buy a france pass or not?

If you look for a date 90 days in advance from today, the prices should be much the same as they will be for April. The maximum train fare doesn't get jacked up during periods of high demand like hotel prices do, it's just that the cheap fares sell out faster.

I haven't done it myself, but often opinion on this board is that the D-Day sites need to be visited with your own rented car, or with an organised tour. You may also want a car in Alsace depending on whether you want to visit the larger towns, or small villages that may have limited public transportation.

The France Twin 5/10 pass will cost $270 per person. About $55/day of use. Using it to cover transportation from CDG to central Paris at 9.75 euro per person (about $12) seems a waste. Ditto for Paris-Versailles at 13 euro round trip (about $16). If your stay in Paris is during a calendar week (Monday to Sunday), you might think about a Navigo Decouverte Semaine 5-zone pass for 35.40 euro per person. That will cover your trip from CDG into Paris, round trip to Versailles, PLUS unlimited Metro, Bus, RER rides while in Paris.

Fontainebleu would be easiest done taking a PariscityVision bus from central Paris.

I am seeing TGV fares as low as 25 euro per person to Colmar or Strassbourg in early April. Wait a few weeks until your journey days are 3 months out, then check the prices at http://en.voyages-sncf.com/en/?DISTRIBUTED_COUNTRY=GB. Use France as country of residence when checking fares.

There is a local Alsace TER pass to ride trains in the Alsace region. Buses to the villages are frequent and inexpensive from Colmar.

Like Phillip said. a car would be the best way to see D-Day beaches and Mont Ste Michelle.

bird,

If i read you correctly using Paris as your base to visit Normandy and Mont Saint Michel maybe an issue. As mentioned unless you get a car up there or are on a tour, you won't have a lot of time. Even with one FULL day is stretching it but it may satisfy you. I took the train to Bayeux and its a 2h+ train ride with one stop in Caen. So consider 4+ hours of your day gone, just by the commute.

Then going to Mont Saint Michel is another issue. Its several hours from Bayeux. I took the shuttle from Bayeux and it was a full day event.

If you are going to make somewhere up in the Normandy area your "base" for whats up there, i can see that since many do, but unless you plan on spending a lot of time on trains going back and forth form Paris, i think its a waste of time and $$$ and would be better spent in Paris.

i havent been to Versailles, yet, but i know its about an hour train ride from Paris. This i would consider a real "day" trip.

But what i may like and do many not fit you.

happy trails.

You would not need a pass for this route, which consists of relatively short distances. Versailles is served by the RER, basically a suburban extension of the Paris metro system. Are your returning from Alsace to Paris or flying out from Strasburg/Basel/Mulhouse?

The trip from Paris to Colmar or Strasbourg (or return) are the longest and the only legs by reserved TGV train, and therefore the most expensive. Rick’s France rail travel page has the link and tips for buying “Prems” rate TGV tickets through SNCF (cheap, reserved, nonrefundable, available three or four months ahead of your travel date) to print at home and pay with PayPal. It does not tend to work with US credit cards, unless you have an extra level of security set up.