Hello, 4 of us will be traveling to Europe next summer starting in London for a week, from there we will travel on to France. My question being should we take the eurorail to Paris and set up for 5 days and daytrip to Normandy or should we go to Bayeux from London catch a tour then head to Paris, in which we will have luggage in tow...We are open to your recommendations for tours as well. Thanks!
Posted by
Washington DC
27156 posts
Take a look at Rome2Rio.com to see what your options might be for getting to Bayeux from London. None look particularly attractive to me.
There is a tremendous amount to see on the D-Day tours, so I'd recommend trying to find a way to squeeze in a full-day tour. If you are traveling from Paris, you might check with Overlord Tours about their occasional tour running from the Caen train station. It's quicker to get to Caen than to Bayeux from Paris. If you head to Bayeux, you'll only be able to take a half-day tour. I suspect that tour from Caen doesn't run very often, but your party of four would fill a lot of seats in a van, which may help you a lot in getting something scheduled. Other companies might be willing to work with you, too.
Truly, I wouldn't take a day-trip from Paris to Normandy, especially if you have only five days in Paris. You need to consider how many hours you'll spend on a train or bus, but also the potential impact on the next day of your trip if you have to get up super early and don't get back to your hotel till late at night. There are other things to do in Normandy, so I'd recommend leaving it for a later trip.
Posted by
Chicago
7873 posts
It is a long ride a little complicated but train to Bayeux from London for 3 nights it is a nice town and then finish in Paris.
Or London to Paris and stay a few nights and then go to Bayeux for a couple of nights and then back to Paris.
I would not do a day tour of the Normandy beaches from Paris.
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
7324 posts
go to Bayeux from London
Do you mean schlep to an obsolete ferry and rent a car in St. Malo to drive directly to Bayeux? Or do you mean change rail stations in Paris to backtrack to Normandy by public transportation? How many days will you have left for Paris after you visit Normandy? Are you going home from Paris?
I think you should leave Normandy for another trip, it's not a suburb of Paris. But if the U.S. role in the invasion is that important to you, by all means go. Your use of the non-term "eurorail" suggests that you have not yet read our host's rail travel advice (top left, desktop site.) Normandy is annoying to get to by rail from London. Many people do it from Paris. You might also wish to use the Search box in to top center to view some past discussions of how people chose to get there, searching for "Normandy Paris" or something like that.
You have wisely chosen to spend the night, so you'll have to filter out the posts that are about a rushed, same day runout idea of the trip.
Posted by
3249 posts
I would go to Bayeux for a tour and then head to Paris. It's easy to take Eurostar from London to Gare du Nord in Paris and then catch a cab to Gare St. Lazare for a train to Bayeux. Then take the train back to Paris.
I say this because the D-Day beaches and other sites are worth all the time you have. Unless you are just ticking off Normandy from a to-do list, a day trip just isn't enough time.
Posted by
11169 posts
I highly recommend that you stay over in Bayeux for at least one night, preferably two. The British and Canadian beaches are also very interesting to see. And the famous tapestry from 1066, William the Conquerer, is on display in Bayeux too.
Posted by
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
4049 posts
Options:
Skyscanner shows that from London to Caen's little airport will require two changes of plane.
Boat: Ferries from Portsmouth to Caen's harbour or Newhaven to Dieppe.
Train: Eurostar London-Paris; change stations to get the intercity (but not high speed) to either Caen or, 20 minutes further along, Bayeux.
Plane/Train: It is possible to connect from the Charles de Gaulle airport train station although there will be a change of train en route west. The train company also operates a bus from the airport to Caen with a connection at Bercy on the east side of Paris.
My choice: Eurostar from London; Intercities train to Normandy, despite the burden of moving from Paris Nord station to Paris St-Lazare for the train west. The train company calculates total time to Caen of five and a half hours, including the 90-minute shift to St-Lazare.
Tours: The Normandy beaches will repay the substantial cost of a full day tour. Tours start at Bayeux or Caen, including one operated by the well-regarded Caen peace museum. Caen is much bigger than Bayeux so offers more dining and accommodation options, along with its own history in WW2 and the castle-fort of William the Conqueror. The commute to Bayeux is easy. Tours oriented towards the British Commonwealth campaign are somewhat different than those for Americans and should visit the site of the vicious tank battles in the Falaise gap south of Caen.