Normandy tours from Paris fill one long day, and the way you travel shapes it. A coach costs the least, a minivan of eight gives you more say, the train saves the drive out, and a private car comes to your door. All of them bring you back to Paris the same night.
Fourteen hours by coach from Porte Maillot, up to fifty aboard: the Utah Beach Museum with entry paid, a two-course lunch with cider, a guided hour at the Rangers' cliff, then Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery.
From $141 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
A 14-hour coach day from Porte Maillot to the Mont with a tour leader: the abbey ticket and an audio app in ten languages, then two hours free in the village. Up to thirty aboard, and no hotel pickup.
From $135 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Thirteen hours in a minibus of eight from Ternes at 7 am sharp, all on the Canadian side: the beach, the Canadian museum at Courseulles with entrance fees paid, the war cemetery at Bény-sur-Mer and the Abbaye d'Ardenne.
From $273 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Twelve to thirteen hours from avenue de Wagram at 7 am, eight seats: Omaha Beach, the Colleville museum with entry paid, the German battery, the Rangers' cliff, the cemetery and a cider tasting. Ages 7 and up.
From $307 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Twelve hours in a minivan of eight from avenue de la Grande Armée, meeting at 6:50 am: the Rangers' cliff, Omaha Beach, the American Cemetery and a 45-minute museum stop at Colleville. Lunch is yours to buy.
From $330 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
The rail tickets to Bayeux and back are in the fare, first or second class; a guide meets the morning train and drives short stops from Utah to Arromanches. Final sale, and ages 14 and up.
From $480 per person
Sale is final: no refund and no changes. Only a weather cancellation by the operator brings another date or a full refund.
Fourteen and a half hours private from your Paris hotel door: the Colleville museum, the American Cemetery, lunch by Omaha Beach, then three hours at the abbey with its own guide. Tickets paid; two travellers at least.
From $667 per person (minimum 2)
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
A private car from your Paris address for twelve to thirteen hours, on a route you can change: a museum, the Rangers' cliff, two hours on Omaha Beach, the cemetery and an hour at Arromanches. Wheelchair-accessible transport.
From $928 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
The most-reviewed day from Paris: the Utah Beach Museum, the Rangers' cliff, Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery, with a two-course lunch and a glass of cider in the fare.
See this tripA tour from Paris is a whole day. The American Cemetery lies about 170 miles west of the city, so you meet at about 7 am and get back twelve to fourteen hours later. The coach day spends about four hours on the road each way; the minivans of eight are a little quicker. You buy one seat, and the operator handles the driving, the guide and the order of the stops.
There are four ways to do it. A coach carries up to fifty with a guide all day. A minivan carries eight at most with a driver-guide. On the train day you ride to Bayeux on your own tickets, paid in the fare, and a guide meets you at the station. A private car collects you from your door and follows your route. Almost every day covers the American sector: Pointe du Hoc, Omaha Beach and the Normandy American Cemetery at Colleville. The Canadian day goes to Juno Beach instead, and some days go on to Mont-Saint-Michel.
No bags to pack and no night to book in Normandy. If your trip is built round Paris, a day tour costs you one day and nothing else. You come back to the same room the same evening.
The American Battle Monuments Commission calls public transport near the cemetery intermittent and urges you to arrange your transport before you leave Paris. A tour is that arrangement: the coach or the minivan takes you from site to site, and nobody in your party has to drive home in the dark.
The sites themselves are free, so the fare pays for what surrounds them. The coach day puts the Utah Beach Museum and a two-course lunch in the price. The minivan from avenue de Wagram pays your Overlord Museum entry and a cider tasting. The Canadian day pays the entrance fees at the Juno Beach Centre.
The coaches and minivans all meet in the west of Paris, between Porte Maillot and Étoile, so you can plan the evening before and the evening after. The private days come to your hotel instead.
The real choice is not which coach, but whether to sleep in Normandy. Here is what a day from Paris gives you against a full day from Bayeux.
| Coach from Paris | Minivan from Paris | Train to Bayeux | Full day from Bayeux | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Length of the day | 14 hours | 12 to 13 hours | 13 hours | 8 to 9 hours |
| Time at the sites | About 6 hours | About 5 to 5.5 hours | About 3.5 hours of stops | 5 to 6.5 hours |
| Group | Up to 50 | 8 at most | 8 at most | 8 to 19 |
| Price a person | $138 to $141 | $273 to $330 | $480 | $154 to $216 plus a night |
| In the fare | Museum entry and lunch | A museum entry on most | Rail tickets | A museum stop on some |
| Refund | Up to 24 hours ahead | Up to 24 hours ahead | None: final sale | 24 hours or 6 days ahead |
If you have one free day and want the lowest fare, take the coach. If you want eight people and more say in the day, take a minivan. If you can spare a night, the Normandy tours from Bayeux give you more time at the sites for less, with nothing to catch at dawn.
Twelve to thirteen hours from avenue de Wagram at 7 am: the Colleville museum with entry paid, the German battery, the Rangers' cliff, the American Cemetery and a cider tasting. Ages 7 and up.
Check availabilityOur what each fare buys sets the Paris fares beside the Bayeux ones, and the guide to choosing your beaches helps if your family history points to one sector. The page on where to stay weighs Paris against a night on the coast.
Weighing Paris against the other start towns? Every fare sits side by side on Normandy Tours.