Travel to and visiting Normandy

What would be the easiest way to travel to Normandy ? Train or air? I think by train. Though there are airports in Normandy such as the airport in Caen, they are generally small and have flights to the UK and other cities in France.

If train, is the routing through Paris? Yes, but that could depend on exact departure point.

Does it make sense to stay in Paris and do a day trip to the Normandy area? Depends on what you want to see in Normandy but generally IMO a day trip from Paris is doable but will be too rushed.

If staying in Normandy for a night, Is Bayeaux the best location for that? What do you want to see in Normandy? It's a good spot for trips to Normandy that are focused on the WWII landing sites with the great benefit of having the Bayeux Tapestry and a lovely cathedral.

I think we would like to do an organized tour for the day. Any suggestions for a tour company? If you mean a tour of the WWII sites, I suggest Overlord Tours. http://www.overlordtour.com/

After that short stop, we head to Amsterdam. Again, what mode makes most sense? Train or air? Train and you will have to change through Paris probably and that change will involve changing stations. Have you considered going to Amsterdam from the Rhine Valley area and then going to France?

Pat,

A few thoughts on your questions.....

• Although that's a longer trip, train is definitely the method I'd use. You didn't say which town you'd be departing from in the "Rhine Valley" so it's difficult to look at exact times.
• Travel to Bayeux in one day is going to be a really long trip, so you could consider staying in Paris for one night and then continuing on. No it doesn't make sense to see Normandy as a day trip from Paris as that provides very little time to see anything.
• Yes, Bayeux is a good choice for a home base in Normandy. It's relatively central, has lots of great hotels and that's where a number of the D-Day tours depart from.
• Some of the tour firms you could look at are http://www.ddayhistorian.com/, http://dboothnormandytours.com/, http://www.visitdday.com/ or http://overlordtour.com/
• I'd also use the train from Normandy to Amsterdam, although again it's going to be a longer day. The trip from Paris to Amsterdam is as short as 3H:07M via Thalys, so that's an easy choice.

Everyone picks the trip they think is right for them. To me, it sounds like you have 5 days in each of 3 countries. To me that would be too short, for you it may be what you want.

? Does it make sense to stay in Paris and do a day trip to the Normandy area?

You won't really see more than 1 or 2 places. Last fall I spent 10 days in Brittany/Normandy (including visiting Mont St Michel, Rouen, Etretat, Dinan, Rennes, St Malo, Dinard, D-Day tour, Bayeaux, Honfleur) and thought there was a lot left I did not have a chance to see. But maybe 1 or 2 stops in Normandy close to Paris or 1 nite in Normandy is enough, its up to you.

To get from Paris to Amsterdam, take the Thalys train. About 3.5 hours, I think.

In my opinion Normandy is not a place for a day or two; it is like saying we are spending a day in California. It is a big region with so much to see. We did 5 nights a few years ago taking it slow and did a night at Mont San Michel, two in Bayeux with a beach trip tour on the full day, and two days in Honfleur with a trip to Etretat on the full day. Here are snapshots from some of the trip. https://janettravels.wordpress.com/category/normandy/

We intended to spend 3 nights in St. Malo late this September but I ended up for 5 days in a hospital in the south with a broken elbow and surgery so that was the part of the trip that got scrubbed. At the very least you need an overnight in Bayeux to connect with a tour for the beaches; there are half day and full day tours with Overlord and there are other tour services. But it would be a shame not to see more.

I would give Amsterdam which we love, 3 nights. We often end trips there and 3 nights/two full days is a nice amount of time for this pretty city. The THalys is about a third the price of a last minute if you buy 3 mos early.

It's really easy to get to Rouen by train from Paris. The trains going that way leave from Gare Saint Lazare. You can also get direct trains, but less frequently, to Caen or Bayeux. I rented a car in Rouen but that was so I could tour Normandie and Brittany before dropping it off in Loire.

I'd personally choose Bayeux. It's a nice little town and easy to catch a D-day tour from there. I went there just to see the Bayeux Tapestry.

I haven't taken the leg from Paris to Amsterdam, others here can probably give you better advice.

i can't remember ever seeing a post here about Normandy that showed interest in Normandy other than the Landing Beaches and Bayeux. Just a reminder that there is plenty to see and experience apart from the D day sites and the Bayeux tapestry. Look at a map and note how big Normandy is.

I may have mentioned this in a previous post but it bears repeating to illustrate my point. In a small-ish town far from the beaches we came across a nondescript house with a plaque on the gate carrying a poignant message. It had been a safe house for over 600 downed allied pilots, as they tried to make their way back across the channel to England. It was very moving and a good reminder that the battle in France took place not only on the beaches. There is a stretch of road named by France " Chemin Des Canadiens" in honour of the Canadian soldiers who battled their way from the Juno Beach to Caen.

Just something to contemplate.

Thanks to all for your thoughts. The Normandy stop is a 2 day thing for us and then it's on to Amsterdam. to pick up a 7 day biking and barge trip in Holland.

I can't answer all your questions, but can deal with Bayeaux and tours. My adult son (a WWII fanatic) and I did a 2-day trip to Normandy several years ago. We took the morning train to Bayeaux, stayed in a nice hotel not far from the train station, had a very nice lunch at La Rapier resto, and walked around the town afterwards, stopped to see the tapestry. The next morning I had booked the Band of Brothers full-day tour with Overlord and our guide Olivier did a wonderful job. We were with a small family in Olivier's 8 passenger van and he was very open to slight changes in our schedule to meet everyone's needs. We visited several of the beaches, the American cemetery and several small towns in the area. Our luggage was in his van, so he dropped my son and me off at the Bayeaux train station for the 6pm train back to Paris. I'm sure a longer trip would have been even better, but this worked for us. I highly recommend Overlord Tours (and Olivier!). Bon Voyage!

My wife and I have traveled Europe on our own several times; excluding 2 RS tours and a Mediterranean "around the edges of Europe" cruise. The most recent was a 4 week driving tour of France which included Normandy as a primary location of this trip. I would agree with some prior responders that you may be trying to see to much with too little time. If you exclude the travel days used to get between locations, one does not have much of two weeks remaining. "Staying in Normandy for a night", in my opinion, does not make sense. Many people totally underestimate the size and scope of the Normandy invasion area (about 50 to 60 miles total in beach length) and therefore the distance and time between the layout of the many interesting an worthwhile locations and museums to visit. In one day you'd be lucky to get in a good Normandy Beach tour and come back tried and packing for the next days long trip. The area itself is interesting and beautiful. If you do not have a car and are reliant upon tour companies and public transportation to get around this is extremely limiting because in this relatively rural area there is very little good public transportation suitable for tourists. I suggest cutting the trip back to Germany along the Rhine and then up to Amsterdam. The train connections are better and the distance to travel between stops is shorter. You can get great little Rhine day cruises out of many towns along the river. I suggest do so out of Mainz which quickly connects you into the core of the castle areas. This "Rhine Trip" could be more relaxing and time efficient. Save France and Normandy for another day. It is very worthwhile, but more time is needed.