Normandy

Use the search box. This question is frequently asked with good answers.

Actually, the question that's asked very often is how to get from Paris to Normandy to see the WWII Battlefields. VERY few people want to see Normandy without mentioning them so there are fewer postings to be found there. But we did have a very interesting discussion lately that may give you some ideas:

http://www.ricksteves.com/graffiti/helpline/index.cfm/rurl/topic/29802/normandy.html

btw, I tried the RS search and google and couldn't find this post ...

Beatrix: Your post: "btw, I tried the RS search and google and couldn't find this post" Don't bother with the Helpline search function, doesn't work and won't be fixed any time soon. I've posted on this many times before. Here's how you find this post or any other using Google Advanced Search: enter ricksteves.com in the search within a site box; enter in the all these words box the word helpline and one or more key words, I entered the words farmington hills, anything specific works fine. When you do this, you find this or any other post with no problem.

We spent some time in Normandy 3 years ago. We stayed in Bayeux (sp) because of it's proximity to WWII beaches. The tapestry there is really something. But if you are looking for beaches etc. I would recommend Trouville-sur-mer. Very interesting architecture, great beaches, good food, easy drive to Hanfluer. By the way we only had one bad meal while in France for 17 days and it was in Hanlfuer. I like our day trip there but very touristy. Just my thought.

Well, Frank said to use the search box ... which most regular users here know to be rather useless. so that's why I gave a direct link to a posting here.

I did go to google advanced search but couldn't find "search within a site" to help with answering this qestion. Well, I checked again just now and realized it's quite on the bottom of the screen, that's why I missed it the first time.

As much as it can get tiring to get the same questions over and over again, as long as the search function here is not really helping much not many newcomers to this site will know that this detour with an advanced google search is in fact NOT a detour but the quickest way to find answers to common questions ....

Back to the OP: if you have 2-3 days for Normandy and love small towns I definitely would recommend Etratat and Honfleur. Fecamps is right next door and also very pretty. Rouen is on the way from Paris to Etretat so you shouldn't miss it.

Also include a trip to Bayeux for its famous tapestry exhibit. You could also take in some WWII sites from there (we simply visited the military cemetary in Bayeux) or the museum in Caen.

Ellen, I think renting a car is essential. Normandy is easy to get around by car and there is an Autoroute available when you just want to leap across long distances in a hurry.

We took train from Paris to Bayeux and stayed there. We used public transportation except one day we rented a car to see the WWII sites. We were there last month.

John,

can you tell me what side trips you were able to do from Bayeux? I'm sure it's easy to get to larger centres like Caen or Rouen. What about the smaller coastal villages?

Paris to any of the Normandy cities is an easy train ride. Figure on $50/person.

Bayeux to Caen is a 15 minute train ride ($6 I think). You can walk between Bayuex town center and train station. Trains run every hour or two and non-rush-hour trains have 25% senior discount (if that applies). In Caen, there is a local tram from station to town center where we caught the bus (see Rick's book) to the Memorial Museum.
Some other places can be reached by bus from Bayeux although off-season they are few in number. If you have just one or two, consider taking one of the local day tours or renting a car for that day. Car rentals for multiple days involve finding parking (usually paid in almost every town), figuring out how to get there and the worry about driving and accidents. If you have a number of people, car is probably more of a bargain but again, lots of things can be seen by public transportation so you might consider taking a car for only the days you need it and using public transportation/taxis for the rest.

There is a certain feeling of being part of the culture when taking public transportation instead of encased in the private world of your car. On the other hand, the car allows you to stop where and when you want - sometimes even when you don't want to.

We did a one day car rental ($80) from Bayeux so we could see multiple things in one day that were too hard to reach conveniently by public transportation - Arromanches, American Cemetery, Point du Hoc, beaches, Ste Mere Eglise.

Note the prices I mentioned were in dollars as billed on my credit card.

Beatrix, we stayed in Bayeux 4 days. While there we spent a day visiting the WWII beaches and cemetary. We spent another day visiting St Mare Inglais (Longest Day), has a great little museum and viewing the tapestry. Then we spent another day traveling to Hanfluer, Touville area. We had a car. It was all great and gave us an opportunity to really see the area. We stay off the highways most of the time.

Bayeux is the place to stay. It has easy access to the major beaches from Gold to Pont du Hoc. There is also a TI in the center of town and the not to be missed tapestry.

A car is essential for this trip. (You can do Battlebus tours, but we prefer the independance of a car) It makes getting around and seeing what interests you very easy.

I rented a really nice apartment next to the Cathedral from Gites.com. We loved Bayeux--great places to eat. There are some nice little hotels there, too.

Thanks for all the information so far! Do any of you have recommendations about hotels and/or B&B's in any of these areas? Again, we like the smaller towns so we would prefer to stay in one of the smaller/quieter areas that were mentioned.

We just got back from Normandy and our trip was wonderful. We stayed in Bayeux with one of the best B&Bs I have ever experienced. It is called Les Trois Pierre. Henri and Marie are the most gracious of hosts, very knowledgeable and helpful in all areas. The accommodations were warm and of the highest standard. Bayeux is the hub of many day tours we used the battle bus for the WWII history which was outstanding but there were other tours and train connections to about everywhere in the area from there. Paris by train from the St Lazare station in Paris direct to Bayeux took about 1 and 1/2 hours.