Normandy is one of the best regions in France for taking your bike on trains. Here's what you need to know.
The American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer, overlooking Omaha Beach on the D-Day peninsula.
Photo: Freewheeling France
See here for more on cycling in Normandy
I love taking my bike on trains in Normandy. I've always found it to be a very easy region to navigate with a bike. Over the years trains in Normandy have saved me from downpours and helped me beat the clock with shortcuts – and I've never had a problem either locally or getting my bike there via Paris. I have no qualms – and no snobbery – about using trains to take shortcuts, beat the weather or to cut out hills if I'm feeling tired.
The way the network operates has recently (2020) been restructured and it's a little different to the rest of France. The map below makes it look more complicated than it is – it's designed for locals and commuters in and out of Paris and elsewhere in the region, as well as for slower travellers like us. So the map tries to show fast trains as well as ones that stop everywhere.
The system is new (2020) and branded 'Nomad'. Any tickets you search for on the OUI.sncf website may come up as either 'TER' or 'Nomad'. For our purposes, it doesn't really matter – they all take bikes.
The main lines are: Paris-Caen-Cherbourg; Trouville-Deauville; Paris-Rouen-Le Havre; Paris-Granville; Paris-Evreux-Serquigny; and Caen-Le Mans-Tours.
Again, don't be confused by the map below. The system is simply broken down into 4 types of services (different colours on the map), which are basically divided by train speed/number of stops. All trains take bikes – that's all you need to know.
The different types of trains are:
– Krono+: premium express trains (mostly to Paris)
– Krono: intercity connections
– Citi: urban/suburban trains
– Proxi: more rural or outlying areas
When searching OUI.sncf website for trains in Normandy, it is NOT necessary to tick the 'travelling with a velo' box as all trains take bikes. All results *should* show a little bike icon.
At the time of writing, you do not need bike reservations – you just buy your own ticket and store your bike in the carriages with the velo stickers on them. This may change in the future when the new system is bedded down as the ambition is to eventually ensure everyone has an allocated seat and ticket number.
Note that the Paris - Argentan - Granville/Pontorson Mont St Michel line gets busy in summer (from July 1) with cyclists and the number of places on each train for bikes is limited. You can make a free bicycle reservation when you book your ticket to guarantee a spot.
You do not need to bag or box your bike (though of course you can if you want to and store it in the luggage areas with suitcases, etc).
Note that peak hour trains 6am-9am and 5pm-7pm (especially in and out of Paris) can be busy – try and avoid peak hours if at all possible.
Trailers and tandems are not officially accepted, but that does not mean you won't be able to get them on if you are lucky/polite. Collapse trailers if you can and travel outside peak hours if you need to try.
There are also some regional buses/coaches that connect outlying areas – these do not take bikes.
See here for general France bike-train info + links to train maps in other regions
Full map of the Normandy rail network
You can click here or on the map for a higher quality downloadable PDF.
(Older) map showing Normandy rail routes + bike routes
You can click here or on the map for a higher quality downloadable PDF.
Bike hire, accommodation and tours
You can use our bespoke bike hire service to find bike hire in this region.
You can find accommodation for cycling in Normandy here.
You can search self-guided and guided rides here. Let me know via here if you need help.
