Caen Getting there & around

Getting there & away

Land

Bus

Bus Verts (08 10 21 42 14; information kiosk place Courtonne) serves the entire Calvados département, including Bayeux (€6.16, one hour, three daily Monday to Friday) and Courselles-sur-Mer (€4.40, 30 minutes, hourly, five on Sunday) as well as Deauville-Trouville (€8.80, 1¼ hours, hourly), Honfleur (€11.44 via Deauville, or €12.60 by express bus, at least hourly) and the ferry port at Ouistreham (€3.80, 25 minutes, six daily, one on Sunday). It also runs daily buses to Le Havre (regular bus €17.60, 2½ hours; express bus €19.40, 1½ hours, seven daily, four on Sunday).

Most buses stop at the bus station and place Courtonne. When leaving or arriving at Caen by bus, your ticket will be valid for public transport to/from the bus station.

Car

Rental places include Hertz (02 31 84 64 50; 34 place de la Gare), Europcar (02 31 84 61 61; 36 place de la Gare), Avis (02 31 84 73 80; 44 place de la Gare) and ADA (02 31 34 88 89; 26 rue d’Auge).

Train

Caen is on the Paris–Cherbourg line. There are regular connections to Paris’ Gare St-Lazare (€27.70, 2½ hours, 10 direct daily), as well as Bayeux (€5.30, 20 minutes, 18 to 20 daily), Cherbourg (€17.60, 3¼ hours, 12 daily), Pontorson (€21.70, 2½ hours, nine or 10 daily) and Rouen (€20.70, two hours, six to 10 daily). Visit the SNCF Boutique (8 rue St-Pierre) for train information and reservations.

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Boat

Brittany Ferries (02 31 36 36 36; www.brittanyferries.com) sails from Ouistreham, 14km northeast of Caen, to Portsmouth in England.

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Air

Caen’s airport (02 31 71 20 10) is 5km west of town in Carpiquet. There are regular flights to several French cities via Lyon; the only regular UK destination is Manchester. A taxi from the airport to the town centre costs around €15 (call 02 31 52 17 89).

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