Paris to Normandy

[happy5]

Hi...We are going on a Crystal cruise out of Monte Carlo in Sept and will be spending several night in the Paris area before. Thinking of renting a car and driving from CDG. We arrive at 7 AM.. Good idea? where would you suggest going the first day? how many days in the Normandy area? Would driving in and out of CDG be a problem? Thanks so much

[Hlitner]

Driving out of the CDG area is not a major problem although we strongly recommend having a GPS to help navigate. If you are interested on Monet you might want to also plan on stopping in Giverny on your way to or from the Normandy area. Keep in mind that Normandy is a large Department (region) so you need to have some kind of plan on where you want to visit. Personally, we prefer to stay in Bayeux because its a charming small town with some nice B and Bs. We also recommend visiting the "Peace Museum" which is located in Caen in addition to the usual beaches, pont du hoc, American Cemetery, etc.

 

Hank

[happy5]

thanks so much...do you think going to Bayeaux the day we arrive(7am) and then seeing that area and Normandy the next day is long enough...or should we plan on staying 2 nights in Bayeaux before driving back to Paris?

[John Bull]

CDG to Normandy is pretty easy, it's all divided highway. In the first 25 miles or so you have to switch autoroutes a few times (A1 to A86, A86 to A14). The A14 blends into A13, which takes you all the way to Caen, at the start of the Normandy beaches.

But you don't go on surface streets or anywhere near central Paris :)

About 160 miles, 2.5 hours.

There are a number of toll sections (peage) in the first part of your journey, simplest to have cash & use the manned booths. Some you pay to join, some you take a ticket & pay when you leave.

 

With a start at a civilised time of day, I guess two overnites is ideal. That second nite gives you the option of continuing next day, or returning to Paris at the start of the day if you've seen all you want to see. If you're flying in late same-day you might want to add a third nite in Normandy.

Best places to stay are probably Bayeux or Arromanches-les-Bains. Both are ideally-located, of about the right size, and with a selection of hotels, restaurants, bars, shops, attractions & facilities. Otherwise you're limited to country hotels/farmhouses or villages (can be a bit remote) or the modern city of Caen (yuck).

 

Bayeux is a historic inland city untouched by the battle for Normandy, but only about 15 minutes from the coast. Known for its cathedral & its famous Bayeux Tapestry depicting the Norman conquest of England.

Arromanches is on the coast, the site of the "Mulberry Harbour", built on D-Day +1. There are still remains of the Mulberry Harbour on the beach & in the bay, there's a seafront museum in the town, & a vantage point on the cliff just outside the town with a 360degree cinema with D-Day footage.

Both are about 15 - 20 mins from Omaha & the American Cemetery.

 

Just noticed Hank's mention of the Caen Peace Museum. This covers conflicts in general, of which the Normandy campaign is only a tiny part. The holocaust, for instance, is much more widely covered. And to do this museum justice needs about 3 hours, cos its huge. For those reasons I don't recommend it for a one-day port-of-call visit. But you have rather more time.

 

JB :)

[Hlitner]

The issue of how many days, and where, is really a personal preference. One can certainly cover Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, and the American Cemetery (where they filmed the amazing first scene in Saving Private Ryan) in a single day. If one wants to get into a lot more depth, then you can add a day and go to St Mere Eglise, Utah Beach, etc. We agree with JB that the Peace Museum is worthy of a solid 3 hours...and we only tossed out that idea in case you need more to do in the area. But then one needs to factor-in Paris which is DWs favorite city on earth. If you have not previously been to Paris, or have spent very little time in that city, we would probably recommend only spending that first night in Bayeux, and then driving back to Paris that 2nd day (Giverny would be possible en route if that's of interest). On the other hand, you can do a real nice multi-day driving trip in the Normandy area and perhaps circle around (counter clockwise) to Mont St Michel (we love to see this place when its lit at night). There are just so many darn options which is why we have spent about a week just driving that part of France. This is one of those cases where we love to float out ideas......but the real decision making should be totally based on what interests you.

 

Hank

[whystayhome]

Agree with idea of visiting Mont St. Michel at night. We were able to walk to the top of the citadel where it was quite dark and spooky - and rather romantic, too. During typical visiting hours it is very crowded and tourist trapish. Taking a tour of the building is very interesting; however, that is a daytime activity. So, you might want to spend a night nearby to accomplish both visits.

[zogrand]

We just returned from a two week trip to France. We spent 2 1/2 days in Paris and the rest of the time in Normandy. To avoid driving out of Paris after flying, we took a train to Rouen and picked up our car there. We spent 3 nights in Rouen and 6 in Bayeux. We spent a day and a half seeing Rouen, a day in Honfleur, one full day at the Peace Museum in Caen, a day at Mont St. Michel, a day in Bayeux, and 2 days touring the D-Day sites with a private guide. We still wished we had more time. So, you need to decide how much you want to see and how engrossed you want your tours to be. Obviously a quick visit is "doable" but wouldn't be our first choice. As suggested, a stop at Giverny on your return to Paris should definitely be considered. It was amazing! If you're really interested in the D-Day sites, the museum in Caen offers guided tours. I found Arromanches worth a stop to see the artificial harbor but was very commercialized. It wouldn't be my first choice to stay. We thought driving in France was quite easy with the GPS. Our biggest hurdle was getting into the correct pay lane on toll roads since charge cards without a pin and chip don't work in their toll booths.