I don’t post here very often, but do read the Boards Regularly. I appreciate all of the guidance I have received here. Your tips helped make our recent trip to Paris/Normandy very successful. Thought I would take a few minutes to share our experience—hope it might help others who are planning trips. First—we are a family of four (me-46, wife, 46, son, 18, and daughter 16) and have never been to France before. The only French we know is from a brief review of a Rosetta Stone type class—pretty minimal.
We left Columbus, OH the morning of 7/12 about 9AM on American Airlines. Our connecting flight to Paris (from Boston) was due to leave about 7PM, so we had a long layover. I went ahead and paid $99 for a dayroom as Logan Airport’s Hilton Hotel---the hotel is connected to the airport, and for us it was worthwhile. We could relax, nap, etc. comfortably before our overnight flight to Paris. The flight Paris was uneventful---the plane was only half full, my wife and I sat together in one row of three seats with no middle occupant; the kids did the same. The flight was fine—none of us were able to sleep much, but we arrived about 7:00AM at CDG. Based on the recommendations on TA, we made a shuttle reservation with Shuttle Inter to take us from CDG to the St. Lazare train station. The driver was right there with our name on a sign immediately outside the area where we picked up our bags, and escorted us to our car. I would have no hesitation to recommend Shuttle Inter—they delivered exactly what they said they would. We were at the train station by 9:00AM. I had not expected to arrive so early at the train station, and had booked our tickets to Bayeux on a 12:10 train using the Voyages-sncf.com website using the excellent instructions also posted on TA. I did not purchase Prems tickets as I wanted to have the flexibility to change our travel dates/times if I wanted, and this worked out well for us. Because we were early, we were able to catch a train on 10:10AM to Bayeux without any change fees, etc. A couple of things I would note about the train—we reserved second class seating—second class was more than adequate and comfortable—I would not pay extra for first class. If you take an earlier train than what you reserved (and you cannot do this with Prem’s tickets) you lose your reserved seats. It was a bit chaotic getting seats, as when they announced the track number where the train was leaving from, everyone made a mad dash for the train to secure seats. As it turned out there were plenty of open seats on our train (the cars with the unreserved seats were all the way at the front of the train), but if it were a busy travel day (e.g. a holiday) I would not recommend traveling without a seat reservation, unless you were comfortable standing or sitting on the floor all the way to Bayeux.
We got to Bayeux at 12:10PM (exactly on schedule), and the caught a cab to our hotel. We stayed at the Hôtel d%26#39;Argouges which had favorable reviews on TA. Some of the TA reviewers mentioned the hotel was a bit “far” out of town to be convenient, but I would disagree. It was maybe a 10 minute walk from the hotel which is on the edge of downtown to the downtown center. The hotel was nice—hardly luxurious, but very nice. We had a two room suite with a shared bath right off the first floor dining room. The staff was very gracious in terms of giving us suggestions as to where to eat, walking directions, etc. They all spoke English, so communication was not a problem. The hotel has a lovely garden in the back where you can take a drink in the evening if you like, and the morning breakfast was also very generous/complete/filling. By the time we got to the hotel, it was maybe 12:45PM, so we walked around town a bit, had something to eat, and then basically called it a day.
Because this is the Paris Board, I won’t go into too much detail about our 4 days in Bayeux, except to say we did a couple days of tours with Battle Bus (American Highlights Tour and Band of Brother’s Tour)—they were great, and I could not recommend them more if you desire a guide to show you the WWII sights. We also rented a car and drove to Mont St. Michel the morning of our 3rd day in Bayeux. We got there by 9AM, and the crowds were very manageable—we got a parking space no more than a 5 minute walk from the Mont and made our way up to see the Abby. When we left about 12:30PM, the place was a zoo—huge crowds, no space to walk through the “village” leading up to the Abby. Again, through TA, I knew there was a path that allowed you to avoid the “village”—we took it and walked down without having to fight the crowds. The Abby itself was interesting, and the physical sight of the Mont is most impressive, but, honestly. I thought the “village/town” was just silly. It reminded me of Epcot Center. A bunch of small shops selling over priced food and souvenirs like licenses plates and snow globes. I would go if you have not seen the place, but I think 3-4 hours (if you go early) is plenty of time to get the Mont experience. Afterwards, we drove further south to St. Malo which was a very pleasant surprise. We were there on a beautiful, sunny day and walked the wall, saw the nice beaches which were very busy, had lunch in the town, etc. Parking there is horrendous, so consider parking away from the historic area and taking a shuttle or walking in. I don’t see St. Malo mentioned much here, but if you go to MSM, I would suggest a stop there as well. On our last day in Bayeux, we saw the tapestry, looked around the Cathedral (which while smaller) I thought was prettier than Notre Dame in Paris. One final thing I would mention that I thought was worth seeing (that I have not seen discussed here before was the British Cemetery) in Bayeux. While it is not as large or perhaps well known, as the US Cemetery at Omaha Beach, it is a very beautifully maintained facility, and just as somber/emotional. It is right in Bayeux, so it is easy to get to.
I would also mention that we rented our car in Bayeux from Hertz at a Total gas station just outside of town. We walked from the hotel to the gas station to pick up the car. Some folks on TA seem to think the walk is kind of far, but again, it was an easy 15 minute walk. When we returned the car, the agent called us a cab, to take us to the railway station.
We were scheduled to leave Bayeux around 5PM, but we had done all we wanted in Normandy, so because we had “standard” train tickets, we were able to catch an earlier train back to Paris without incurring any fees. For what it’s worth, the unreserved seats on the train back to Bayeux are at the back of the train. We arrived at St. Lazare about 4PM, and caught a cab to our hotel---the Renaissance Torcadero in the 16th.
For us this turned out to be a great location. The hotel is very nice—we had two double rooms on the same floor. The rooms are smallish but well appointed. The location of the hotel is right in between the Torcadero and the Victor Hugo metro stops (each maybe a 10 minute walk away), and was in a pretty non-touristy/residential part of town. So we had easy access to stuff, but were no overwhelmed by tourists. I would mention that the hotel is pretty “Americanized”—almost all of the guests were English speaking, so if you are looking for a French experience, this may not be the place for you. I would also mention the hotel is not what I would characterize as a bargain. I was fortunate in that I was able to use Marriott Rewards Points to stay there at no cost, but the room rates were listed as 450 Euros a night, and the buffet breakfast which because of my travel status we received without charge was 27 Euros per person. Pretty ridiculous--if I had had to pay for the hotel myself, I would have definitely looked elsewhere for more favorable rates. The first evening there, the Concierge recommended a local restaurant Cafe Retro which was right around the corner—he made a reservation for us, but there was no need. It was early by Paris standards—only 7PM, and we were the only ones in the place. The food was good---my kids had a beef rib, which was very tough and chewy, but otherwise, a nice place to eat.
The next day I had arranged for a guide to give us an introduction to Paris. The woman we used was an American who has been living in Paris for a number of years, who was/is a food writer. If anyone wants her name, I would be happy to provide it, but she gave us a good overview of the city, and took us to a lot of great specialty shops, and restaurants---we ended up going back to some of these places later in the week for dinner, lunch, or to buy pastries, candy, etc. In a previous post on TA, I mentioned I had made dinner reservations at Guy Savoy, and at 8PM off we went to dine. While we were there, they offered a free meal for a child under the age of 18 while dining with their parents—I figured what the hell, I might not get the chance again. We ended up ordering a 7-course tasting menu (which was probably really more like 12 courses). Two of the courses were the best things I have ever eaten (a lobster dish, and an artichoke soup with truffles), the rest were outstanding with the exception of the Pigeon. I think it was prepared well, it was just not to my (or my wife’s) taste. When we ordered, the waiter even specifically asked if we wanted to substitute anything for the pigeon—I said no as we had never had it before, but I guess he knew it was not universally enjoyed. To their credit, my wife ate very little of hers, and they still offered to bring her something else. There was a cheese trolley with maybe 40 kinds of cheese, a dessert cart with 20 different desserts (any and all that you wanted), different bread for each course, etc. I have never had a dining experience like it. The service was exceptional—we were made to feel at ease. Guy Savoy himself even came out when we arrived and after we were done to check on us. Of course, it was also the most I have ever paid in my life for a meal. Was it worth it? No. Would I go back again---yes. Overpriced and amazing. I had only two criticisms of my experience there—one, the restaurant was actually pretty warm, so it was not as comfortable as it could have been. It was so warm, I thought about taking off my jacket. Second, we ordered a bottle of still water at the beginning of the meal---I was not really paying attention, but throughout the meal, the wait staff kept refilling our water glasses. In the end, we went through 3 bottles of the water, but I was never asked if I wanted another bottle of water—they just kept opening them and, obviously, charging us for them. If they are going to charge you for each bottle, I think it would be more appropriate if they asked if you wanted another instead of just opening one and billing you for it. Minor quibbles given the overall experience,
The next day was Sunday—we got up early and walked to the Arc de Triumph—maybe a 20 minute walk from the hotel. We got our museum passes and went straight up to the top of the Arch to see the beautiful view. Next we got on the metro and we went to the Marais district and walked around. We followed Rick Steve’s walking tours which I thought were pretty well done—informative and done with a sense of humor. We started at the Bastille, toured the Carnavalet Museum, got falafel at LA’s, spent time at the Holocaust Museum, and ended up at the Pompidou Center. We liked the area a lot, and all of the museums were worthwhile. I would note that the lines at the Pompidou Center were very long, but we basically walked right in with our Museum Passes. At about 7PM, we got in line to go up the Towers at Notre Dame. Again, based on a tip on TA, I understood the lines would be shorter later in the day. It was not too bad—we waited about 45 minutes in line and up we went. It was fun seeing the Gargoyles and the view was great. While we waited to go up a street entertainer kept everyone laughing---so the time in line went fast. At the end of the evening, we headed to the Left Bank for a bite to eat---we ate outside at a fine (but non-memorable) café. The kids liked the place because they got a cup full of ice with their soft drinks. We never did get to go to Berthillon Ice Cream, but this place had it on their menu. The kids ordered some, and it was good---did not blow me away, but maybe what you get at the Berthillon store itself is better.
I will end this here for now, and continue the last few days in another posting.
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Thanks for sharing your excellent report! I look forward to reading about the rest of your stay in Paris.
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Loved reading your report - can%26#39;t wait for more!
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Loved reading your report - can%26#39;t wait for more!
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