We leave Normandy in September driving to Lille to catch a train to Brussels. How do we travel to Bastogne for a day? Is there a train from Paris or do we go through Brussels? Thank you. This will be the end of our WWII trip.
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
Bastogne does not have passenger rail service. To get there by public transportation, you need to take the train to Libramont, and from there, a bus to Bastogne. The trip duration lasts about 3 hours each direction.
Posted by
Northamptonshire, England
32801 posts
Why not keep the car for the journey to Bastogne? It is about 4 hours to Lille from Caen. It is less than two hours more to reach Bastogne and you can get all around the area with that car. Then if you want to return the car to France it isn't all that far to Metz, and you can have a peak at Luxembourg on the way. There is a fantastically wonderful museum in the small town of Diekirch, the National Museum of Military History which tells the story in such detail, with magnificent dioramas with stories told in the words of the soldiers on both sides, and sometimes in the voice of them. Never before had I seen such a comprehensive and well presented museum - anywhere. And as far as telling the story of the Battle of the Ardennes - the Battle of the Bulge as it is also called - nowhere does it as well. It is run by only a small cadre of volunteers. They welcome visitors with open arms, especially servicemen both serving and retired. General Patton is memorialized in Diekirch and buried too not very far away... I hope your trip is rewarding...
Posted by
OP
Fort Myers, Florida, USA
34 posts
What a great idea! thank you for such a detailed response. I think this means we would drive into Belgium to see Bastogne and this museum and drive to Metz to turn in the car. Many thanks! Holly