Hello...I'm looking for advice on our trip through Normandy. This September, we will be arriving in Caen at 6:45am on the ferry from Portsmouth, England. We have reservations to stay in Bayeux for 3 nights...afterwards, we will head to Paris by train. Here is what I'm thinking so far... Day 1 Friday: Arrive in Caen. Store luggage. Have breakfast. Take the "Day Pass Tour" at the Caen Memorial. Take train to Bayeux and check into B&B. Free evening. Day 2 Saturday: Market day in Bayeux. Picnic lunch. Visit Bayeux Tapestry museum as well as Bayeux Cathedral. Day 3 Sunday: Rent a car. Take a country side drive. Visit Mont St. Michel in afternoon-evening. Return to Bayeux. Day 4: Depart Bayeux. Arrive in Paris at St. Lazare. I'm worried about renting a car and driving on Sunday, as gas stations may be closed. Or...should we rent a car for the weekend from Caen and skip the guided D-Day beaches tour and do it ourselves? I really appreciate all of your help!!
Posted by
Pensacola
9110 posts
I'm not a fan of tours, since I'd rather read ahead of time and do it myself. Bayeux to MSN is less than a hundred miles. You car will easily go three hundred on a tank of gas. Most of the route is on the freeways - - all of those stations will be open on Sunday. You've got free time on Day 2. The tapestry museum takes an hour if you listen to the whole audio guide and poke around in the gift shop for a while. The cathedral takes another hour, max. It's hard to spend two hours in a market.
Posted by
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
2724 posts
Normandy is one place I think a tour really adds to the experience. I would highly recommend one, though I don't know anything about the one you are considering. Your plan is certainly fine and sounds very relaxing, though I would prefer to focus more on the WWII sights then you propose. You might want to add more to day 2. The tapestry and cathedral will not occupy an entire afternoon. There is a good WWII museum in Bayeux and a British cemetary that you might want to visit.
Posted by
Huntington Beach, CA
94 posts
I highly recommend that you keep the DDay tour...the advantages of being with a guide who knows how to get quickly from site to site (and they are pretty spread out) plus all of the facts, stories and commentary that come from a knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide are many. We had a car and stayed in Bayeaux for 3 nights and I am glad that we didn't try to do that part on our own.
Posted by
San Francisco/Marin County
9422 posts
I agree with a tour, although I would do one that starts in Bayeux. A recent thread had a list of names and websites. (Edit: See "Guide or No Guide in Normandy?" thread and Ken's helpful post). I think the best of both worlds is a tour one day, and on your own the next day. But if you don't have enough time for both, I'd recommend a tour. The WWII museum in Bayeux is 1000x better than the Caen museum, imo. It's also smaller and a lot less expensive. We've been to Normandy many times (love it), and have rented cars in Bayeux and in Caen. Caen might be a little easier, unless there is a car rental place close to the Bayeux train station (when we rented in Bayeux we had to take a taxi across town). Don't know if you have a hotel yet, we've stayed at Hotel D'Argouges many times and highly recommend it.
Posted by
Atlanta, GA, USA
132 posts
We are going to Normandy in the spring and was very interested in the comments made here. One thing you may want to consider is instead of spending 3 nights in Bayeaux, spend 2 nights there and one night in Mont-St. Michel. My understanding is that Mont St. Michel is extremely crowded from 11am - 5pm. But before the tour buses arrive and after they leave, it is a fun place to explore. So we are going to drive over from Bayeaux arriving late afternoon. Explore the ramparts and village that evening. The next morning, get up early and get to the abbey by 9am when it opens. We can tour the abbey then leave just as the crowds are arriving and head to Paris. We are going to have a rental car and will dump it at Orly.