my wife and I would like to visit Normandy after again staying in Paris. What would be the best way to to travel? A planned bus tour? River boat cruise? Train and public transportation? Rental car and local hotels/B& B's? We like doing things on our own but because our time will be limited we don't want to miss the history of the area.
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
It depends on how much time you have and what you want to see. We can give more useful advice if you can post again giving us an idea of about how much time you have (day trip? 3 days?) and what your preliminary thinking is on the kind of things you want to see in Normandy. This will help us, because parts of Normandy are efficiently served by public transportation and some are not--for example, you can't reach the D-Day Beaches by train.Let us know and we'll try to advise you further.
Posted by
Alencon, Normandy, France
66 posts
Normandy is a large and varied area of contrasts - many of our friends from 'across the pond' only know it for the landing beaches, but there is so much more to see inland. Chateaux, gardens, Roman remains, cathedrals ...
If you like exploring on your own then a rental car is an excellent idea (with satnav to prevent mapreading arguments). We live in Lower Normandy, near Alençon and the border of the Pays de la Loire.
The Seine runs through Normandy via Rouen but is not a viable mode of transport - a little river cruise is nice, though.
Posted by
Redding, CA, USA
1568 posts
This is what we did:
The train leaves from the Paris St. Lazare station to Bayeux. It takes from 2hrs 5 mins or 2 hrs 22 mins.
We stayed here and it was very nice:
http://www.lecornu.fr/homeEN.html
We took a full day tour with Battle Bus and it was EXCELLENT. There are several tours to choose from. You will not be disappointed. Here is the link:
I must warn you. You must make reservations serveral months in advance. They are in demand. I believe they only take 8 people on each mini bus.
You have to travel to Bayeux on day 1...then take the tour the next day.
Posted by
OP
helms
19 posts
Thanks Kent. It looks like we will have about 8 or 9 days but would like to spend 3 or 4 of them in Paris. The Normandy beach sites and related museums are definately on our things to see. My wife definately would like to visit Mt. Saint Michel and would love to stay in one of the small towns, maybe Giverny. Also wondering if the Monet Museum is a must see. Thanks for the help.
Posted by
OP
helms
19 posts
Thanks JB. If we choose to take the train would we then have to rent a car?
Posted by
maplewood, new jersey, usa
818 posts
If I could do it all over again ... we would have taken a train from Paris to Normandy and rented a car when we got there. I found the drive to be long and boring and we got lost a few times and got lost getting back into Paris. You definitely should have a car to explore Normandy, I think. We didn't do any tours but did explore the beaches and see the 360 degree movie
Posted by
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
172 posts
We (in our 60's)drove from Paris to Normandy, all through Normandy, and a day trip to Mt. St. Michel. Had no trouble, and yes Monet's gardens are well worth a couple of hours of your time, very easy to find. If you do drive, make sure to get out into the countryside of Normandy, beautiful! Juno Beach Centre (Canadian) is an excellent museum.