My wife and are going to travel from Paris to Bayeux in late Sept. I’m assuming the train is the easiest way to get there.(don’t want the hassle of renting a car for one trip) Is there a train that goes straight there without changing trains? And as far as tickets go, do we need a rail pass or do you just buy them at the station? As you’ve probably guessed this is our first trip to Europe. Thanks for any and all help
Posted by
3438 posts
Yes! Take the train from Paris - Gare Saint-Lazare to Bayeux. The hotels located in central Bayeux are within walking distance of the Bayeux train station. I don't think you need to buy tickets ahead of time. You definitely don't need a rail pass. I buy tickets ahead of time because I just can't help myself!
It's too early to buy tickets for September. I like to use the Trainline website to buy tickets:
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
7881 posts
Our host here has a lot of free information for first-time travelers to Europe, like here:
https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/france-rail-passes
I should add that the general sentiment here is that it's best to buy tickets from the actual provider of the services, not a reseller. There are multiple reasons for that, ranging from seeing every possible connection to having the most recourse in the case of cancellation of trains or of your trip. Another advantage is learning how to do it, so you can buy more tickets to places you discover during your trip. There can be nasty, slow-moving lines for human ticket agents in rail stations. And it's doubly-hard to use a ticket-machine if you don't understand how the railroad works.
Posted by
New Mexico
33 posts
As has been said, there are direct trains from Paris St. Lazare to Bayeux.
Just a heads-up – although it may not impact your dates at all - but there is currently some work being done on the Normandy line that impacts direct train service at certain times (seemingly some weekends). Maybe some of the French posters here have more detailed knowledge of the dates and duration of the work.
Anyway, I recommend booking tickets directly on the SNCF connect site: https://www.sncf-connect.com/en-en/ (they also have an app).
I had no idea there was an issue. It was while trying to reserve our train tickets for a planned overnight stay in Bayeux from Paris for the weekend of April 22nd when an alert came up on their site. It was a recommendation to avoid booking the weekend due to very limited service caused by scheduled rail work. By that point we were locked into other plans and couldn’t change dates (didn't want to rent a car) so had to cancel................another time.
Another very useful feature is seeing strike alerts/info listed prominently on their site.
Have a wonderful trip!
Posted by
Irving
3226 posts
It’s not too soon to buy a ticket on https://www.sncf-connect.com/en-en/ and the sooner you buy it the cheaper it is. The train is direct meaning no transfers required taking 2h 30m. Don’t buy tickets on the Trainline because it costs more.
Posted by
3438 posts
It costs a couple of Euros more at most for a user-friendly website. I will continue to use Trainline, and let the judgement continue.