My husband and I will be finishing a bike/barge trip in Amsterdam on a Friday morning and not flying home from Amsterdam til the following Tuesday. We would like to visit the Normandy/Brittany region in France following our bike/barge trip. Is it worthwhile to travel by train to this region, knowing we'll have to be back in Amsterdam on Monday night for our Tuesday flight? If so, what would you recommend seeing on these three days?
Posted by
US Pacific Northwest
10344 posts
You have enough time for a quick trip to Normandy but not to Brittany, if you look at a map you'll see why. You can get to the major towns by train but can't get to the D-Day Beaches by train, you'd need to go to Bayeux or Caen and then connect with BattleBus Tours for that. Bayeux, Caen, and the D-Day Beaches would be my recommendations. Mont St Michel is tempting but getting there without a car will take time that you probably don't have on this trip.
Posted by
Paris, France
506 posts
Agree with Kent - getting to Brittany will take up a good part of a day just getting there. Directly it is approximately 450 miles Amsterdam to Rennes for example - unfortunately the train would not be so direct.
Posted by
Boston
4132 posts
If you want to focus on Bayeux and the D-Day beaches, you can do as Kent suggests.
However, if your focus is more generally the Norman countryside, cuisine, and culture, you should consider renting a car for a few days.
Either would be a satisfying trip, I think.
Under the second scenario, take the train directly from Amsterdam to Lille and rent a car there (more direct than going through Paris). Bayeux makes a good base--or you can change venues--from which to explore places like Honfleur and/or Mont St. Michel (as well as Bayeux and the beaches).
Return the car in Lille and reverse the route to Amsterdam at the end.