Day One: Getting to Normandy
After an overnight direct flight from Salt Lake City, Utah, we’ll arrive in Paris at 11:15 AM. Customs at Charles de Gaulle can take takes 60 – 90 minutes (although I’ve breezed through with no wait at all).
From Charles de Gaulle Airport, the best way to get into the city is the RER B train to Les Halles (Notre Dame). If we arrive in time for the next train to Bayeaux, we’ll head strait to the Saint Lazare train station, otherwise, we’ll stop for a quick lunch in Paris before heading into Normandy.
The quickest & least expensive way into Paris from CDG is with the RER B city train leaving from either CDG Terminal 2 or Roissypole (for Terminal 1 and Terminal 3). Delta flights typically land in Terminal 2E.
Cost = 10€ (adult fare for all passengers over age nine)
Take the RER B – Direction : Robinson. St Remy les Chevreuse
Runs every seven minutes
Option: stop and grab lunch at Au Chien Qui Fume (the smoking dog), open 8:00 am – 1:00 am, 33 rue du Pont Neuf, Phone: +33 1 42 36 07 42
Train: Paris to Normandy
Paris to Normandy Afternoon Train Service |
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| Option 1: | If out of the airport by 12:00 | |
| 1:45PM | Paris St Lazare | 2hr8min |
| 3:53PM | Caen | Intercités 3343 |
| TRANSFER: 8 mins | ||
| 4:01PM | Caen | 0hr21min |
| 4:22PM | Bayeux | TER 52729 |
| Option 2: | Eat lunch on the train, get to Bayeux fastest | |
| 3:10PM | Paris St Lazare | |
| 5:18PM | Bayeux | 2hr8min |
| Option 3: | Eat lunch in Paris, most relaxed itinerary | |
| 5:10PM | Paris St Lazare | 2hr9min |
| 7:19PM | Bayeux | Intercités 3315 |
Rental Car
Pick up rental car at Hertz Bayeux
Total Petrol Station, Route De Cherbourg, Bayeux, +33 2 31 92 03 26
Hours: 8:00 AM – 19:00 PM (weekdays), 8:00 AM – 17:00 PM (weekends)
The rental car location is ten minutes from our Normandy hotel, just outside the city of Bayeux.
Hotel
Résidence Pierre & Vacances Le Green Beach
6 Rue Abbé Lemazurier, 14520 Port-en-Bessin-Huppain
+33 2 31 51 36 50
Hotel Résidence P&V Green Beach, Port-en-Bessin-Huppain
Located 4 km from Port-en-Bessin and 9 km from the landing beaches and Bayeux train station, the Green Beach Residence is located on the Omaha Beach golf course and offers holiday homes and apartments, with balconies,
The Green Beach has an indoor swimming pool which is heated all year round and a free-access sauna. The outdoor pool, also heated, is open from May to September. Courts for practising volleyball …
HOW TO GET THERE
- Once on the ring road (périphérique) around Bayeux, turn right towards Port en Bessin on the D6.
- In Port en Bessin, at the Montgomery roundabout, continue down the Rue de Bayeux towards city centre, “centre ville”.
- Then at the first set of traffic lights, turn left onto the Avenue du Maréchal de Tourville, then at the second lights, turn left into the Rue du Bourg and finally, after 300 metres, turn right into a small road, “Rue Lemazurier” leading to the Pierre & Vacances residence.
- Note that the Pierre & Vacances residence is located in immediate proximity to the Omaha Beach Golf course; Just follow the “Omaha Beach Golf Course” signs.
Day Two: Normandy Beaches & Mont St. Michel
Map of Normandy Beaches
Morning – Normandy Beaches
Omaha Beach Memorial, Courtesy American Battle Monuments Commission
Omaha Beach: 14710 Colleville-sur-Mer, Tel 02 31 51 62 00
Featuring the Normandy American Cemetery, open daily from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM
Five miles west of Omaha Beach, see the cliff-top Pointe du Hoc
Utah Beach Museum, Courtesy Utah Beach Museum
Utah Beach: 50480 SAINTE-MARIE-DU-MONT
Museum open from 9:30 AM – 7:00 PM
Cost: Adults : 8.00 €, Children under 15 :4 €, Guided tours: 12.00 €
Make Reservations Online
Mont Saint Michel, Courtsey Travel by Anna
Afternoon – Mont-Saint-Michel
Mont-Saint-Michel: 50170 Le Mont-Saint-Michel
Hours: Open from 9:00 am – 7:00 pm
Cost: Adults : 10.00 €, Children under 15 with paying adult – Free
Mass is offered at 6:30, arrive at the Abbey entrance by 6:20
Reports indicate that the best way to avoid crowds at this highly visited site is to arrive after 4:00 PM when the tour groups leave. Mont St. Michel is a two hour drive from Bayeux.
Parking for Mont Saint Michel
The parking area can be accessed via the following roads, with a cost of 11.70 €
- A11 towards Le Mans/Laval, exit at Fougères head towards Mont-Saint-Michel
- A13 towards Caen, then A84 towards Mont-Saint-Michel
A Passeur shuttles guests from the parking lot to the Mont-Saint-Michel end stop, located 350 metres away from the city walls. It runs non-stop from 7:30am to 12:00pm. It takes about 12 minutes for the shuttle to drive from the hub to the end stop, located 350 metres away from the city walls.
Day Three: Normandy Memorial Museum & Rouen
The D-Day Museum, Courtesy Normandy Memorial, Caen
Morning – Normandy Museum
Le Memorial de Caen Normandy Memorial Museum:
Hours, 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM
Cost: Adults : Family Pass 51.00 €, Two adults and unlimited children
The website suggests planning three hours for a visit
Visit the Caen Memorial World War Two Museum then head to Rouen to return the rental car, explore the old quarter, then train into Paris.
Afternoon – Road Trip to Rouen
Medieval Rouen, Courtesy To Europe and Beyond
Rouen: Explore the Cathedral and Plaza where Joan of Arc was martyred
Drop off the rental car, 43 Avenue de Caen, Rouen before 12:00 pm or after 2:00 pm
Rouen is the historic capital of Upper Normandy 81 miles north west of Paris and one of France’s top visited sites outside of Paris. On the way to Rouen, pass through the coastal town of Hornfleur then drive over The Gustave Flaubert Bridge.
“Head to the medieval center and park in the underground garage below the Place du Vieux Marché; you’ll emerge right into the farmers’ market (open daily except Monday) and near the Joan of Arc memorial. Meander along the pedestrian-only cobblestoned streets to Notre-Dame Cathedral, the massive 14th-century clock known as the Gros-Horloge, and La Chocolatière—the local specialty is a layered praline paillardise.” Travel & Leisure
If time is going well, consider a stop in Giverny or visit Hornfleur in the morning, before Rouen.
Getting Back to Paris
Rouen to Paris Evening Train Service |
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| Option 1: | For an early evening in Paris | |
| 4:59 PM | Rouen | 1hr11min |
| 6:10 PM | Paris St Lazare | Intercités 3124 |
| Option 2: | Enjoy an afternoon in Rouen | |
| 5:59 PM | Rouen | 1hr11min |
| 7:10 PM | Paris St Lazare | Intercités 3128 |
| Option 3: | Stop in Hornfleur/Giverny | |
| 6:59 PM | Rouen | 1hr11min |
| 8:10 PM | Paris St Lazare | Intercités 3130 |
Things to Know:
- Normandy is famous for Creme, Camembert, Calvados, & Cider
- Normandy is famous for the Breton striped shirts of the French fishermen
- The Gustave Flaubert Bridge, has the highest vertical lift in the world, rising 55 meters above the water allowing large vessels to enter the city
Belle Valise 
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