Taking the family with me to London and Paris. Thinking about taking the train between London and Paris. Also would like to visit Normandy beach. Wondering if anyone had thoughts gotchas, advise on the Eurostar, and a Normandy tour. thanks.
lots of good info here The Link Been to London and Paris multiple times but never taken the train, or visited Normandy. Great cities, eat a bunch.
Just did Normandy from Paris in September. If you have any interest in WWII this is a must. I would strongly suggest a guided tour where they drive you around. There are a ton of backroads up there and that will be a pain in the ***. Its more expensive but definitely worth it. Guides in France make a career of it and they know their stuff. Be advised it is a 3 1/2 hour drive from Paris. If you take the train into Caen you are looking at another hour or so to Normandy. Our day trip was 12 hours round trip from Paris by car. I am not up on the geography but it might be much easier to do Normandy from the British side. We didnt look into the group tour thing but that could be a nice option and presumably much cheaper. We did Point Du Hoc, Omaha Beach/American Cemetery, and Arromanches. All were essential. This is a large area so you will need transportation of some kind. I am not a travel agent guy unless I am in Europe and then I think they are really worth it. I know many many people who have been to Paris and very few who have actually been to Normandy because it is a bit of a hassle. But if you have any interest at all I would make it a priority. It was fascinating.
We were at Mont St. Michel on 9-11, spent the night on the abbey grounds to figure out what was going on, then drove to Normandy Beach the next day. Incredible to be there on the day after the attack and realize what the GIs had to confront 60 years earlier. The support for America from Europeans visiting the site in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks was memorable. We had a car for that segment, then went to Honfleur and picked up the train to Paris. We then took the Eurostar to London through the Chunnel. Our ticket included a four-course dinner and it was excellent. Seems like it was about US$150 total per person. Quick trip and then entered London just as night fell--can't remember what station we came into. I think either Paddington or Victoria. Took a taxi to the little hotel we stayed at. It was a great experience and I highly recommend seeing as many of those same sights as you can. Can't say we encountered any gotchas.
Eurostar is great. Unbelievably fast. We bought coach seats but hung out in the bar car the whole time. One of the highlights of my trip was the train! Hilton arc de triomphe was our Paris hotel. Very nice. We did the double decker tour buses in both cities. Great way to familiarize yourself with the area. You can get on and off at each destination. Wm
I second the double decker bus deal. Do that on the first day as a recon mission. You see everything and start getting excited about what to dig into. I find if I dont do that its a little intimidating deciding what to do next. To clarify, I would check the train route and see if there is a terminus from London to Caen. If so, then look into various group tours that will do a round trip from there to Normandy. I know there is a train from Paris to Caen but I do think London is actually going to be closer potentially. Anyway, it is not to be missed if you are interested in history at all. The cemetery is hauntingly beautiful and dignified as you might expect. One thing I learned is that all of the crosses are lined up with all the names facing west to the United States. Very moving stuff. Also I believe it is Gold Sector on Normandy that has intact German gun emplacements and those are very interesting. The Mulberry Docks at Arromanches are awesome. I had no idea of the scale of that. Poor beaches for cargo offloading are a key reason the Germans were somewhat surprised at the landing at Normandy rather than Calais. Hope you get to see all that. It is memorable.
Agree on double decker bus for 1st days in London & Paris. This may be something obvious for most people, but I used the forums on Trip Advisor A LOT. I'd get on there almost every day during the last month or so leading up to our trips there. London forum Paris forums