Transportation from Paris to Normandy

You could rent your car in Caen; the row of rental car companies is literally across the street from the train station. If you want to drive to Giverny, you could return your car there (or Vernon), at the airport or somewhere else outside of the city...unless you don't mind driving in Paris...

We rented a car at the airport. Driving north is not too bad. There are cars at Gare du Nord too. The problem with getting a car outside of the city is that most places have limited to no hours on the weekend, and they will close at 5 or 6pm. We would rather have gone out of town to get a car, but were getting in to Gare du Nord too late. We survived the city driving, it is just exciting and a little intimidating! We spent a week in Rouen and Paris last year, it was great! Our big mistake was making a reservation too late, so we had to go from Gare du Nord by train to the airport, then get our car. Too much work....

Facts: 1. You get to Caen/Bayeux from G. St Lazare, not Nord. 2. You can rent a car at Nord. 3. In the time you can metro from Nord to Lazare, you can drive from Nord and be exiting the peripherique onto the A14. 4. If you're on the train at Lazare when it pulls out and call me, if I'm parked outside, I can probably be waiting for you when you walk out the door at Caen. There's no doubt I can beat you to Bayeux. I think I could do a little bit better if I left Nord as you left Lazare. 5. If you ride the train for a while, you're going to be paying for a train and a car on the same day. 6. If you're going to be done with Paris as you finish with the car, you can dump it at the airport. If not, you can dump it back at Nord so you don't pay for a car and a train on the same day.

We always fetch our rental car right across the street from the Caen rail station where there are at least 3 rental agencies. We prefer AutoEurope, based in Maine, and easy to contact prior to your trip. We sometimes take the ferry from Portsmouth over to Ouistreham then take the bus into Caen, or the train from Paris. We like the hassle free pickup and return of our rental car at Caen because we avoid Paris traffic. Too, returning Parisians clog the roads on Sunday afternoons making returning a rental to CDG or Nord nightmarish. The rental agencies at Caen are open late on Saturday and are so convenient to the train station, unlike in Bayeux. We drive the 15 miles to Bayeux.

It's definitely easier to rent a car in Caen, although it is possible (and I did it) in Bayeux also.