We arrive in Le Harve on 9 May & decided to visit the Bayeux Tapestry. I don’t see any day trips to these towns. We have 12 hours in port & we’ve been to the D Day Beaches a few times. I’ve checked for tours from the port & no ship excursion or tour company seems to do this day tour. Aside from hiring a car, are there any suggestions? Thank you!
Posted by
SoCal
1144 posts
What reason do you have for wanting to visit Caen? Most people who dock at Le Havre want to see Honfleur and/or Bayeux, primarily, in whatever order. I've not known anyone who specifically wanted to travel further on to Caen.
I wouldn't want to bypass Honfleur, which is a ridiculously photogenic little marina town, but the bus trips required for the round trip to and from Le Havre if you're going on to Bayeux would be at least 6 hours on board. Renting a car in Le Havre would allow the trip to be completed in less than 5 hours, with plenty of time for photos in Honfleur and seeing the "tapestry" (actually needlepoint) in Bayeux. Caen would be another half hour each way, if that's helpful.
Posted by
Washington DC
28082 posts
Caen is closer to Le Havre than Bayeux is, but I agree that it's not a particularly common tourist target. There would be enough in Bayeux to fill a day if you included the excellent invasion museum there; it's a pity you'd probably spend as much time on buses and trains as in Bayeux, and I'd be concerned about getting back to the ship on time.
Honfleur and/or Rouen would be a more convenient choice for sure.
Posted by
SoCal
1144 posts
Caen is closer to Le Havre than Bayeux is
You're of course absolutely right. Apparently my map-reading skills have evaporated with use of GPS. Embarrassing.
Posted by
Normandie
302 posts
Well, to be fair, if you go to Caen you can visit Festyland.
Seriously, Caen is a nice city, in my view. It's incredible the amount of construction one sees -- I think on a recent trip to Leroy Merlin (large home improvement store chain owned by Auchan) I counted 14 large tower cranes scattered around the town. It's not the most photogenic given WWII destruction, but there are nice areas such as around the abbey and William the Conquerer's castle.