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How
to travel to the Juno Beach Centre from
Paris
To visit the Juno Beach Centre and the D-Day
landing sites in Normandy, you have several
options.
Renting a Car
Renting a car and touring the
D-Day beaches on your own is an excellent way
to visit the area, as some of the historic sites
can be difficult to reach by public
transportation. Information regarding car rentals
is available
by contacting
the tourist
office
in
Caen or in Bayeux. Renting a car in Paris is
also an excellent option.
The Bayeux Tourist Office:
Website: www.bayeux-tourism.com
Email: info@bayeux-tourism.com
Phone: 00 33 (0)2 31 51 28 28
The Caen Tourist Office:
Website: www.ville-caen.fr/tourisme
Email: tourisminfo@ville-caen.fr
Phone: 00 33 (0)2 31 27 14 14
Directions
by car from Paris:
The Juno Beach Centre in
Courseulles-sur-Mer is 270 kms from Roissy-Charles-de-Gaulle
airport in Paris. The drive is approximately
2 hours and 45 minutes in length and includes
250 kms on the A13 highway. Drivers
are encouraged to have
change ready for the numerous toll booths.
Please visit one of the following
websites to get more detailed directions to
Courseulles-sur-Mer, Normandy and the Juno Beach
Centre.
Mapquest
Mappy
ViaMichelin
Or enter the GPS coordinates
of the Centre in your navigation sytem: 49°20'11.52"N
/ 0°27'42.52"W
Public Transportation
To get to the Juno Beach Centre from Paris,
you may take the train (TER) to Caen
from the GARE ST LAZARE in Paris. This journey
takes approximately two hours. There are about
15 trains to Caen
daily. Fewer trains run on Sunday. You can find
all the train
schedules at www.voyages-sncf.com.
Once
you arrive in Caen, you will need to get to Courseulles-sur-Mer,
the small coastal town where the Juno Beach
Centre is located. The Centre is
approximately 25km from Caen. You can
take a taxi or use the regional
coach service called the BUS VERT.
Once in Courseulles, the Centre
is located on the west side of the
port, right on the beach.
Bus Vert - Line N°3:
(see the Bus Vert website at www.busverts.fr for
timetables and exact fair – website in
French only)
Next to the "Gare" (train
station) in Caen is the "Gare des bus" (bus
station) where you can purchase a ticket which
costs less
than 4€
one way (ask for same day return discounts and/or
student discounts). Tickets can also be purchased
from the bus driver. It is usually possible to
take Bus N°3 at this station but sometime
taking a tram to "Côte de Nacre"
is necessary. If you need to take a tram, the
stop
is right
in front of the train station.
A tram ticket costs less than 2€ and is
valid for an hour once it is inserted in the
machine on the tram to validate it. Tickets
can be purchased from a machine at the tram
stop. Coins are necessary as the machine only
accepts coins and CB cards (French bank cards).
Once the ticket is purchased, take tram "A” in
the direction of “Caen Campus 2” and
stop at “Côte de Nacre”.
The ride should take approximately 20-30
minutes. There are
maps in all of the trams and all stops are announced
on a flashing display screen. Once at "Côte
de Nacre", look for the bus stop for
the Bus Vert N° 3. Bus schedules are posted
in the bus shelters.
Once you get on the bus, ask the driver to let
you off in Courseulles at the “Place
du 6 juin” stop. Depending if you
are on an express bus or not, the ride can take
between 30
minutes to a little more than 1 hour.
Taxi
Travel time is approximately 30 minutes, depending
on traffic. The taxi stop is in front of the
Caen train station. Going to Courseulles (one
way) will cost you between 40€ to 65€
depending on the company and the time of day.
Make sure
to ask the drive for an estimate of the price
before getting in if you want to avoid a surprise.
Ask the driver to bring you to the Juno Beach
Centre in Courseulles. The Centre's opening times
vary depending on the season so check beforehand
to ensure that you have enough time to visit.
How
to travel to the Centre from London,
England
Eurostar
or the Euro Tunnel
It is possible to take a Eurostar
train (www.eurostar.com) from St Pancras International
or from Waterloo Station in London to Gare
du
Nord
in Paris. Travel time is a bit less than 2
1/2 hours between London and Paris. You then
need to change train stations to take a regional
train from Paris Saint Lazare to Caen.
A car journey via the Euro Tunnel to Calais is
also possible. Travel time between Calais and
Courseulles-sur-Mer
is approximately 3 1/2 hours, depending
on traffic.
Ferry
-
from
Portsmouth to Cherbourg (about 5 hours crossing)
- from Portsmouth to Caen-Ouistreham (about
7 hours crossing)
- from Portsmouth to Le Havre (about 6 hours
crossing )
- from Dover to Calais which
is the shortest
crossing, however you will need to
drive, take the bus or take the train from
Calais to Courseulles-sur-Mer
Note: to get to Porstmouth from
London, you have several options: train, bus (National
Express) or car rental. Trains from
Heathrow and Central London are
quite accessible.
Plane
-
from London to Paris
- from London to Le Havre
- from London to Deauville-St-Gatie
- from London to Cherbourg-Maupertuis
Note: no direct flights to Courseulles-sur-Mer
or Caen are available.
Guided Visits of the
D-Day Beaches
Visiting the D-Day Landing beaches
and the Normandy region with a professional guide
is an excellent option. The Lower Normandy region
is quite large and, depending on the season,
not always well serviced by the regional bus
system. For more information about the tour companies
who offer these types of guided tours, see the
"Tourist Information" section of this
web site.
The Juno Beach Centre does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external websites. Each link opens in a new window.
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