5 days in Normandy - best location to base our trip

We absolutely loved the charm of Bayeux last spring. It's so close to the WW2 sites, beaches, and a short drive to Arromanches. The downtown center of Bayeux is small, so you can walk everywhere; find plenty of good family friendly places to eat; the market; the laundromat, delightful shops. You definitely want to stay in the center. Everything is right there! Don't miss the tapestry it's so interesting even for the kids. Did I say charming and friendly? (:

Please make sure parking is available with your accommodations, as parking is very limited there. We made a stop in Honfluer on our way to Rouen. While we enjoyed the stop, we were so glad we stayed in Bayeux.

What a marvelous trip!

iamtambo,
Bayeux, Bayeux, Bayeux. Charming and convenient location. One full day there for the tapestry, museum and church, one full day for some D-Day sites, and two full days for the other nearby areas (Rouen would make a good day trip...it is beautiful), and the fourth....? Lots of options!

I recommend Bayeaux as well. Definitely see the tapestry. We also did a full day D-Day beach tour with Overlord, and enjoyed it. We stayed at a place called Le Petit Valhalla rented through booking.com which was well located just a short walk outside of downtown. I would recommend it. Kind of a house compound, but new and spacious, and it had laundry.

For the D-Day beaches Bayeux is the obvious choice. I stayed two times near Pont l’Évêque and very well located for the other places and so close to the toll road to Étretat too. Pont l’Évêque is not outstanding, but nevertheless charming and has to my opinion a pleasant vibe. So can be an option too.

For beach time you can go to anywhere between Honfleur and Utah Beach. Cabourg, Houlegate and Deauville too are really nice in the area around their casino’s. The latter also has it’s own walk of fame along Les Planches, the changing cabins at the beach. But travelling during high season it can be very busy there, meaning a whole lot of traffic.

Fun to do is hiking along the cliffs around Étretat, with magnificent views. There are hiking trails along the cliffs, no fences, so be carefull.

It is 1 hour and 45 minutes between Bayeux and Etretat. Everyone is different but that’s a pretty long day trip. If you are working with 6 nights total, I would spend 3 nights in Dinan and 3 nights in Bayeux, replacing eastern Normandy sites with eastern Brittany sites and expanding your planned 1.5 days at msm (staying in Dinan instead) to hit more of the areas sites. In your first 2.5 days you can see msm, San malo (instead of Honfluer), the beautiful coast between msm and San malo (sculptured rocks, best oysters in the world, wonderful walking), Dinan town with perhaps a bike ride along the Rance River and if you up for a longer day trip (but not as long as Etretat from Bayeaux) go to the Rose Granite Coast (in place of Etretat). Then your 2.5 days in Bayeux would be focused on d day and western Normandy sites. We did all of this with our family of 4 and it was really fun.

Definitely Bayeaux for the DDay sites.
Dinan is a pretty little place and would indeed make a good base for day trips around eastern Brittany.
That said, we really enjoyed our stay near Honfleur in September, and the drive over the Pont de Normandie to Etretat was a highlight of our trip. Beautiful place - you could (we did) spend most of full day there exploring on foot. The views from the cliff tops are spectacular and worth the effort.
Edited to add: just noticed your kids interest in the beach. For info, in the middle of the bay at Etretat is a little swimming platform ... maybe 50 yards off the beach. If the kids are keen swimmers they might enjoy a beach day there. Would be a unique experience for all of you, not to mention an occasion for some spectacular photos with the white cliffs in the background.

Spending two nights at Mont Saint Michel seems like one night too many. I've been there many times -- our house in the Cotentin Peninsula is an hours' drive away -- and I've stayed overnight on the Mont twice; each time for one night. In my opinion, unless you have a particular personal interest in something specific to Mont Saint Michel, one overnight stay would be plenty for most tourists. I would recommend allocating the second night to another location.

There are many places in that area worth a stay, but for a short term touristic visit such as you mention, I'd reluctantly recommend Bayeux as well. There are more interesting alternatives but they don't offer the easy experience that Bayeux does and they're not as centrally located to the sights you're planning to visit. Arromanches wouldn't be a mistake. It's smaller but still offers decent restaurants, beach access, and its own tourist sights.

Markets are common -- you needn't worry about those. Just check on the Internet when each town has its market.

Thank you, all, for such wonderful recommendations!
I think we've settled on the following plan:
Paris - 5-6 days - then rent car (outside of city)
Amboise - 2 nights. We have an Airbnb reserved right in the village. We'd like to visit the castle at Chenonceau and then canoe down the Loire. Maybe visit a winery, if time allows - but it's not a huge priority.
St Malo - 2 nights - While I originally thought we'd base closer to MSM - I really think my kids would appreciate St Malo. My 21 yo daughter LOVES oysters! So, it just seems to make sense to stop there and then we can visit MSM on our way to Bayeaux. I wondered about doing a guided MSM bay walk - but now I'm not so sure (as I think we'd get muddy and then have nowhere to clean up). Has anyone done that before? Is it worth it? Again, my kids would be more into the nature walk with beautiful views vs touring historical buildings and cathedrals (though we will do that too on this trip).
Bayeaux - 4-5 nights to visit the US d-day sites, beaches (including Deauville)
When we leave Bayeaux, we'll head to Etretat for the day and then do one overnight in Honfleur or Rouen before returning to Paris (with a stop in Giverny along the way) for our last night and then morning flight home.

If anyone has any other "active" or beach suggestions, please share!

Two years ago, we took our first family European trip to Italy and one of the highlights was taking a rowing lesson through the canals in Venice! I thought I saw a stand-up paddle board option for Etretat, but I haven't found it again.

Thank you!
Tamara

I'll add another question: Does anyone just do a bay walk at MSM or is it a "must-do" to walk up the mont and visit the cathedral?

Sounds like a good plan. We went to the place linked below, loved it, and walked around outside along the shire for about an hour. We went back later in the week. A very casual oyster farm with eatery. No tourists around, just locals, school groups, etc.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/dhGd8uJnTD1FMCiy9?g_st=com.google.maps.preview.copy

I think Bayeaux is worth three nights as a head quarters for exploring the Dday beaches and Bayeaux, including the tapestry and the German cemetery. We have stayed at the Hotel Churchill twice and recommend it but parking is very limited behind the hotel. Do not eat dinner at any hotel they seem overpriced & I think its the worse food I ate. I recommend the first restaurant on the ally, going along the river, to the right if one faces the Hotel Churchill (towards the Cathedral) is the best we have found. A plus to the Hotel Churchill is that it is relatively inexpensive, has breakfast that is ok and close to everything.

The restaurant going into the American Cemetery is OK. The food is not bad but not great. Maybe a good place to take kids. Parking is abundant at the cemetery. The lowering of the flag was great but the bugler has been replaced with a recording.
I have stayed at MSM twice but to me its only worth one night, but it is worth one night. No great food here. It is the birth place of some street food. One time I stayed next to the monastery and the hike up was hard but the view of the bay was great. Another time I was on high street (main street, I don't remember the name) and going to restaurants was easy and people watching along the street was fun. Warning, if you get a room on the main street a gas powered garbage machine will wake you up early. My brother in law has stayed at some hotel on the main land where Eisenhower stayed and liked it, but I don't remember the name.
The British and Canadian cemetery museum in Caen was worth stopping at. I would not sleep in Caen. The German cemetery out in the countryside had a museum also that was very small but interesting. The French reluctantly allowed the Germans to rebury their dead.
Just remember, if you have relatives or close family friends buried at any cemetery take flowerers to lay on the grave and take pictures to send to relatives and friends. It is a nice touch. This is regardless of whether U.S., Canadian, UK, or German.

Honfleur looks fun and might be a great place to stay several nights. It supposedly has good beachs and is the cite of several of Monet paintings. I have only driven thru Honfleur. Rouen in worth a few hours of sightseeing and has a great restaurant that Julia Childs says got her hooked on French cooking. www.lacouronne-rouen.fr

I think 5 nights in Bayeaux is too many. Having visited both towns in early September 2024, I would strongly suggest Rouen over Honfleur. So maybe cut it down to 4 or even 3 nights in Bayeaux, and add a night or two in Rouen.

If you're looking for some active experiences, you might consider le viaduc de la Souleuvre, a little less than an hour's drive south of Bayeux, between Saint-Lô and Vire, in the Suisse Normande area.

This is an old railway viaduct built by Gustav Eiffel (the tower guy) that was targeted by Allied Air Forces in WWII because of its importance to the movements of the German occupiers. It was partially torn down a little over 50 years ago but the stone pillars remain, with a height of around 200 feet. They've been converted into an activity center with bungee jumping (saut à l'élastique) and zip line (tyrolienne géante), along with other activities.

I haven't been there (yet) so I can't personally vouch for it, but have talked with folks who have and it seems to be worth the trip.

In case driving along the coast – D201 – from St. Malo to Cancale (for the oysters), there are several beaches. I liked my break in Havre de Rothéneuf. There are many hiking trails too.

Further west of St. Malo, spectacular is Fort la Latte, a fortified castle on top of a cliff.