I know this subject has been exhausted, but I just have a few questions before I go ahead and book all of this.
I have decided to step out of my %26quot;norm%26quot; and try to do this day on my own. I plan to take the train to Caen and then rent a car from Hertz (as adviced on this site). Question 1... Is this the best train station to go to from Paris? Is this the easiest one to rent a car from? I was just wondering since Bayeux looks to be closer to the sites.
Question 2... Is it easy to navigate from Caen to the D-Day beaches from Caen, and where could I get a decent map? Does anyone know if Hertz provides a decent map of the area? I know they do here in the states when we rent a car from them.
Last part... I am staying near the St.Michel metro stop and I will need to get to Gare Saint Lazare for the 7:20 train. What Metro route would be the best (I know I will need to change trains) and how early should I take the metro in order to be there on time to find my train to Caen?
Thanks so much for any help.
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First of all, you are selling the trip short if you only make it a day trip, but that%26#39;s your decision.
You can drive from Caen to the Normandy beaches pretty easily. Did you consider going to Bayeaux instead?
Considering you only want to go for a day, start your trip at Pont d’Hoc then work your way down to the U.S. cemetery.
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Definitely take the train to Bayeux. You%26#39;ll be surprised how little time you%26#39;ll have once the travel back and forth is factored in so don%26#39;t waste time driving from Caen when the majority of the DDay sites an American will want to see are close to Bayeux or on the other side of Bayeux from Caen (like St Mere Eglise, for example.)
I would look into vehicle rental in Bayeux. Maybe they will even meet your train with a waiting vehicle for a fee, which would help you make use of your time. The Bayeux station is outside the town with a nice peripheral road system to get you quickly to your destinations.
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Yes, unfortunately, we only have the day. That is one reason we have been going back and forth about even going. Today I decided that we could be brave and do it ourselves or we just aren%26#39;t going to get to see it anytime soon.
I would LOVE to start from Bayeux instead of Caen but I am having a hard time trying to find a rental car facility there. Does anyone have any information? The train is more expensive to Bayeux than it is to Caen but I am not really concerned about that. I would rather be able to fit in as much as possible and Bayeux definitely appears to be closest to the sites.
Anyone have any insight on where to rent a car in Bayeux?
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Ok... here is the thing on going into Bayeux. Please let me know if I am wrong or if there is another way.
The earliest train to Bayeux is later than the one to Caen. I can take the one with the connection through Caen, but by the time I get to Bayeux with the connection, I could have rented the car right there in the Caen station and have been on my way.
Is this the reason why everyone suggests renting a car in Caen to begin with?
Thanks for any insight...
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Hylasgirl...
Way to be adventurous and try something new!!! Michelin maps are always great for driving...and you can pick them up for any region of France at Barnes and Noble and Borders books.
I suggest also getting a Normandy guide book. This way you can read up some before your trip and have an idea of the places that you really want to see.
The great thing about the D-day sites are that many of them dot the coast line...so a 20-30 minute drive out of Caen and you are there.
I don%26#39;t want to assume which places are of interst to you...but this is what I am doing in Sept. Driving out of Caen and will be visiting Arromanches (this is where the floating harbor was set - just google Arromanches) then continuing down the coast line - Longues sur Mer (this is where the German pill boxes are) The American Cemetery is in Colleville sur Mer - and I believe that Omaha beach can be driven to before or after the cemetery. We will be driving into Bayeaux for lunch and to see the Bayeux Tapestry
There are museums dotted all over - so this is where a guide book comes in handy so you can plan what to see and know where it%26#39;s all at.
Hertz is right outside the train station in Caen - in Bayeux it%26#39;s at a service station on the other end of town. So for less hassel with the car rental - stick with Caen! You can still drive into Bayeux - and there are more train option with Caen - with going to and from Bayeux you have less options.
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In 2004, we had a credit/debit card problem at Hertz in Paris - Gare du Nord. I made the reservation, and it was my only card. So word to the wise - always use a %26quot;regular%26quot; credit card!
We ended up taking the train to Bayeux, a taxi to our B%26amp;B outside Villers-Bocage, and rented a car in Bayeux the next day. We were there about a week.
I would recommend the Michelin map 513 - Regional map %26quot;Normandie.%26quot; Barnes %26amp; Noble if it is in stock, or through Amazon. Driving is very straight-forward and easy... I love the roundabouts! You can also take a look at the route from
http://www.viamichelin.com
%26quot;Maps%26quot;, change country to France, enter city Caen, and browse around.... also great for driving directions once you have a starting city and destination city in mind....
From Caen head north to the %26quot;coast road%26quot; D514. We went to Arromanche, Coleville-sur-Mer (very moving)Omaha Beach, Ponte du Hoc, and jumped on the E46 to Ste-Mere-Eglise. Truly a great day for us...!
Not sure what time frame you are looking at, but if time were critical I would definitely not miss Coleville-sur-Mer and Omaha Beach; they are very close together.
We are headed back to Normandy this November, arriving in Paris on the Eurostar from London. We%26#39;ll rent our car in Paris this time (Platinum MC this time) and will head to Normandy, maps and Garmin nuvi 670 in hand. We will drive down to Paris and spend a night, then loop around to see Belleau Wood and Chateau Pierrefonds before driving back to the Villers-Bocage area, which is south of Bayeux. Don%26#39;t miss the tapestry....!
Have a great time...!
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One more quick question... Is a regular drivers license enough?
Thanks so much!
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Yes...but also have your passport with you. I believe they need info off your passport when signing out the car...
but for driving purposes - your US Drivers license is enough.
Don%26#39;t worry about the caen/bayeux car issue too much. When people suggest to go to Bayeux rather than Caen I think they mean for the city itself - Bayeux is more midieval. Once you get the car - you are a short drive from Bayuex and the coast.
:)
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I believe it is the office of tourism which produces a booklet which organizes the Normandy sites into five or six little tours. We found that it was a pretty good reference of the museums and sites in the area, and we used it to build our own tour (I think we took parts of two different tours). We did St. Mere Eglise, Utah Beach, Pointe du Hoc (in torrential rain), Omaha Beach, the German battery at Longues in one day, and did the American Cemetery the following morning, although we got a very late start and took a long time for lunch on that first day.
Before you go, I%26#39;d recommend that you read Stephen Ambrose%26#39;s D-Day-- I was very glad I%26#39;d read it, and consequently, I wanted to see more of the area. Absolutely loved it.
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Thank you everyone for all your help. I appreciate the time it took you to make me feel I can do this :o)
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