Need advice on which train to take and Caen Museum

I think that first train is a little unrealistic to think about trying to catch. Go for plan B.

I would go straight to Bayeaux. The museum there is very good and if you are going to do some Battlebus tours (hint,hint) you will be visiting a couple of other museums.

If your flight is on time, you'll be able to catch the 11:45 train.

While it probably won't take that long, allow up to an hour to get through immigration/passport control at CDG.

Take the RER B from CDG to Gare du Nord. Walk through the connecting tunnels to the Magenta RER station. Take the RER E to Haussmann--Saint-Lazare. Walk to Gare Saint-Lazare. Including walking, the trip will take around 50 minutes.

The Caen Museum is phenomenal, if like me, you remember WWII or you are interested in military history or the events of those days. It also will help you have a better background for the Battlebus Tours. If you are less involved with the above, you should probably go straight to Bayeux. By the way, my wife is not interested in military history but she read every letter from loved ones to the front and from the military back to loved ones from each of the dozen or so countries that paid for the new museum in Caen. The film at the end is amazing as well as you watch a split screen with the Germans on one side and the allies on the other as it takes you through the events. Whatever your choice, it will be a special trip for you both. George, Pittsburgh

Thanks for everyone's reply. It sounds like the 11:45 train it is.

We do plan on doing a Battlebus D-Day tour (American Highlights). However, they said December is a gamble due to weather and there is a possibility of the tour being canceled.

We are in our late twenties so we are definitely a bit foggy in terms of WWII history. However, I am interested in learning more, which is why we are considering a detour to the Caen Museum before Bayeux. My wife, on the other hand, is probably less interested. For those who did not enjoy the Caen Museum as much, what was the primary reason?

Thanks!

Eric

I am another who thinks the Caen museum is worthwhile. But, so is Bayeux.

If you are short on time, the Caen museum makes a great inclement-weather backup option. If you have more time, I'd make the time to tour the exhibits there.

You can be in Paris well before your 11:45 train. Can you think of a good way to spend that time? Could be fun.

Have a great trip!

I have read some negative posts about the Caen museum which surprised me. I felt that it was very well done and I am not a real WWII history buff. My husband, who is, thought it was fantastic.
But if your train arrives in Caen at 2:00 you will still need to take the bus to the museum so you probably won't actually get there until around 3:00 PM. 3 hours at the museum might limit you. One of the things I remember was a very good film but of course it only screens at certain times so you might not be able to see it.
We stayed at the Hotel Churchill in Bayeux which was a perfect location since the tours pick up right outside their door. Bayeux is a beautiful town. Be sure to leave yourself time to explore Bayeux and don't miss the tapestry. It is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen in all my travels.
Whatever you decide you will definitely enjoy the Normandy area.

We did not see the Caen Museum when we were in Normandy. We did two Battlebus Tours and wanted to spend a day traveling around the sites we didn't see on the tours on our own. We just didn't feel like we wanted to be couped up indoors all day. We also spent a day touring Mont St. Michel in the morning and Bayeux in the afternoon (loved the tapestry). A couple we met at our B&B spent an entire day at Caen and raved about it. One thing I want to point out is that it is an expensive museum and you may not be getting your money's worth if you are just there for a few hours.

The Caen museum is large and has a definite theme to it, which is that war is a terrible thing that humans should seek to avoid rather than glorify. There are a lot of exhibits with photos and lengthy descriptions, also there is much pre-war history. The goal is for one to think and contemplate and so forth. Which is fine, except at the time of my visit I had boys ages 9 & 7 so thoughtful consideration of exhibits was difficult. Perhaps some who state the Caen museum has shortcomings are those who have extensive knowledge of the history and are mainly there to view hardware. Like me.

The Bayeux museum packs a lot of cool hardware into a fairly small space. It's much smaller than Caen and doesn't try to be a big "experience" like Caen. I thoroughly enjoyed it.