My husband and I are traveling to Normandy in mid-July. We arrive in Paris from London via train in the late morning. We would have liked to go directly to Caen, see the Caen Memorial Museum, then go to our hotel in Bayeux. I am unable to find a direct train to from Paris to Caen at this time. When I look for the trains in June, I can find many inexpensive trains which go directly from St. Lazare to Caen in less than 2 hours. In July, the train goes through Rennes and takes over 5 hours. Will the schedules change at a later date, or do the July trains simply have a different route?
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32198 posts
Elise, To the best of my knowledge, ALL TRAINS to Normandy depart from Gare St. Lazare, so there's no other option. It will be necessary to travel from Gare du Nord (where you'll first arrive in Paris) to Gare St. Lazare. As I recall, you can do that either via RER or Metro to Hausman St. Lazare, and then walk to the train station. Happy travels!
Posted by
London, United Kingdom
4684 posts
Looking at the TER Normandie web site I see that there is engineering work on the Paris-Normandy main line on the weekend of 14-15 July. That may have something to do with it.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
According to voyages-sncf.com, there is a direct train running on weekdays up to and including 6 July that departs at 12:10. There is a direct train on 7 July that departs at 13:10. From 8 July onward the site shows no more direct trains. For some departure times you can make a connection in Rouen. For others it will be Rennes. Those times are effective through at least 26 August, which is as far ahead as the site currently shows timetables.
Posted by
OP
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
2 posts
All the printed schedules I can find end at July 7th. Do new schedules get posted at a later date?
Posted by
Birmingham, AL, USA
12 posts
we are also planning to travel from Paris to Normandy. Please tell me how to find the train schedules and the best way to book a tour for the day. I know we need to spend more than one day, but that is not possible on this trip.
Posted by
Minneapolis, MN, USA
8700 posts
Laura, The first train in the morning doesn't get to Bayeux in time for an all-day tour so you basically have three choices: 1. Take an evening train to Bayeux, stay overnight, take an all-day tour, and take the train back to Paris in the evening. One company that gets high ratings is Overlordtour. 2. Take a morning train to Bayeux and take an afternoon half-day tour. Take the train back to Paris in the evening. Overlordtour ofers both morning and afternoon half-day tours. 3. Take an inclusive bus tour from Paris to the beaches and back again. One provider is ParisCityVision. Use the German Rail site for detailed timetables. Enter a date no later than 8 June. The semi-annual European train timetable will go into effect on 9 June. Times are likely to be the same or change by only a few minutes.