Normandy Car Rental

On the same day you leave for Bayeux via the train you want to stop and see Versailles? What will you do with all of your luggage? Versailles could easily be a half day of sightseeing. Versailles is better done with as an easy daytrip (train) from Paris. For your car you can train all the way to Bayeux and pick up a car at the tiny little Hertz location in the petrol station or you could train to Caen and pick up a car there, then continue on for the short drive to Bayeux. There will be more car rental choices in Caen.

Thank you for your comment....re our luggage I was thinking we would rent a car outside of Paris??? and hit Giverny, then Versailles and eventually end up in Bayeux. What do you think?

Versaille is a close-in suburb of Paris. You'd be backtracking out of your way from Giverny. As stated, Versaille is best as a separate day trip from Paris. If you want to go to Giverny, you should pickup your car on the west side of Paris and just drive.

Where are you going after the road trip? How many days will you devote to it? Do you need an automatic?

You have all been very helpful....in my mind I had Giverny and Versailles as something we could do as we drove out to Normandy and Mont St. Michel where we will spend four days and then back to Paris to fly home.

Do Versailles as an out-and-in by RER from Paris. If you need an automatic, get if from Nord which has an easy escape and a larger car choice. If you don't, do what Bets said and get one from the west side somewhere. Stop at Giverny on the way to Normandy. Turn in the car at the airport. There is no way you can see Versailles and Giverny on the same day and still get to somewhere in Normandy by close to midnight, but that's the right order. If you don't give up a Paris day for Versailles, there's no way you can see it, Giverny, Normandy, and MSM and still make it back to the airport by the fourth night. You might could pull it off by leaving MSM, going to Versailles, then chugging in to an airport hotel well after supper, but you'd hit the Peripherique in the miserable late traffic. You could also drop the car in Versailles and get to the airport by RER, but that'd be a lot of luggage humping from the car place to the RER station, with the line change at St-Michele/Notre-Dame, and a shuttle bus to the hotel. I wouldn't do it on a bet.

Did I get this straight? You've never been to Paris before, and you're spending 3 days in Paris and 4 days in Normandy and Brittany? You're not wasting time, but it seems like you never expect to visit France again. If you expect to be in Paris again in the next two years, maybe okay. I shouldn't prescribe for others, but on our first married trip to Europe in 1988, my wife and I spent a week in London and a week in Paris. We did not get bored.

Actually we will be doing a Rick Steves tour called l3 days from the Loire valley to the south of France. We end in Nice where we will take a train to Paris. We have ten days in total before we catch a flight home. We were thinking three days in Paris, two days in Normandy, two days in Mont St. Michelle and then four days for extra things....Versailles and Giverny would be in addition to Paris. I had found a tour of V and G in one day and thought that maybe we could rent a car and see both of them on the way to Normandy. I appreciate all the comments and the help you are all giving me. Thank you all.

"I had found a tour of V and G..." Are you talking about a tour company? You don't need a tour company for Versailles. Take the RER from Paris all the way to Versailles. At the Chateau stand in line for tickets, walk in and grab your headsets, then follow everybody else through the palace. There's absolutely positively no need for a tour. Just go ahead and add another day in Paris and do Versailles from there.

Be sure to allow a lot of time for the gardens/grounds at Versailles, they are the best part imo. You can rent bikes (most fun way for us), rent a golf cart, take the little train or a horse drawn wagon, or walk to see the Grand Trianon, the Petit Trianon and Marie Antoinette's Hamlet... so, so fun. For us it's a full day starting early... we love it there.

Maxine, As the others have repeatedly mentioned, visiting Versailles and Giverny on the way to Normandy is not a realistic plan. When is your trip taking place? I'd suggest adding one night to Paris and visiting Versailles as a day trip via RER (perhaps skip one night in Mont St. Michel). Between the Chateau and the gardens, Versailles is HUGE and it will take at least half a day to see it. You may also have to contend with HUGE crowds, especially from tour groups. I was there a few weeks ago, and even with a Paris Museum Pass, I spent 1 to 1.5 hours waiting in a queue just to get into the Chateau. This will likely not be a site where you can just park and then walk in the door. You should be able to stop at Giverny on the way to Bayeux. Ed or one of the others can provide advice on the best location in Paris to rent a car, in order to avoid the horrendous traffic. I you decide to skip Giverny, you could also rent in Caen or Bayeux. Incidentally, I've done the "France" tour that you'll be taking (although my tour started in Paris and ended in Nice), and you're going to have a fantastic time! Happy travels!

Maxine... We were thinking three days in Paris, two days in Normandy, two days in Mont St. Michelle and then four days for extra things. Bad idea IMHO to plan to spend 2 days in Mont St Michel. The crowds there are crushing (literally, you will have to physically squeeze between other people who are pressed into the one narrow lane). MSM is beautiful, but only under the following conditions: 1) From a distance, or 2) after 4 pm and before 9 am. Being on the Mont during the day is not a fun experience - it's simply packed with tourists. Honestly, there's little to do there - walk the street (if you can...) circle the ramparts, tour the abbey...you can knock those things out in a few hours - if your path is not obstructed by thousands of day-trippers - so your best bet is to get there late in the day, sleep on the Mont, get up early, then get outta there before the crowds roll in. A few hours late afternoon/early evening, then a few more the next morning are all the time you will need (or want) to spend there. I'd take the remaining time and enjoy some more of the rest of Normandy (which is really beautiful).

I agree that one night on MSM is probably enough, but I really don't think it's necessary to arrive late in the day. Sometimes part of the fun is seeing all the crowds, dealing with it, and then having the place to yourself when you can truly appreciate it. I would spend more time in Normandy or Bayeux or an extra day in Paris. I am one of those who did not love Versailles... glad I saw it, but tons of gold and opulence, and I don't ever have to go back.