on the outskirts of Caen, not close to the station.