Travel by car in Normandy and Paris

return the car in Caen and take the train from Caen into Paris. You do NOT want a rental car in Paris.

But as for Normandy a rental car is almost a necessity.

We drove our rental all over Normandy with no problem. Ditto for returning it to the airport. We initially rented it at the Gare du Nord train station for the trip to Normandy. Getting out of there was a zoo, but we made it. Definitely avoid driving in downtown Paris.

+ 1 for what Tim said.

We traveled to Normandy for 5 days during our trip to Paris a couple of years ago and found the train ride from Paris to Caen (about 2 hours) was fast, comfortable and enjoyable. Driving in Normandy was straightforward and the locals moved at a moderate enough pace that I didn't feel I was causing them too much grief with my deliberate driving. To see the nooks and crannies of Normandy you will need a car or take a lot of bus rides...

We rented a car from a company that was located literally across the street from the Caen train station and even more conveniently was adjacent to a café where we were able to have a pleasant lunch after we returned the car before 'trekking' all the way across the street to take our return TGV to Paris :-)

Bruce - just curious to know which car rental agency you used??

Never mind! I just looked it up and see Enterprise, Sixt, Europcar and Avis all in a row!

Thank you for the helpful information. If we take a train from Paris to Bayeux, what is best way to travel to and from Caen?

Caen is closer to Paris than Bayeux is, I think you change trains there. Just get off at Caen and cross the street to the cars.

If you don't want to buy train tickets and pay for a car on the same day, you could pick up a car at La Defense, just west of Paris, easily reached by Metro and RER. That would allow you to drive to places like Giverny and Rouen on your way into Normandy. Avis and Hertz have offices at La Defense, others might also.

We take the train to Caen and fetch our car , reserved, from AutoEurope, right across the street from the Caen RR station. It's around 15 miles to Bayeux. The rental agencies in Bayeux are not close to downtown and are not open on weekends, so we chose Caen. We had our own GPS with Europe maps loaded and the addresses of our hotel in Bayeux, museums, and other points of interest we had saved to Favorites. Mont St. Michel is around 90 minutes via motorway. We arrived early, got right in and beat the hordes from the tour buses. Two hours was plenty, then we drove around the bay, about 20 miles, to Cancale in Brittany and their famous oysters and a seafood lunch with MSM on the horizon across the bay. We did take a D Day tour but with all tours, we wanted to return to spend more time, especially at the American cemetery above Omaha Beach. We spent 4 more hours there the following day. We also visited the small towns along the way to MSM and the beaches, stopping to shop, buy cheeses, Calvados, and have a picnic. It was one of our best ever outings and we are world-wide travelers.

akhoosier - We used AVIS because my company has a 'deal' with them - and they did fine - but as you noted all the majors are located in a row next to them. We did have to circle the block once (Place de la Gare - Rue Jules Oyer - Rue d'Auge) before a parking spot opened up but it's all right-turns so no biggie. Printing out a paper map of the car rental location/surroundings was handy - it's easy to get bamboozled by a GPS.

Kathy - My understanding is that the same train that we took from Saint-Lazare to Caen continues on to Bayeux - and if I recall properly - it's even the same price! No idea about the car rental situation in Bayeux though.

I'm a Country Mouse so I avoid driving anywhere near Paris just like I avoid driving anywhere near Chicago or Boston - unless I'm simply whizzing through on an 'interstate' type highway - I found driving out of Caen sufficiently intimidating :-)

I heartily recommend driving through Normandy on the side roads - it really gives you a great platform to 'see' everything. And since we were there over a June 6th weekend it seemed like every mile or two there was a jeep or a 2 1/2 ton truck or an armored car or SOMETHING traveling along the road with us. Plus there were some veterans (British and Americans) staying at our hotel - priceless.

It is possible to rent a car in Bayeux but not very easy. Our B&B Operator was very nice and drove me to the local petrol station which also served as the Hertz Car Rental. They had exactly 4 rental cars sitting in parking lot 1 of which was my reserved car. You had to deal with the gas station workers to sign the rental car paperwork, and they spoke exactly zero English (and I spoke zero French). Luckily our B&B Operator translated the entire transaction for us. The gas station was also HORRIBLY busy with customers and rental car customers were the last to be served.

I would not recommend renting a car in Bayeux. However, it is very possible to come to Bayeux with no intention of driving anywhere, and then just sign up with all of the tour groups you want where transportation is provided. You can also book a private tour guide of course some of which will provide their own transportation. We had good luck with www.toursbylocals.com in Bayeux and many other European cities (and Moscow and St Petersburg).

We picked up our Sixt rental in Paris (6th or 7th Arrd.), drove to Normandy and Brittany, and then dropped it off at CDG. We were able to get an automatic and didn't have to pay the surcharge they tack on at airports and train stations. If traffic bothers you, I'd rent outside the city.