Taking Train or Car from Paris to Bayeux and Mont St. Michel

The trains to Bayeux or Caen leave from Gare St Lazare. If you take the train from Paris to MSM, you will leave from Gare Montparnasse and change for a bus in Rennes. I have rented cars from 2 of the 3 of the places (Paris and Caen) that you mention and neither was difficult. I took the train to Caen and rented a car there and drove around Normandy for a couple of days, including a visit to MSM, but since then I have become comfortable driving within Paris and now driving from a rental car location in Paris would be fine. I'd probably still take the train if I was alone and think more about the car if I had more than 1 other person with me and if the inexpensive fares on train were sold out. It's really up to you and how comfortable you feel driving for a few minutes in Paris until you get to the highways. It's about a 4 to 4.5 hour drive that will cost in the range of 50 to 60 euros including diesel and tolls plus the cost of the rental car, which can be significant if you have a one-day rental. The train from Paris takes a little less than 4 hours and the most expensive seat (a first class seat bought on the day of travel) costs around 120 euros per person, but you could spend way less if you bought your ticket well in advance of the date of travel. Train to Caen, which is where I suggest that you go if you decide to rent outside of Paris, is less than 60 euros for a ticket purchased on the date of travel. Drive is about 1.5 hours and the train is about 2 hours. So you see, they all take roughly the same amount of time.

consider renting car at the beginning or end of your trip from the airport. also keep in mind with a car you get to see more, and save money on hotels by staying at people's private homes. if you have 2 or more people to drive together it's great fun on the road.

Will you be spending time in Paris before you go to Normandy? If yes, I would not rent from the airport when you get there. I've rented cars many times in Paris, Caen and in Bayeux. The easiest, imo, for a first timer is to take the train to Caen, walk out the train station and there are a couple of car rental places right there. I usually always rent through AutoEurope.com but there are other options. I would then drive from Caen (I don't care for Caen itself) to Bayeux (are you staying in Bayeux? It's a charming town and makes a good base) and from Bayeux to Mont St. Michel. The train from Paris to Caen is about 2 hrs (go to Bahn.de for schedules and times) and the drive from Caen to Bayeux is less than 30 min. If memory serves, it's about 1.5 hrs from Bayeux to MSM.

Bayeux is a good base for the area. I can recommend the Hotel d'Argourges, large clean rooms and a nice breakfast. The Hotel Bayeux is also a good choice.

Why pay for a car rental AND a train on the same day? We spent a week in Paris, went to the airport, and rented a car at CDG airport and drove straight up to Bayeux. Stayed two nights, toured the D-Day beaches. From there you can go to Mont St. Michel, and return the car at CDG when you're flying out. This was one of my favorite trips ever. Loved the people, the food, the amazing WWII sites. We got an entirely different education on French people from this memorable trip!

The Hotel Churchill in Bayeux at least used to offer a day trip to Mont St Michel. If I were going to do this, that's what I'd do. Take the train to Bayeux, spend a few days there, and take advantage of their ride!

Most variables have been covered in the advice above. I assume that you want the car to do your own tour of D-Day sites, instead of taking a local tour, and not just for the Bayeux-MSM connection.

Another vote for Hotel d'Argouges. Love this hotel and highly recommend it.

donna's (roswell) way of doing it is perfectly good... for me though, I would rather leave from the station in Paris rather than going out to CDG, have a relaxing and enjoyable train ride to Caen, then a super easy and short drive to Bayeux. I've driven to Normandy, and all over France, leaving from Paris, many times and it works... but I'm always revising and looking for the easiest and most relaxing way.

Thanks for all the advice. To clarify - there are 4 in my family (including 2 teenagers). We will be in Paris for 5 days, then going to Mont. St. Michel, spending the night in Bayeux and then visiting the D D Beaches the next day, then in the evening driving or taking the train back to Paris to take the Eurostar to London. Does that change any of the ideas below? With 4 people, is it cheaper to rent a car vs. taking the train?

There is no practical way to get between Mont-St-Michel and Bayeux by public transportation (5 1/2 hours by train + bus). If you travel Paris - Mont - Bayeux - Paris, you'll need to rent a car.

We always take the train to Caen and fetch our car from one of the three rental agencies right across the street from the Caen RR station, then drive 15 miles or so to Bayeux. We use AutoEurope, based in the US. Hassle free, no Paris traffic worries, and returning the car to Caen and taking the train back to Paris avoids heavy traffic into Paris on weekends. Caen rental agencies are open weekends and later in the day than in Bayeux. With a car in Bayeux, the drive Bayeux to MSM is around 2 hours, you can arrive there early, and get in before the tour bus hordes. You can also visit the D Day beaches with your car, about 15 miles or so from Bayeux and an easy drive.

Just curious. Just where is the AutoEurope lot in Caen? A lot of folks say they rent from AutoEurope but there are no AutoEurope car lots anywhere in the world that I know of. A good rental experience depends at least as much on the company providing the cars as on the booking agent. When people give a recommendation for AutoEurope or other consolidator based on their experience at a given location, it would help if they would provide information on who provided the car for the rental.

!!!! THUNK !!!!! (Roy provided no audio for the sound of his arrow ripping the center out of the bull's eye.)

Here's the facts:

You can drive from Gare Saint-Lazare to Caen and beat the train. You can drive from Nord and beat the Saint-Lazare train to Caen.

When you pull out of rental parking at Nord, you're on four-lane after the first couple hundred feet and remain so until you're into Caen.

Leaving Nord, you only make three turns to get onto the freeway.

Leaving the peripherique, you take the same route number all the way to Caen.

One car plus gas and tolls costs less than multiple train tickets.

Paying for two modes of transportation on the same day doesn't make a lick of sense.

After 5 days in Paris I rented a car at Gare du Nord and drove to Giverny to see Monet's gardens then on to Bayeux. Spent a full day yesterday driving all the dday sights and today drove to Mont St Michel where I am right now. All easy driving.

This thread has been very helpful as I am trying to figure this exact route out. I've read that if you are just renting a car for a few days that it is best to just show up and rent on the spot. Is this true? Or would you advise to pre-order a car.

Thanks!

Arranging ahead of time is much cheaper than walking up. Standing across the room in the car place and internetting with your phone counts as ahead of time.