We are taking a 2-week trip to Paris in June. We would like to spend the majority of our time in Paris but would also like to visit Normandy, Mont St. Michel, Bruges %26amp; Brussesls during the 2 weeks.
Do any of you have advice on the best ways to do this?
We were thinking we%26#39;d start in Paris and then go to Normandy/Mont. St. Michel. From there we would go to Brugge, then Brussels and then back to Paris for a day before leaving. Does this make sense? Also, is 2 days enough for Normandy, one day Mont. St. Michel %26amp; one day each for Brugge %26amp; Brussels? Also, should we drive or take a train? At first we thought we would just rent a car and drive, but now we%26#39;re wondering if taking a train is the best option.
We want to do this in the most efficient manner as possible and don%26#39;t want to try to do too much as we want to be able to enjoy places rather than rush through them.
Thanks in advance for your help.
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THere are of course many ways you could go about this trip.
One would be to take the train out of Paris to Rennes (unless you want to rent a car straight from Paris). Then get a car and head up to Mt.St.Michel. Spend the night on or near the Mont, then the next day drive out to the DDay beaches for the morning and afternoon.
From there, you could either go to Caen and get the train back to Paris, then hop a train to Brussels, or you could take the scenic route and drive to Brussels through northern France. If you%26#39;re strapped for time, I would probably opt for the train option.
It%26#39;s hard to say how much time Brussels and Bruges would need. I really like those cities a lot. I suppose you could do a day in Brussels, then head out to Bruges for the night and the following day...then get the train back to Paris.
Les
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If you%26#39;re hellbent on doing all that in a two-week period, I almost think it might be better to break it up into two separate trips. You could do MStM and the D-Day beaches on a two-day trip (although not leisurely), return to Paris, stay a few days, and then head to Brussels/Brugges via Thalys. I think that would make for a much more enjoyable trip.
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I tend to agree with Truffaut. Mostly because you are heading in two completely different directions.
Maybe start your trip in Normandie, then go to Paris and on the tail end of Paris head to Brussels? That feels better to me...
Les
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I agree with the idea of splitting your trip and doing the two side trips separately rather than back-to-back. I think I%26#39;d want more than just a couple of days for Normandy, though. There is so much to see in that region, not only (but of course not least) the D-day beaches. I could easily put together a one week itinerary that would only scratch the surface of the region.
I kind of like the idea of doing one of your side trips as soon as you arrive, but the obvious one would be Brussels and Bruges as you can take the Thalys from CDG direct to Brussels in little over an hour.
How about spending your first night in Brussels, travelling to Bruges on the afternoon of the next day and spending your next night in Bruges before travelling to Paris on the afternoon of day three?
I would kind of like to suggest that you do your Normandy trip by car but that you take a full day to visit the D-day sites with one of the good tour organizers such as Battlebus.
If you really only want to see the D-day beaches and Le Mont St. Michel and nothing else (you really *must* see the Peace Memorial in Caen and the tapestry in Bayeux...) you could do the whole thing by train.
Advance purchase tickets purchased direct from the SNCF and Thalys sites will be your most economical way to travel by train. Take a look at this %26quot;how to%26quot; guide by MorganB for help with getting the lowest fares for your rail travel. http://tinyurl.com/qpdef
Good luck!
www.voyages-sncf.com
www.thalys.com
www,battlebus.fr
www.autoeurope.com
www.kemwel.com
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PS: If you did your Normandy adventure by car at the end of your trip you could spend your last night somewhere pleasant in the country not too far from CDG and then drive to the aiport on the morning of the day you are flying home.
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uh, the above post is nothing but an advertisement disguised as helpful advice.
I%26#39;m with Truffaut. I%26#39;d also add, that I LOVED Brussels and would have been disappointed with only a day there.
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