An October weekend in Normandy

I'll be there mid September. I like history but not so much 17th century forward. I plan to stop in Bayeux to see the Battle of Hastings (1066) tapestry but will skip the D-Day sights because they're aren't as interesting to me.

If I had to pick one city? It won't be beach weather in October so food, wine, architecture. I'd probably see Mont-Saint-Michel then keep going to St Malo. St Malo can be really touristy but I'm thinking that will have died down by October leaving the great walled city, ocean and seafood/cheese/cider with hopefully fewer crowds. At low tide you can walk out to little forts off the point, at high tide they're isolated islands, which seems pretty cool.

Anywhere on the coast might be rainy then. October is the second rainiest month at Mont Saint-Michel.

I think you'd like Bayeux as a base, easily reached by train from Paris. It has the cathedral, the tapestry (which was originally displayed in the cathedral), a good WWII museum, and tours of the D-Day sites. Plenty of good places to stay and eat. Without a car you'll be constrained in getting around. Certainly for MSM you'll need some kind of tour, but I agree that it's way out of the way especially without your own wheels.

The Bayeux Tapestry was a highlight of our last trip to France. It's beautifully displayed and won't be crowded in October so you can take all the time you want and get up close. There are also interesting exhibits about the 1066 invasion and the tapestry itself. We spent several hours there.

The Memorial de Caen is an excellent WWII museum, including a restored German command bunker. But it's some distance from the city center where the station is, and might be hard to visit on a train stopover. Since you're not into museums anyway, I'd suggest going right on ahead to Bayeux.

Normandy isn't a wine-producing region, but of course you can get great wine from elsewhere in France. And try calvados, the apple brandy Normandy is famous for, not to mention cheeses and such.

You need to take the bus to get to the museum in Caen coming from the station. But if you're not that deeply into war museums, between Caen and Bayeux, I would recommend the Bayeux museum. The Caen Museum has way more information, is overkill, if you like that, and a good book shop

Walk in Bayeaux, if it's a choice of either city.

To me, the charm of Normandy is absolutely NOT in the cities (most of which were heavily bombed as the Allies fought to liberate France from the Germans) but in the countryside.

That said, if I had just a weekend and no car, Bayeux is a fine place to stay with the Tapestry and access to the battlefields with experienced guides. The Churchill Hotel also has (or had, check their website) a shuttle that would take people to Mont St-Michel.

I would go to Rennes, or Rouen as a 2nd choice

If you are not that interested in the beaches in Normandy, but want to be in that part of France, I would spend the night on MSM and then go to St. Malo as suggested in the first post. Bayeux is enjoyable and I have stayed there a few times as a base with my car to drive around Normandy and the beach areas, but for interesting ambiance I would go to MSm. I have traveled to lots of amazing places and I have to say this one ranks up there as truly memorable. I was there with my 14 year old grandson (it was Nov.) so there were some day tourists, but when they all left we had the place almost to ourselves. We wandered around all evening, and it was really very magical. St. Malo, is beautiful with fun shopping and lots of restaurants. I prefer it to Bayeux because I like places on the sea.

Thank you all so much for all of this great advice!
We are booked to stay in Bayeux, but will try to visit MSM!
Thanks so much,
Noah