Rouen, Bayeux, and Paris, France May 2019

Lodging:
(Rouen) Hotel Mercure Rouen-Centre Cathedral
-Great hotel in the best location. We booked two rooms and bought the expensive, but well worth it breakfast. Rooms were clean, quiet, and comfortable. I think we were the only Americans, but saw many other French, Chinese, and German tourists.

(Bayeux) Hôtel Le Bayeux
-Great location and affordable. We booked a family room and bought the expensive breakfast. Room was clean, quiet, and as comfortable as it could be with five people sharing one bathroom. The staff was the best part of this hotel and were great to help us with dinner reservations and special accommodations. They have an ice machine and allowed us to use their refrigerator.

(Paris) Ademar Rental (3 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment in 11th arrondissement)
-Greatest HomeAway booking by far. I knew that we’d need space, a kitchen, and a washing machine in clean apartment and safe neighborhood to be successful for a week in Paris. What we got was so much more! Residential neighborhood at M: Rue Saint Maur (20-25 minutes to anywhere). There are two doors that open with a key fob (hold it up to a reader on the key pad) an outer gate to access the building and then the door to the building. Quick elevator ride to the 4th floor and a peaceful home awaits. We had plenty of room to spread out and have some much needed privacy. I only cooked one dinner, but we loved having the kitchen to reheat take aways, scramble an egg for breakfast, and keep a stash of snacks and drinks. Ademar Rental (http://www.ademar-colinas.com/en/ and available to book with credit card on HomeAway Property ID 47170vb)

Transportation:

-I didn’t want to drive. My French is basic and car trips in the States can be stressful even when it’s all in English and I know where I’m going! We took trains from Paris to Rouen, Rouen to Bayeux, Bayeux to Paris. I booked my tickets on Loco2 (an app in the Apple App Store) because they charge your credit card in US$ and have a very easy user interface. I did not book the first train in advance, in case our flight was late (which it was). When we got to the train station, I purchased the needed tickets from a machine. This was the first time I used the train (besides the easy peasy RER train to Versailles), so I wasn’t real sure of how it worked. About 20 minutes before the train arrives, the track number appears next to the destination on the departures sign board. Also, we had a couple of train delays. One was two hours at Caen. We found a lovely cafe in the station and enjoyed a leisurely lunch. The second delay was while we were on the train outside of Paris, but it only lasted about 10 minutes. On all our trains, we had people checking our tickets; they simply scanned our paper or digital tickets right off my phone (I was paranoid about my phone crashing, so I emailed them to my son’s phone as well).

-Rouen and Bayeux were both primarily walking cities, used taxis, and hired tours.

-In Paris, we got the navigo decouverte cards. I brought with me 2cm x 3cm headshots that I printed from my home printer. I tried buying them at St. Lazare, but their offices were closed and I couldn’t find an agent. I bought a carnet to get us to our apartment then popped by the closest metro station when I wasn’t in a hurry later that evening. The agent wasn’t thrilled at me buying five cards, because they have to be bought and activated separately. Once I apologized and explained that my family was big (in terrible French) she smiled and was much more pleasant.

-Also in Paris, we made great use of electric scooters. We downloaded the Lime app and rented them several times. It’s €1 to unlock a scooter and €0.15/min to ride. My children all have experience with electric scooters and I rode with my 9 year old on mine. I saw one Parisian papa in a business suit with two daughters on one scooter! We stuck to the bike lanes and only when traffic was “light.”

-Easy Go Shuttle airport transfer in Paris €70. I should have booked them to and from the airport. Originally we were going to do the Roissy Bus from CDG (€10 p/person that drops off close to Opera Garnier and walk to St. Lazare); however, we were worn out and opted to hire a car to take us directly to the train station. It was well worth the extra €20. The morning of our departure, the Easy Go Shuttle driver was ready and waiting for us at 7am outside our apartment. Check your junk email for the conformation emails. Cash to driver.

Tickets and tours:

Bayeux
Private guide for D-Day (François Gosselin with DDay Normandy Guide www.ddaynormandyguide.com for €550)

Bayeux Shuttle to Mont St. Michel (€65 per person www.bayeuxshuttle.com)

Paris
Eiffel Tower (I watched their website like a hawk and missed the day they opened our week in Paris. I was devastated and resolved to brave the line for day of tickets. Then a couple weeks before the trip, I checked one last time and they had tickets available! Our tickets were for 9pm, but were there by 8:30 and they let us right up. We were back down a few minutes to 10pm so we could watch the light show. They have a lovely glass wall around the tower now, so my family sat at the base to marvel at the light show without me worrying about who was around. The souvenir sellers were waiting as we left through the revolving doors, but it was a relief to get ourselves gathered and prepared before running the gauntlet.)

Paris Museum Pass- children under 18 are FREE! I bought three 6-day passes for the flexibility. I was going to get them at the first museum we visited, but when we were leaving the airport there was a Tourist Info desk set up by the baggage claim and I asked them if they sold the museum pass, which they did. They asked if I needed anything else and I booked a car to St. Lazare train station with them for €70 and had about a 15 minute wait for the driver. The other beauty of this pass is you breeze through separate lines. If you are on the fence about buying one, do it for the shorter lines. There were some places we visited, like the Louvre, that would have been spoiled (for my littlest) if we had to wait to get in.

Paris Walks tour of Montmartre €15 per person, less for children. I thought it was super great and wanted to do more tours. My children didn’t think it was great and preferred my (reading the RS guidebook) tours instead. It was really the only time in Paris we were with other Americans and frankly, they aren’t always the most pleasant people. The tour guide Paul was fantastic.

Paris Catacombs €24 per adult for the skip the line tour and less for children. Not everyone wanted to go. You must buy tickets in advance and I had them printed before we left home. The ticket scanner guy didn’t like my tickets and asked for some other form, guessing from my phone, but I said this is my ticket, he scanned it and it worked. Buy skip the line, because there was a serious line…but not for us!

Atelier des Lumières is a light show of art. My husband loved it, but my two oldest were tired and one fell asleep. Must buy tickets online and in advance. Family pricing for tickets, €52 for a family of four. https://atelier-lumieres.tickeasy.com/en-GB/home

Lessons learned:
-Never take anyone to Versailles that doesn’t want to go! Bring your drivers license and rent an electric car.
-Ask hotel and tour guides for restaurant suggestions and make reservations!
-Trust RS guidebook. Read it before and take it along, everyday.

-Bought a cheap Wal-Mart backpack purse night before leaving and loved it. I packed it in my suitcase and alternated it with my large “tour guide” rectangular shoulder carried purse. The backpack disappeared in pictures and let me have my hands, but I only wore it when I wasn’t worried about large crowds and pickpockets.

I appreciate your report! I’ll be staying at this hotel in August, too. (Rouen) Hotel Mercure Rouen-Centre Cathedral. I picked the location to be near the evening light show, and I wanted a quieter hotel to get over jet lag. I think I’ll probably opt for their breakfast, at least that first morning.

Thank you so much for all of this information! I am currently planning a trip to all of these places for 2020 with my husband and two young teens.

Very nice report with much good information. Thanks for sharing. I would be interested in hearing about the favorite activity of each member of the travel party. I once asked a 13 yo what his favorite part of a 2-month trip to Europe. He said the pastries. :)

Sounds like a great trip with a nice variety of things you planned. Good job.

Thank you for sharing your trip. The information is very helpful.