Paris or Normandy first, from London

I don't think anyone else besides you can answer your question. However, for a detailed analysis (with photos) of all the options for traveling between London and Normandy, google " The Man in seat 61". His website will give you a crystal clear view of the options available.

Ali, if you're not planning to spend any time in London then figure out what it will cost you to take either Eurostar or the ferry to Paris, including all incidentals - taxis, metro rides, etc. You might want to save time (even if still spending a bit more money) and just fly into Paris.

Will you have a car or are you trying to do the whole thing by train? If I were doing this all by train, I would take Eurostar to Paris and then train to Bayeux just as you have described. I did the trip from London to Paris to Bayeux all in one day and it was a good 7 hours from start to finish. If I had it to do again, I would break it up by staying in Paris first and then finishing in Bayeux. I've only done this by train so will let someone else comment on other options.

Remember that the first week in June is when the anniversary is. It will be busy around the sites that week.

flying in and out of London just to save dollars (without seeing London) doesnt make sense to me- unless its a lot of dollars. You waste two days of your precious vacation time travelling from London to France and then back from France to London (plus as mentioned above, the cost of eurostar , ferries, trains, taxis etc). Do the math first.

For what it's worth... the Eurostar is pretty darned awesome, but it is also expensive. Going old school and taking a ferry, hitting Normandy first and then driving or taking the train to Paris offers more opportunity for seeing the sights "on the ground," as it were. You do see things from the train as you pelt along in the Eurostar, but it goes FAST. And being on the water, crossing the English Channel, is it's own specially cool experience. You appreciate the Bayeaux Tapestry a little more after having made the crossing, that's for sure (expecially if it was choppy.) So - that's something to take into consideration. The ferry is slower, yes, but if your philosophy is that the journey itself is part of the destination, then... Also - are you flying back from London? If so, then it makes more sense to go Eurostar to Paris, and return to London via Normandy. I echo posters who have said (a) do the math first, so see how all the pieces of the journey add up, price-wise, and (b) remember that June will be crowded in Normandy. Of course, it is also the height of the tourist season in Paris, so you have probably already taken that into account. :o)

Eurostar really isn't that expensive (I just bought a one-way ticket for $62) if you buy 120 days in advance; prices go up as you get closer to your day of departure. However, when you compare the price of a flight to London with that to Paris, include all the costs (Eurostar, transport from airport, etc.) to see if it really is cheaper. I often start trips in London, but I always spend at least one night before I try to travel onwards. If you want to visit London, then starting there makes sense. If you only want to save some money, make sure you are saving a significant amount as the extra time and travel can really add up. Personally, I'd recommend London - Paris - Normandy. A couple of years ago I started in London and then took the train to Bayeux (changing in Paris). That train trip took most of the day (about 7 hours door to door). You really won't need (or want) a car in either London or Paris. Take the train to Paris first. After that, you could either take the train to Caen or Bayeux or you could rent a car and drive to Normandy.

Hi Ali,
We had a similar itinerary in 2008. This worked well for us: land in London, immediately take the Eurostar to Paris, several days in Paris, rental car for loop through the countryside (we did Loire, Brittany, and Normandy), ferry to England ( we drove on up to Calais because I had to see the White Cliffs of Dover), finish up with several days in London. We liked having the cities at both ends with the more relaxed pace of the countryside in the middle of the trip.

There are so many different ways to combine the London-Paris-Normandy locations. It does really depend on what kind of experience you want. Keep in mind that if you take the train from London to Paris and then train out to Bayeux or Caen you will need to change train stations in Paris. You also need to think about whether you would like a rental car while in Normandy. If so, you could take the Eurostar to Paris, rent a car outside of Paris and drive out to Normandy. The approach we took last summer was to take the Eurostar from London to Lille in northern France, pick up a rental car there, and then drive to Bayeux. We spent three nights in Bayeux, dropped the car in Caen, and took the train to Paris. We enjoyed driving through the countryside, and found Lille to be a very friendly "entry point" for France. Although we did a tour while in Normandy, we also liked the flexibility of being able to explore with a car while there. The rental car pick up in Lille and drop off in Caen were some of the easiest rental car experiences we have had anywhere (not just Europe). Personally we also liked sandwiching the big city London and Paris visits with the more rural Normandy experience. And Normandy is a very friendly place to begin trying out your French, before hitting Paris. Have a great time, and think about staying in Bayeux, we loved it!

Not sure if you already booked your plans. But we're going from London-Paris-Normandy next month. We're taking the eurostar to Paris first and spending a few days there. Then we're going to rent a car and drive to Normandy. We're flying back on RyanAir from Dinard to London. Dinard is pretty close to Mont St. Michel and the tickets on RyanAir were cheaper than Eurostar! I think one way tickets cost about $30.

Nicole - where are you renting your car in paris? We're doing Paris and Normandy in April and then back to gare du Nord to train to Amsterdam and are trying to figure out car rental...