Paris to Normandy France?

Question

Whats the best way to get to Normandy from Paris? I'm looking mainly to visit the D-Day beaches and the American Cemetary. Whats the easiest(and closest to the beaches) town/city in Normandy to get to? Im guessing trains. Are there any major train lines that run close to any of those destinations? Thanks for any help.

Answer 1

There are a plenty of regularly scheduled trains from Paris to Caen in Normandy that will get you there in 1 hour 46 minutes. Traveling second class you can pay as little as 15 euros each way.

Make Caen your base for exploring Normandy.  Caen is itself an ancient city with well preserved architecture and an important place in French history. The city has a good tourist website (in english) here: http://www.ville-caen.fr/GB/

There is an excellant public bus system that will take you to most of the Normandy Landing sites, the cemeteries, memorials and museums. A one day bus pass can be purchased for 17.70 euros

Free bus timetables can be acquired from the main tourist office in Caen on the Place St Pierre and a map of the bus routes can be found here: http://www.busverts.fr/_hiver/plan.asp

Answer 2

Unlike america Europe is very densely populated, which leads to a larger coverage of rail per sqaure mile.  French trains are also the fastest in the world and prices are not unreasonable. (the French are the main problems!!)

The most important city in Normandy is Caen.  It is not far from the beaches at all and is very pretty.  While you are in Normandy I'd suggest visiting Bayeux and the tapestry there as well as more WWII sites.  It is also possible to get a ferry from Caen to south England, if you so wish, and the prices can also be reasonable (cheaper than Eurostar).

Answer 3

If you wish to tour around the WWII battle sites in Normandy you will need some sort of transport  at the very least a peddle bike. Ideally, go on an organised coach tour specifically for that purpose. I'm sure there must be such from Paris. I know that there is from London England.

Answer 4

The best way to get from Paris to Normandy is indeed by train (Paris-Caen).  Go to www.travelocity.com, click on Cars/Rail, then Search Rail.  You may wish to rent a car in Caen and there are rental agencies (like Hertz) very close to the train station.