Paris to Bayeux Train Schedule

Carole: We have the same issue. We are going London to Bayeux on April 14. We already bought the Eurostar ticket, based on the reasonable advice that the schedules don't change. And then we noticed the loss of the train we needed; worse, as the schedule shows for one month earlier (as far ahead as you can book) the longer train connection via Montparnasse gets to Caen too late to get the last train to Bayeux.

We put this question to Overlord Tours, since we are booked with them the next AM, and also to the TI in Bayeux. What we got back is that there has been periodic track work on the direct line, and this has been going on at times over several years, necessitating the temporary dropping of this train. Overlord's staff directed me to http://www.voyages-sncf.com/billet-train/horaires, which is the scheduling section of SNCF (in French), and you don't get this in the regular "booking" area. Looking at this, I found that there is one train (two, but the other is early AM) on April 14 that does get from Lazare to Bayeux. It's 3 trains actually -Lazare to Rouen, change for Rouen to Caen, and then change again for Bayeux as that latter train does not go there. It takes over two hours longer than the direct because of the changes, but it does at least line up with our connection, albeit we now have to get between the stations in 60 minutes, rather than 84. Frustrating, in that the following week it appears the direct Lazare-Bayeux line is back to normal (and in fact on Sat April 18 we can get the normal train back to Paris to then go on to Ghent)

Check for your dates on the link I gave, I think you will find your train. You can also check this on the DB Bahn site, which may be easier to use (since you can not yet buy tickets). I just tried this for a random date in May, and again in June, and all the direct Lazare-Bayeux trains were shown.

You may also want to check RS Travel Tips for Train Schedules.

Au Revoir!

Larry and Colette thank you for the information. I have looked at both of the websites and I do see that the train going directly to Bayeux is available from Gare Saint Lazare to Bayeux on May 9, 2015 the original one that I was looking at. Since I can not buy the tickets yet I guess I have to assume that they will be available when I look the 90 days out. This definitely helps because I was having to do a lot of praying that things that are planned stay on schedule. Any deviation would have caused numerous problems. I will wait until February to see how the trains look then. This makes me feel a whole lot better.

Hi Carole,

I'll be watching this thread closely. We're doing the Best of Paris tour in June and have been debating whether to try to do a day trip to Normandy, with a half-day Overlord tour. We know it would be a long day, but without the early train from Paris, there's no way it would work. Here's hoping the right trains are running for both of us.

Cheers!

I reviewed similar schedules for another traveler here last month and did believe the spring schedule variation to be due to track work (not due to schedules not being published, or another issue that would resolve itself). Looking at DB schedules online for sample dates in mid-May, I also see that they are showing direct Bayeux-Paris 2-hour trains with no detour. For Larry's travel date of April 14, DB schedules are showing the additional connections, some in Le Mans and some in other stations, depending on departure time.

I just checked the DB schedule (very handy) and it looks like the trackwork/changes run through about April 18, with the direct Paris-to-Bayeux trains back in service after that.

I wouldn't necessarily believe the DB website if temporary diversions are taking place. DB is good because it has the annual timetables of all European national railway companies loaded. Temporary changes outside Germany which are decided after the timetable is published might not get into their database. For these you have to go the actual railway company site (here SNCF).
This is definately true in Britain. In Britain trackworks are usually done on Sundays, which means for any Sunday there will be some lines with a "Special timetable" in force. These are decided a few weeks in advance and don't get to the DB database, but are in the British National Rail website.

Because of my specific concerns I have been checking both sites frequently since the good folks at Overlord gave me the SNCF site with the schedule search (and in fact clued me in to the existence of the train I need). The DB site has been showing the same changes that the SNCF shows, including when the direct train starts running again. Both are in agreement. I suggested the DB site because it is (to me) easier to use as opposed to the schedule on SNCF, and since tickets are not yet available for sale on SNCF it gives specific info on the trains (times, stops, etc).

We too will be going to Paris for a week in May 2015. As of now, we have an afternoon tour with Overlord. When I go to the DB site to look at the schedule, I notice it states that the trains do not run on every day. Does anyone have advice as to whether it's better to arrange a side trip to Bayeux during the week as opposed to the weekend? Are there more trains running during the week? I will be keeping an eye on this thread as well.

Please read this full thread and use the link I provided back on 12/15 to access the French train schedule