Any suggestions on visiting Brussels or elsewhere on the way to Normandy Honfleur? (september of 2013) We need to arrive in BRU since we couldn't get upgrades into CDG, and we'll rent a car at the airport. Scheduled arrival is 9:00AM, so it is feasible to drive straight to Honfleur, but should we spend a night or more in Brussels? We were going to drive straight from CDG to Honfleur, but since we're landing in BRU, maybe we should do something there or in between? The plan is to drive from BRU, sleep in Honfleur 2-3 nights, then: a few more days in Normandy, a few days in Brittany a few days West Loire a few days East Loire a week into Burgundy/Alsace
drop car at CDG for a week in Paris Any suggestions are welcome! We've never been North of Provence and are looking forward to it. Merci!
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
I've never been to Normany, so I'll leave that to others. But I see two potential problems with your plan: 1. Renting a car in Belgium and dropping it off in France will incur a drop off fee; posts here indicate it can be several hundred dollars. Cars returned in the same country where they were picked up (even different cities) usually have no extra charge. 2. If you are flying in from Hawaii, that's a VERY long flight; will you be up to getting in a car and driving for a few hours? If you aren't (and you won't really know until you arrive), it could be dangerous.
Posted by
white plains, ny, usa
4161 posts
Mark , Whatever else you decide , I strongly agree with Harold about not attempting to pick up a car and begin to drive . Coming from NY to CDG overnight ,all I felt I could handle the rest of arrival day was coffee , food and walking as much as possible to get the blood and oxygen going . From the Pacific ? Getting behind the wheel is suicidal !! After the kind of trip you are making , you'll be lucky if you can WALK after you disembark , don't try to be a hero . Normandy is lovely and thought provoking . I assume you are intending to visit the D-Day sites and they will change you forever . Enjoy your trip , safely ! P.S. the drive to Honfleur from Brussels is at least five hours .
Posted by
OP
Kona, Hawaii, USA
6 posts
Thanks for the concern - great forum! Yes - we have TWO "red-eyes" from Hawaii to Europe! However, we've done this numerous times and it's not a problem - mainly because of the "lie flat" seats that we upgraded to. You can actually get a good nights sleep and be fresh when you arrive in Europe - worth the upgrade. We first did this flying into GVA when United added the lie flat seats, and we made the drive to Vaison La Romaine - directly from the airport, about 4 hours. We were planning on driving straight from CDG to Honfleur (2.5 hours), but since we could only get the upgrade to BRU, now it's closer to 4.5 hours IF we drive straight through. So the main thing is: do we want to spend a night (or two) in BRU or nearby before we drive to Normandy?
Posted by
white plains, ny, usa
4161 posts
I think the answer is dependent on what kind of things interest you . For example , if you are interested in Gothic architecture , you could have a go at Amiens cathedral on the way to Normandy . As you suggest , you could as well spend some time in Brussels . Another thought could be some of coast towns that attracted artists like Lautrec , Renoir or Signac ( wonderful marine paintings ) between Calais and Le Havre , i.e. Le Crotoy , Dieppe or Etretat . Lots of possibilites , I'm sure there are many more .