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Paris + Normandy

For many people who visit Paris, there's the temptation to take one of those long, long day trips by bus to visit the D-Day sites in Normandy. But it's tough to get past the fact that you spend nearly as much time getting there and back as you spend seeing what you went there to visit. If you have the time, why not stay overnight for a few days in Normandy and do it right?

Our suggested itinerary has you traveling by train from Paris to Bayeux, where you spend three nights in hotel and get to spend one full day visiting the D-day sites, not to mention the famous Bayeux Tapestry, and another day visiting spectacular Mont-Saint-Michel, one of Europe's most popular destinations. You return by train to Paris to finish your trip.

We also like the option of doing a triangle by train from Paris in which you travel first to Bayeux, then go on by train to the seaside twin cities of Deauville-Trouville, where you are picked up at the train station and driven to Honfleur for two nights. Honfleur is a photographer's dream, one of the most picturesque seaside villages in Europe if not in the world. Then you return by train to Paris.

And one of the side benefits of this plan is that you get to stay twice in Paris. Sure, you could see that as being inconvenient. But we think that Paris is one city where it makes a lot of sense to stay in more than one neighborhood. We suggest staying on both sides of the river.


Suggested Itinerary
Paris + Normandy
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7

Day 8
Day 9
Day 10
 Fly from USA or Canada
Arrive Paris
Paris
Paris
Train to Bayeux
D-Day tour & return to Bayeux
Excursion to Mont-Saint-Michel & return to Bayeux
Train to Paris
Paris
Fly to USA or Canada


Paris + Normandy
What's Included

 
  • 5 nights Paris, 3 nights Bayeux
  • 4-star hotels in Paris and 3-star hotel in Bayeux
  • Breakfast daily
  • Private airport transfers
  • First-class train tickets
  • Full-day small-group D-Day tour by minibus
  • Half-day small-group excursion to Mont-Saint-Michel by minibus
  • Full-day small-group Paris city tour by minibus including river cruise, visit to Eiffel Tower, and Montmartre walking tour
  • Paris 2-day museum pass

$2,650 per person, double occupancy
April 1 - October 31, 2011*
LAND ONLY (airfare NOT included)

Fly into and out of Paris

* Prices are for travel within dates shown.
Call 888 868-4535 or click here...



Candid Comments

Train travel level of effort = moderately low (unless you add Honfleur). Your train from Paris to Bayeux has no connections, but at Bayeux, you will need to pass under the tracks, going downstairs and back upstairs with your luggage. Your Paris station is St. Lazare, which has been under renovation, so that you may need to take your luggage upstairs to access your train.

If you include Honfleur...the effort on the trains rises to moderately high. There are connections to make and the possible need to use stairs. From Bayeux to Honfleur, and again between Honfleur and Paris, you will need to make one train connection, which may require passing under the tracks and dealing with luggage on stairs. We suggest that you not undertake the Honfleur option if you have any issues with that increased physicality.

At Bayeux and Honfleur, we propose 3-star hotels that don't offer air conditioning. If you have traveled in the north of France, outside Paris, you may know that A/C is normally not present in the hotels. It isn't necessary by European standards, but Americans are likely to view it otherwise in summer. We suggest doing this trip between April and May or in September/October.

Could we do this same trip in higher style, with 4-star or luxury hotels in Normandy? Maybe, but it would no longer be the kind of trip we have enjoyed doing ourselves, in which you stay in the key towns. To get the more luxurious lodgings, you really need to be taking a driving trip and staying at rural accommodations, so that it becomes an altogether different experience.


Options and Alternatives

You can add the visit to Honfleur. That means two more nights in hotel and a more complex rail journey which includes connections at more than one train station. But in return, you get plenty of time to explore Honfleur.

Your D-Day tour can be set up as a private one, instead of in a smallgroup. That costs substantially more, but it also puts you in control of both the pace and the emphasis.

Your excursion to Mont-Saint-Michel can possibly be done as a private one...but we need lots of lead time to that up.

Call 888 868-4535 or click here...


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ABOUT US ~ We are travel agents who specialize in Italy, France, Switzerland, Belgium and the Netherlands. We're a small company, based in the USA. Our offices are located in the Shenandoah Valley about 65 miles west of Washington. EuropeSource is part of ItalySource LLC.




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