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Paris or the departure airport1 night
Pick this night around the flight. A pre-dawn start changes which hotel makes sense.
Dots show geographic locations. Blue connects rail stops. Lines show the sequence. Check dated directions with the operator. Land: Natural Earth.
The daily route
Day by day
Day 01 · Paris
Land in Paris and leave the clock alone
If you flew overnight from the US, count the day you land as day one. Get to the hotel, leave your bags if the room is still being cleaned, and take a walk near where you’re sleeping. Save the first timed ticket for tomorrow. Check your airport and terminal before choosing the train or a car.
Pick Orsay for the late nineteenth century or the Louvre for a collection that runs much wider. Choose a few rooms, then go outside. Orsay usually closes on Monday and the Louvre on Tuesday. Move this day around the official calendar and the ticket you can actually book.
Start at Saint-Germain-des-Prés and walk toward the Luxembourg Gardens. Take lunch when you find a table you want, then keep going only as far as your feet are willing. If rain changes the day, use the museum slot you moved from yesterday or keep the route short around Saint-Germain.
Search Paris Saint-Lazare to Bayeux and compare direct services first. Once your bags are at the hotel, find tomorrow’s meeting point in person. Check the distance from the hotel and ask for an early taxi if you need one.
Make the Normandy American Cemetery and Omaha Beach the center of the day. With a guide, ask how much time the tour gives to each and where it leaves you afterward. With a car, set two separate destinations. Check ABMC’s current access notice, particularly if you want to visit a particular grave.
Keep the morning in Bayeux for a stroll or a visit you’ve checked is open. Return to the station with time for bags and take the train to Paris Saint-Lazare. If you booked an airport hotel, plan the onward transfer separately.
Read the airport code and terminal from the airline confirmation. Plan the journey from the hotel door and use the airline’s check-in guidance. Look up any engineering work or service changes before you go to bed.
About 2¼–2½ hr on a direct train. Check your date and leave the onward city or airport transfer out of the rail budget.
Before paying
What to book first
Book the return-side hotel around the flight before arranging the last train.
Choose the beach tour that covers your sites and starts in Bayeux. Confirm the meeting point and return before committing to a room.
Buy rail for the dates that fit the room and tour, then select one Paris museum slot.
Free printable
The France Trip Checklist for Americans
Three pages to save before you fly: passport and EES/ETIAS status, the proof the border police can ask for, cards and phones, driving rules and the bookings worth making early. Every line links an official source, checked November 9, 2026.