We are staying in Bayeaux for 2 nights. Any hotel recommendations in town and good tours.? We are booked at Hotel Lion D'Or. We have a car. Can we do a self guided tour or should we book a tour? Thanks for your help.
Posted by
1219 posts
We are doing this as well in April 2020. We booked a private Overlord tour for 3 people which is pricey but I feel worth it as WWII is my area and it matters to me. If you don't want something as pricey but still a small group they have small group tours available. But depending on when you are going you need to start booking. I had also tried several independent guides that Rick recommends and many of them are already booked. You can do it on your own but I think with a tour you would get more out of it.
Posted by
Washington DC
27062 posts
Assuming you don't have a WWII expert in your travel group, I think a tour is the best approach. The driver/guide will know exactly how to get to each site with no wasted time and will provide a lot of information about the invasion that the casual tourist will not otherwise have. I was happy with my small-group Overlord tour, and there are other companies that have been recommended on this forum. Most of the tours depart from Bayeux, so you are well-positioned. If you have extra time in the area, the museum on the outskirts of Bayeux is excellent.
In case you end up on the American-focused Overlord tour: When I took the tour in 2017, the lunch break was in St-Mere-Eglise, also the location of the Airborne Museum. If you want to see the museum, you'll have to settle for a grab-and-go lunch, probably a sandwich consumed while sitting on a park bench. If you plan to do that anyway, I'd take lunch with me (but you can't eat in the van) to save an extra 5 or 10 minutes.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thank you both so much for you insights and information. I booked the tour!
Posted by
Montgomery
35 posts
I did the Normandy WWII in May 2016 and used Malcolm Clough who specializes in small group tours. He is extremely knowledgeable and very accomandating. His web page is www.d-daytoursnormandy.com and his email is malcolmclough@d-daytoursnormandy.com.
I stayed at Hotel Tardif Noble Guesthouse, a great place with reasonable prices and wonderful breakfast. I also recommend A U George VII on Rue Saint Jean. It is not a fancy place, just great food and a place locals go.