Renting a car in Caen

We did this. You can see some of our stops in Normandy here:
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/category/normandy/
Note that the rental agencies by the train station close for lunch so time your pickup to when they are open. We had no trouble driving in Normandy and getting out of Caen was not a problem. It is helpful to have a GPS or a Michelin map.

We will be doing this exact same thing at the beginning of July. Train from Paris, renting a car in Caen, and visiting the WWII sites as well as Mont St Michel.

Terry, we found this helpful: http://www.abmc.gov/cemeteries-memorials/europe/normandy-american-cemetery#.VSvZMikveFs

There is also an iPhone app associated with the abmc for all of the Normandy Beach sites, complete with easy driving directions and maps and touring info. And it can be used offline.

I have an additional question to Terry's. It appears that if you rent a car at Caen (we are looking at Avis, whose office closes at 6:30pm) that you can drop off your rental car and place the keys in the drop box. We've done this of course many times in the US, but never in France, or in Europe for that matter. Has anyone done this? Is dropping a car after hours (we are looking to drop ours off at about 8pm, just before the last train back to Paris) at this location an ok idea if we take pictures, keep receipts for gas, etc, just like in the US?

I hate dropping without getting a receipt as we have been burned by this with false claims for damage and false claims for not gassing the car (beat that one with a gas receipt but the damage claim we couldn't prove.) But in Caen we had a train to catch and the agency was closed for lunch so we had to drop the car in the lot a couple of blocks away and drop the keys. We had no problems with it this time although I had lots of photos and a gas receipt just in case. (photos are a mixed bag -- you can never really prove with them but occasionally someone reports they helped a case.)

Here's a helpful tip as you pull out of the rental lot. We saved the entrance location on our GPS (touch the auto icon on the screen) so we had no problems returning the car in a driving rainstorm in rush hour traffic. I hate to think what we would have done without it.

Thank you to all for the helpful advice!

Terry

Good for you for planning a trip to Normandy! I also visited Paris and Normandy two years ago.

I actually picked up the rental car in Paris central and drove out to Caen. The drive from the left bank up to champs élysées was exhilarating and memorable experience. Overall, the drive was not bad at all. In fact, it was very scenic and enjoyable. Before the trip, I also considered the same plans, training to Caen and getting rental car then. I decided against this to avoid more transfers with luggage, etc.

If you do drive in heavy traffic and use highway at home, you shouldn't have any problem navigating Caen or even getting out of Paris (not driving in Paris though). A GPS for me is a must. I relied on it and my smart phone heavily during that trip.

I stopped by all of the points of interest you mentioned and would recommend visiting the coastal town honfleur or roen if you have time. I really enjoyed both of the places and was able to visit both in one day, though more time is warranted for haute Normandy.

Driving in Caen can be difficult if you're not familiar with it. You don't say how long you will be in Normandy, where you are staying or where you are going next, so I'll just share what we did two years ago and hope it helps. I rented a B&B in Bayeux for three nights so we took the train from Paris to Bayeux (changed in Caen) and rented from Hertz in Bayeux. Book your car rental before leaving home. After driving all over Normandy we turned in our car at the Rouen train station the night before catching our TGV train to Avignon. You can see the places you listed and more depending on your time schedule. If possible I encourage you to include in your visit to Normandy the beautiful town of Honfleur and Monet's home, garden and lily pond in Giverny, a short 40 minute drive Honfleur. Normandy has much more than D-Day sites, so take time to see as much as possible.....and enjoy their terrific food.