Booking choice: The full day from Bayeux, from $163 per person. Check dates Compare the options below
Both options reach the same core sites: Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc and the Normandy American Cemetery. What changes is how much of your day is motorway, how long you get at each stop, and what it costs once you add the train and a hotel.
The quick answer
Choose Bayeux if you can spare a night: the full-day tour takes 9 hours with about an hour at each of five sites, the half day 4 hours, and the train from Paris takes about 2 h 15. Choose a Paris day trip if Paris is your only base: about 14 hours door to door, 3 to 4 hours on the road each way and 20 to 30 minutes on Omaha Beach.
How do Paris and Bayeux compare side by side?
Paris saves a hotel night; Bayeux gives more time at the sites and a far shorter, calmer day.
| Day trip from Paris | Tour from Bayeux | |
|---|---|---|
| Getting there | Coach or minivan from central Paris at 7 AM | Train from Saint-Lazare, about 2 h 15, the day before |
| Tour length | 13 to 14 hours | 9 h full day, 4 h half day |
| Road time on the day | About 3 to 4 h each way | About 25 min to Omaha |
| Time on Omaha Beach | 20 to 30 min | 45 min to 1 h |
| Group size | Up to 50 on the coach, 8 in the minivan | 8 on the full day, up to 20 on the half day |
| Price per person | $106 to $308 | $102 to $163, plus the train (from about €17 each way) |
| Lunch | Included on the $142 tour | At your own expense |
| Pickup | Fixed meeting points (optional on the budget tour) | Hotel pickup on the full day |
An hour at each of five sites, hotel pickup included: check dates for the full day from Bayeux.
Check dates for the full day from BayeuxHow long is the train from Paris to Bayeux?
About 2 hours 15 minutes from Paris Saint-Lazare (the fastest take 2 h 12), with about 10 trains a day, some changing at Caen.
Fares start from about €17 if you book ahead on SNCF Connect. The Bayeux half day leaves at 1:30 PM from the Parking Québec-Orangerie, so you can arrive on a morning train and see Omaha, Pointe du Hoc and the cemetery the same afternoon.
What does a day from Bayeux look like?
A 9-hour small-group day from 8:30 AM, with about an hour each at Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, the American Cemetery, the Utah Beach Landing Museum and Sainte-Mère-Église.
Eight guests at most, pickup at your Bayeux hotel, and the Utah museum ticket included. Lunch is a stop where you buy your own. Because there is no motorway, the day is spent at the sites, including Sainte-Mère-Église, the paratroopers' village that no Paris tour on this site reaches.
Five sites, an hour each, eight guests: the calmer way to see the American sector.
Explore the full day from BayeuxIs the Paris day trip still worth it?
Yes, if Paris is your only base or you have one free day: someone else drives, the guide tells the story on the way, and you are back for a late dinner.
The most booked Paris tour rates 4.8 from 10,107 reviews, so plenty of people are happy with the trade. Go in knowing it is about 5 hours at the stops, lunch included, inside a 14-hour day. The hour-by-hour breakdown is in the Paris day trip guide.
Paris is your only base? Check dates for the most booked day, lunch included.
Check dates for the Omaha Beach day trip from ParisWhich costs more, Paris or Bayeux?
Per person the tours cost about the same; Bayeux costs more overall once you add the train and a hotel night.
For two people, the most booked Paris tour is about $284 with lunch. The Bayeux full day is about $326, plus from about €68 in train fares, a hotel night and two lunches. The full breakdown: what D-Day tours cost.
Is Bayeux a good base?
Yes: it is about 25 minutes from Omaha Beach, on the train line from Paris, and the Bayeux tours collect you from your hotel or Place du Québec.
One thing to know for 2026: the Bayeux Tapestry is not in Bayeux. Its museum is closed for renovation until autumn 2027, and the tapestry is on show at the British Museum in London from 10 September 2026 to 11 July 2027. The old town and the cathedral are still worth an evening, and a second night opens up the Canadian beaches or Mont-Saint-Michel.
Staying a second night? Mont-Saint-Michel from Bayeux includes the abbey ticket.
Check dates for the Mont-Saint-Michel dayCan you visit the beaches by train without staying the night?
It is possible but tight: the Bayeux full-day tour meets travellers off the 8:42 train at Bayeux, and the Mémorial de Caen tour starts at Caen station at 8:45 AM.
Either way you need an early train from Paris and a late one back, so check SNCF Connect for your date before booking. The Mémorial de Caen tour starts with a 3-hour guided museum visit and lunch, then visits Pointe du Hoc, Omaha and the cemetery, and ends at Bayeux station, handy for the train back. It needs 6 days' notice to cancel free.
Who should choose which?
Paris for one-base city breaks and tight schedules; Bayeux for anyone who wants time at the sites, is travelling with children, or is looking for a relative's grave.
- Paris: one free day, no wish to pack a bag, happy to sleep on a coach.
- Bayeux, full day: first-time visitors who want the whole American sector at a walking pace.
- Bayeux, half day: families (from age 4) and anyone arriving by train the same morning.
- Two nights in Bayeux: add Juno Beach, the Mémorial de Caen or Mont-Saint-Michel.
Arriving in Bayeux by train? The half day leaves at 1:30 PM.
Check dates for the half day from BayeuxFrequently asked questions
How far is Bayeux from the D-Day beaches?
About 20 km (25 minutes) to Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery. Pointe du Hoc and Utah Beach are further west; the British and Canadian beaches lie to the east.
Is the Bayeux Tapestry open in 2026?
No. The Bayeux museum is closed for renovation until autumn 2027, and the tapestry is at the British Museum in London from 10 September 2026 to 11 July 2027.
Can I stay in Bayeux without a car?
Yes. Trains from Paris stop in Bayeux, and the tours on this site collect you at your hotel or at Place du Québec.
Is a tour from Bayeux cheaper than from Paris?
Per person it is similar, but once you add the train and a hotel night, Bayeux costs more. You are paying for a calmer day and more time at the sites.
Ready to book
Choose your D-Day tour
Free cancellation on every option (24 hours ahead on most tours, 6 days on a few; see each listing). Prices are from-prices in USD and move with the season.
American D-Day Beaches Full-Day Tour from Bayeux
- Pickup and drop-off at your Bayeux hotel
- Guide and air-conditioned minivan, eight guests maximum
- Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc, American Cemetery (about an hour each)
Omaha Beach, Pointe du Hoc & Cemetery Half Day
The American sites in an afternoon from Bayeux
Normandy D-Day Landing Beaches Tour including Omaha Beach
- English-speaking guide and air-conditioned coach from Paris
- Utah Beach Landing Museum entry, Utah Beach and Pointe du Hoc
- Free time on Omaha Beach (about 30 minutes) and the American Cemetery (1 hr 15)
