Okay, I've been convinced that ideally Normandy is best not done by day trip from Paris. I am trying to figure out how we can do both Brugge and Normandy (my daughter really wants to go to both). We are committed to our 10 nights in the Paris apartment, so that has to be factored in. How feasible would it be to do this - Day 1. Land in Brussels early morning and take the train to Brugge. Day 2. Brugge. Day 3. Take the train to Normandy (not sure exactly what route it would be...??). Spend night somewhere like Bayeux. Day 4. See major Normandy sites and then take the train to Paris. Does this sound reasonable to all you experts? Comments and suggestions are needed. Thanks!
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
If you want to see more than Bayeaux, you will need to either take a bus tour or rent a car. Also, remember to factor in jetlag for your first day or so in Bruges.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
Yes, it's certainly feasible. You will have to go to Paris on your way to Bayeux. The route can be via either Lille or Bruxelles. It will take you 5 1/2 hours to get from Brugge to Bayeux. See the timetables at www.bahn.de. After you get summary timetables for Brugge-Bayeux, click on "Details for all" to see the connecting points.
If you want to visit the War Memorial in Caen, you probably should first go all the way to Bayeux, drop off your luggage at your hotel, and then take the 15 minute train ride back to Caen. The SNCF site doesn't list Caen as a station having left luggage facilities.
If you take an all-day tour of the D-Day beaches out of Bayeux, you can catch an early evening train to Paris.