Travel from Normandy to Belgium

The French public transport system is incredibly Paris-centric and there isn't any alternative to car hire if you don't want to go into Paris. However, I think that Deauville is served by Gare du Nord, so if you go back via Paris you won't have to change from one main Paris station to another, if that's what's putting you off.

Try looking on TGV Europe or on Thallys for train information rather than Rail Europe.

Sorry, Deauville is St-Lazare, so you will have to connect in Paris. But I still don't think there's another public transport option.

Drive to Lille, in northern France, drop off the car, and take the train to Bruges.

I talked today with representatives of ACP rail and they have a train from Lille to Brugge, they were unable to tell me prices or sell me tickets so I was a bit insecure with depending on them. Have you taken a train from Lille to Brugge? Rail Europe has been no help. I really do appreciate any assistance/suggestions you give me.
Thanks, Karyn

Rail Europe US won't be much help with Lille-Bruges as it is strictly speaking a local train (although still quite fast). I don't believe that there is any advantage to purchasing tickets in advance on that route. Trains are roughly hourly. Do note that there are two large stations in Lille: the direct trains to Bruges leave from the Lille Flandre station, not the Lille Europe station where the fast trains stop and that taxi drivers/car hire staff may assume a tourist would want to go to.

There are a couple of direct trains from Lille Flandres to Brugge, but for most departure times throughout the day you will need to make a connection at Kortrijk. See the German Rail site for detailed timetables. 2nd class tickets cost €17.20.

I talked today with representatives of ACP rail and they have a train Who is ACP rail? The only train company running trains between Lille and Bruges is SNCB, Societe National de Chemins de Fer de Belgique (apologies for poor spellage) the national railway of Belgium. I have never heard of ACP rail.

Having just returned from a similar trip: Paris-Normandy-Amsterdam)Brussels, with Bruges thrown in, and having purchased several rail tickets in country along the way, I don't see any reason to try to purchase the tickets in advance. As others have posted, most trains are going to route you through Paris, other than those going into northern France and then to Belgium.

Note that Lille-Brugge is a very specialized trip, despite how close they are. I went to Lille from Antwerp in July, and your local line was completely unknown to me. In fact, NMBS (the Belgian rail company) did not provide completely accurate information about the trip I took. I did get there, but the train I expected to be Direct required a change in Moeskroen. I mention this only so that you can make sure you don't buy a ticket through Moeskroen. That is the last Belgian station on the route from Antwerp towards Lille-Flandres. Many Antwerp trains in that direction go Gent-Brugge-Osteende, but the Lille route turns Southwest after Gent. It's not a reason to rent a car, but Brugge-old town is far enough from the train station that almost everyone takes the city bus from the train station to the market square. There are ticket machines in the bus shelter. Lille has a very important art museum, if you have the time and interest. That's why I made the day trip from Antwerp. (This is a different "Tim" from a previous post.)