I was wondering if someone could help me with my travel plans from the Gare in Caen to Ste Mere Eglise? We will be renting a car right at the station. I bought a good map, and we have decided to start our day at Utah Beach and then work our way back up the beach toward Caen. I see that I would like to take N13/E46 from Caen into Ste. Mere Eglise. My question is, my map does not really show the train station... is there a peripherique that we enter near the train station? Can someone give me some detail as to how we get on the N13/E46? Thank you so much! I appreciate any help.
Thanks!
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SNCF Gare de Caen is just to the south of the river Orne. From the station, you need to head towards the centre of Caen, but do not cross the river. Instead double back between the bank of the river and the station, along Cours Montalivet heading East. You then come to a half clover-leaf junction where you join the E46 heading North. This is the Caen peripherique as well, and will take you in the direction of Ste Mere Eglise.
If you Google SNCF Caen and look at the satellite map, it should be very clear.
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Thanks so much for the reply... I googled it and I did see where we will be getting on the peripherique. I was under the impression that we would go the other way, but now I see this is much closer to the station.
I was also looking at the bassin there close to the train station. I was hoping that if we get into town early enough, we can drop off the rental car and walk to the bassin for dinner. Can anyone tell me if the bassin is within walking distance of the train station? It appears so, but I thought I would check.
Thanks so much!
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We drove for the first time in Normandy this past April and found viamichelin to be extremely helpful. You can enter either the names or addresses of your starting place and your destination and get a detailed map as well as a list of directions in sequence. We found this to be very helpful, as it enabled us to visualize the routes before we began. One hint: you can get the address of the Caen train station when you use the website of several car rental agencies and look up their pick-up/return addresses!
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The Bassin is walkable, but about 1 mile due to the need to go around the railway station and across the bridge (not sure where your car hire dropoff is). You will find a lot more restuarants in Rue du Vaugueux, which is just south of the chateau.
Why not venture into the centre of Caen on the Twisto tram. It is really easy to use and frequent.
www.twisto.fr/carte/PDF/TRAM%20A.PDF
Just catch Tram A or B outside the gare and get off at Saint Pierre.
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Yeah... I saw what I thought was a tram on Google Earth. Thanks... I heard that area was really nice. One reason we are thinking the bassin is because we both really like marina type settings for dining outside and such... and another, we wanted to be fairly close to the station for our train back to Paris. BUT... if we do get back from the beaches earlier than expected, I would like to see that area you mentioned. In my guidebook, it looks very charming.
Anyone know if there is a car rental place at the station where I can rent a Smartcar? I would really like to rent one for the day and since my other car with Hertz is only on a courtesy hold, I am still looking for a Smartcar. I am not having much luck though.
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Have you tried asking the local Smart dealer? I%26#39;ve tried this before when I want to hire a car that I%26#39;m used to driving.
AUBIN NORMANDIE
Route de Paris
14120 CAEN MONDEVILLE
Tel : 02 31 350 350
Fax : 02 31 350 351
E-mail : infos@aubin-normandie.mercedes.fr
They are only about 4 km from the station and might be able to help, or suggest a car hire company in the area.
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Sixt have Smarts for rental at Caen SNCF:
www.sixt.com
No guarantee you will get one, of course - you might be given an unwelcome upgrade!
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Thanks so much... I did check into Sixt and they do have smart cars. Uggg... now I have to decide if it%26#39;s worth the price. It is more than my Peugeot (or similar) that I have reserved through Hertz.
Thanks for the advice :o)
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