TRAVEL

Getting to Caen by Ferry

Brittany Ferries operates a cruise service to Caen from Portsmouth. The crossing takes 6 hours during the day and 7 hours overnight. The ferry terminal at Ouistreham is 15 kilometers north of Caen. There is a direct bus service that will bring you into Caen.

Getting to Caen by plane

Caen Airport is just outside Carpiquet, 7km west of the city. It’s a small modern airport with some UK flights and flights from most major destinations in France as well as other European countries. The major carrier is Air France and its subsidiary Brit Air. Hop! operates domestic flights. A regular daily shuttle bus runs from town (Tour-la-Roi stop in place Courtonne by the port).

Getting to Caen by car

Paris to Caen is 234 kms (145 miles) taking around 2 hours 30 mins. From Paris, by A13 (toll). From Cherbourg by N13. From Rouen, by A13 or N175 (toll). From Rennes, by A84..

By train

Trains to Caen (and Cherbourg via Caen) leave from Saint‐Lazare station. Trains are quite frequent and the journey from Paris to Caen takes about 2 hours. Average cost is 33.30 € one way but if you book early, you can get tickets as cheap as 15 €. tickets are also cheaper if you travel outside of rush hour. The train website is: http://www.sncf.fr

Note that the train posting in Paris St-Lazare can be confusing to the first time traveller. The train line number ("la voie") is not posted until 15-20 min before the departure, so do not panic if you arrive earlier than that. You need to look for the sign "Grandes Lignes" as all of the trains before just go to areas around Paris. If you have booked a train that goes all the way to Cherbourg, Caen will not be the listed destination, as it is a stop along the way so you have to go off times/train number. Do not forget to punch ("composter") your ticket in one of the yellow machines before boarding to validate your ticket. If you forget you have to find the ticket inspector on the train in order to avoid a fine!

If you get in to Roissy or Orly then you need to get the RER to Saint Lazare (RER B is best way to get to Roissy, Orly too (RER to Antony, and then Orlyval)).

If you arrive at a different train station (Gare du Nord/ Gare de l’Est, Gare de Lyon, Gare d’Austerlitz) then you need to get the underground (metro). Citymapper app is a good way to plan your trip.

The train station in Caen is about a kilometre walk south of the centre, you can also get either of the trams heading into town.

Getting around Caen

 From the train station (la gare) or  bus station (gare routière) into town:

you can take tram A or B (the stop is right outside of the train station) so either direction A= cote de nacre/campus 2 or B= Hérouville Saint Clair and you should stop at Saint Pierre (the large church) which is the most central point in town

You can walk it too, if your suit case is not too heavy! It's only about 10 - 15 minutes walk

If you are coming straight to University from the station (or town) then it is the same trams (same directions) and a stop a little way up - Université

Of course you can walk from town, it is just up the hill following the tram lines or you can take the scenic routes through William the Conquerant's castle!

Getting to campus 1:

Caen has a good network of buses and tramways called Twisto (http://www.twisto.fr/)
a single ticket is 1,50€, a “carnet” of 10 is 12,70€. You can look at your journey here: http://twisto.cartographie.pro/v2/

Car : follow the « périphérique nord » : exit n° 5, direction Centre Ville/Campus1

Tramway: lines A et B both stop at: Université in front of the phoenix

Bus : lignes 2 and 4, stop : Université