Cherbourg & Paris

We are on Ovation maiden cruise in April '16

We go to Cherbourg.

Is Mont Saint-Michel a possibility. Is there anything in Cherbourg we should see.

Next is Paris, I've seen the train time on Sncf web site and are not bad priced ant off peak times. Is this way the best. We are in Le Havre from 7am until midnight.

Any advice and options and welcome.

Do check your arrival / departure times in Cherbourg, a lot of ships make this a rather pointless half-day port-of-call.

I'm pretty certain there's no suitable public transport, but MSM is something under two hours by road. By rented car is very easy (though I've heard it's quite difficult to rent a car in Cherbourg on sundays) or you could fix up a car/van + driver, or car/van + driver/guide. MSM itself is particularly steep, not great unless you're reasonably fit.

Alternatively, go see the D-Day sights although it's the US beaches & sights that are the closest.

Again, you need a car or tour.

Ste Mere-Eglise (US Airborne) is just 23 miles / 30 minutes from Cherbourg, and Utah beach / museum is a further 8 miles / 15 minutes. Pointe du Hoc is an hour from Cherbourg, Omaha beach & the American cemetery (huge, immaculate, emotional, lots else to see) an hour & ten from Cherbourg, and Arromanches (the Mulberry Harbour etc) a further half-hour.

British interest is between Arromanches and Benouville (Pegasus Bridge, museum etc). If you take the fast N13, Arromanches is 60 miles / 1hr 15, Pegasus Bridge is an hour & a half.

NB - if you combine several sights, part of your route will be along the slow coastal lanes - so plan carefully.

Whether you choose MSM or D-Day, you'll want to give yourselves some wiggle-time in case of delays.

Since Ste Mere-Eglise is en-route from either, and only half an hour from Cherbourg, it makes a lot of sense to plan a 30 - 60 minute stop there on the way back. If you are delayed, you can shorten or abandon the stop at Ste Mere-Eglise.

There are no toll roads in this part of France.

I think Cherbourg has a submarine or aquarium or both or somesuch. OK for a half-day port-of-call, but for a longer day I'd go to MSM or D-Day sights.

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A midnight departure from Le Havre gives you a sensible amount of time in Paris and plenty of wiggle-time. Although the place is worth several days you do at least have a full day.

If there's enough of you it's worth renting a minibus ("van" to our American friends). The route is simple, journey time something over two hours (toll road), & your timing avoids the worst of the traffic. But parking is problematic, so if it's self-drive you really need to park-up for the day & sight-see by shanks's & public transport. And you may need to return the vehicle within the rental office's hours - having to return it by about 6pm blows this idea out of the water.

Or yes, it's simpler is by train, 2 to 2.5hrs. Le Havre station is quite a walk, you may prefer to jump in a taxi.

Or consider putting Paris on the back-burner for some future long weekend by aircraft, and take advantage of the proximity of the D-Day beaches. Again, only possible by road. By shared minibus tour (eg Overlord Tours) it's expensive but those who've done it reckon it worth the cost. Or rent a car - way cheaper, especially if you find sharers - but again check out if you can return the car out-of-hours to make full use of that late sailing.

Again problematic on a sunday, but there is one rental agency open on sundays & it's right by the ship - I understand it's more expensive than the others but probably worthwhile.

Pegasus Bridge marks the eastern end of the invasion, and it's about an hour & fifteen from your ship on that fast N13. Arromanches is a further 40 minutes using main roads, but much more interesting to drop down to Ouistreham & take the coast roads - more attractive and with a number of sights, well worth the extra half-hour's driving. And venture further on that coastal lane to check out some of the US sights.

Since museums etc close around 5-6pm but many sights can be seen 24/7 it's well worth bearing this in mind & with good research you can get in a very very full day. Drop into Honfleur on your way back - pretty little fishing port, no D-Day involvement, plenty of harbourside bars & restaurants, & under half an hour from your ship.

There's a toll (about 5 euros?) for the Pont de Normandie over the mouth of the Seine, but no other toll roads.

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For both days, bear in mind the possibility of tour or vehicle sharing with others on your cruise. via your RollCall

JB :)

Thanks for the prompt reply.

We are in Cherbourg on Monday 18th April from 7am to 7pm.

Looking at the maps, MSM is ok and I can hire a car from Avis. Maybe if we have time we can head back to Cherbourg via Caen.

We will probably do Paris with the train. I have been 3 times, but DW has never been and she wants to go. So, that's decided.

Our roll call is very slow and almost non existent. Maybe after xmas it will pick up.

We booked an inside but changed to a balcony as the price dropped.

Might not be a busy cruise if they cant sell it.

Thanks again

That's good time in port, but Caen is a bit of a dog-leg from MSM to Cherbourg, and other than the Peace Museum (quite expensive but worth a full day) there's nothing at all of interest in the city, it was destroyed during the Normandy campaign.

And the ring road gets heavily congested from about 4pm onwards. Unfortunately it's by far the shortest & theoretically quickest route from MSM to places like Pegasus Bridge & Ouistreham.

So I suggest you peel off the fast A84 MSM to Caen road to cut through St Lo to Bayeux or Arromanches, and stray no further east - though you can play it by ear depending how well you're keeping up with the clock.

Yes, train is simplest for Paris. Especially since DW will have her private guide ;)

Since this is a 5-night cruise I suspect there won't be a great number of Americans aboard - and we Brits aren't into RollCalls to anything like the same degree. But still worth posting on it looking for a couple to share your jaunt to MSM.

JB :)

Thanks again,

I've driven in South of France and Paris before but not this area.

We are just back from Us driving Highway 1 and doing over 2000 miles.

Not bad when petrol is only £1.80 a gallon

Thanks again,

I've driven in South of France and Paris before but not this area.

We are just back from Us driving Highway 1 and doing over 2000 miles.

Not bad when petrol is only £1.80 a gallon

Guessing that's the California state Highway One, along the Pacific coast?

Yes, brilliant. For mile after mile after mile after mile after mile after mile ............. :)

Beyond MSM & into Brittany there are excellent stretches of coast but only in small doses, not a continuous coast road.

Normandy is very attractive if not spectacular, and the roads generally un-crowded, especially compared to around Paris & the UK.

BTW, I didn't check the map before my last post - you can stay on A84 back as far as Villers-Bocage before peeling off for Bayeux or Arromanches. But do try to avoid the Caen ring.

JB :)