We plan to rent a car to explore Normandy. We could return the car in Rouen and take the train from Rouen to Brussels (where we will stay), through Paris (using the high-speed train). OR, we could drive from Rouen to Bruges, return the car and stay in Bruges (and hit Brussels on our way to Amsterdam by train). GoogleMaps says Bayeux to Bruges is less than 4 hours. Michelin puts it a bit over 4 hours. Anyone have experience with driving in this part of France/Belgium? Is 4 hours going to turn into 5 or 6? I don't really want to spend much more than 4 hours in the car. Would Bruges be a nightmare to drive into? We usually avoid driving into larger cities, but have driven into Sevilla with no problem. Thanks for any help!
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
Forget what you're worrying about. The governing factor is that you're going to pay through the nose to drop a car in Belgium that you picked up in France. Just to add to your infinite storehouse of information, both hunks of mapping software are dead wrong on that one. I usually beat the times on google (don't use michelin) on the freeways, but not on this route. The stupid stuff doesn't know how clobbered the Caen bypass can get early in the morning. And it sure as heck doesn't know what he freeway can be like east of Dunkerque if you get behind the endless stream of trucks that just disgorged from a ferry and are heading in the same direction as you are. That last little swing into Brugge can get testy as well - - not hard, just slow. I might could make it in five hours with a full tank of gas and an empty bladder, but I wouldn't bet on it.
Posted by
Lake Forest, CA, USA
1633 posts
Brugge is also not easy to maneuver with a car. It's not that big of a city, however, the one way streets make it challenging to get to a particular destination withint the inner circle of the city. There is also limited parking. If you're staying at a B&B in the city center, they will usually provide parking, somewhere.
Posted by
Claremont, NH, USA
27 posts
I concur that 4 hours is optimistic given the traffic I ran into doing that same route. However, the most difficult issue was definitely arriving in Bruges many narrow one way streets and it is very hard to catch the street names while trying to drive and avoid other traffic. It was a delight to park the car and not go near it for a couple of days as Bruges is extremely walker friendly. If we had to do it again, we would definitely have a car in Normandy (a must to see all the sites IMO) and then take a train into Bruges. Great itinerary, have fun!
Posted by
OP
Chicago, IL
46 posts
Thanks for the information! Based on your advice we have decided to return the car in Normandy and train to Brussels.
Posted by
Bobcaygeon, Ontario, Canada
66 posts
We (4 adults) have rented a car in May, picking it up in Paris and will be dropping it off in Brussels; the drop off charge is only 50Euros.
Jean