Train Travel

Although there is no direct TGV service from Paris, separate SNCF rail lines originating at Gare St-Lazare head to Upper Normandy (Rouen and Le Havre) and Lower Normandy (Deauville-Trouville, Caen, and Bayeux, sometimes requiring a change in Lisieux). But unless you're content to stick to the major towns, visiting Normandy by train can be frustrating. You can occasionally reach smaller ones on snail-paced branch lines, but the irregular intricacies of what is said to be Europe's most complicated regional timetable may prove daunting. Other destinations, like Honfleur, Étretat, or Mont-St-Michel, invariably require a train-bus combination.

Train Information

Gare SNCF Rouen. Pl. Bernard Tissot, Rouen, Normandy, 76000. www.gares-en-mouvement.com/fr/frurd/accueil.

SNCF. 3635; www.ter-sncf.com.