Traveling from Paris to Bayeux to Cambridge

Yes, landing -> Bayeux -> Paris -> Cambridge is the most efficient combination. It is surprisingly complicated to go from Normandy to anywhere else than the southern coast in England.
All by train. As a bonus, you do not need to change stations in London since trains to Cambridge leave from St Pancras, where the Eurostar from Paris arrives, or from Kings Cross just across the street.

The most efficient way to get to the UK from France is via Paris.....so.....your trip will look like this:

Fly to Paris

Train to Bayeux

Train back to Paris. (Change stations from Gare St. Lazare to Gare du Nord)

Eurostar to London (St. Pancras station)

Train to Cambridge (leave from St. Pancras or Kings Cross which is across the street from St. Pancras.)

I agree that going to Bayeux first is a good idea. But only two nights in each location is really just one day. And you don't know how jet lag might affect you. My suggestion is three nights in Bayeux if you plan to take an all day D-Day tour, at least three nights in Paris, but two nights in Cambridge should be enough.

What is the rest of your schedule and where are you flying out of for your return?

There are ferries you can take if they are running. The most efficient, and easiest, way, by public transportation, is what I describe above.

Thank you SO much! This is extremely helpful!
Another question: Is it cheaper to book my tix from Paris to Cambridge on Rail Europe-- or should buy separately from Eurostar and then purchase my trip to Cambridge from another vendor? I understand I should pre-book the trip from Paris to London; should I also pre-purchase my trip form London to Cambridge?

Is the upgrade above standard worth it? How is that different?
Thank you!!

Book your Eurostar ASAP, the prices increase.
As Paris to Bayuex (and reverse) is not a high speed line, I do not recall any savings in booking ahead from several years back when we did this, but certainly cannot hurt. You should get savings on the train to Cambridge 12 weeks out.

Book all of these from who sells the tickets--Eurostar, SNCF, the appropriate British Rail Line. You will,pay more, not less, buying from an aggregator such as Rail Europe.

As for upgrades, 1st and 2nd class cars arrive together. The rides are 2'10" for Bayeux-Paris and 2'15" for the Eurostar. This is short and there is ample room to walk through the train, unlike a B727 or Airbus 320. Do you need to pay 1st class?

The fare structure for Paris-Bayeux changed, and there are now large discounts if you book in advance. Even a few weeks in advance is enough.
This being said, a full-fare is not that expensive AND it is very hard to time your train out of Paris if you intend to take it the day when you land. Therefore, I would just book the Bayeux-Paris train in advance, not the other one.

I don't think the cheap Advance tickets are available on the King's Cross to Cambridge route. Whether you buy online or at the station the price will be the same. If you were to travel from London Liverpool Street station to Cambridge that's the route with cheap tickets.

This is the train company https://www.greateranglia.co.uk/

If you were to travel from London Liverpool Street station to Cambridge that's the route with cheap tickets.

but much slower

Thank you all! Great tips! We will do Paris to Bayeux, three nights in Bayeux, then back to Paris-- but can only do 2 nights.
Then to Cambridge where we will do one night--- but COULD do 2 nights in Cambridge IF we can travel from Cambridge to Heathrow EARLY am to catch a flight back to the states. Can we do that? What would you recommend?
Thank you!

Cambridge is sort of on the opposite side of London compared to Heathrow, so I would not risk it, since I assume your flight to the US is not very late in the day. It is a train + tube + train combo, so several things can go wrong.

Should we book a town car-- driver to take us from Cambridge to heathrow?

Can we fly out of Cambridge to the US?

If we should stay in London the night before, should we stay in a particular area? Does it matter?

3 last questions:

first - if you like, depends on day of the week, how early, how much time you have in hand, is time or money more important?

second - no.

third - see the answers to first question, but addition to time vs money, add a third variable, scenic or type of hotel and room

sounds cheeky, but it is true...

There's a direct coach from Cambridge to Heathrow - the first one departs 0500

https://www.nationalexpress.com/en

Thank you all so much!!
We have Eurostar tix and hotel reservations for the 7 nights, with the last night in Kensington.
Your advice has been so helpful!!