Caen for two nights or go on to Mont Saint Michel?

Celeste: Tough question. Last month, we visited Normandy for several days. We stayed two nights in Bayeux where we did a full day tour of the WWII beaches and visited the Bayeux tapestry. We left for MSM the following day, stopping off at Arromanches to visit the museum en route. At MSM, we visited the Abbey and stayed on MSM for the night. The appeal of MSM is actually after the bus-loads of tourists leave and only a handful of tourists remain on the island. I felt we should have stayed several more days to visit fully the wonderful museums and locations in Normandy associated with WWII. I also think that you do yourselves (especially since you characterize your husband as a history freak) a disservice if you do not visit the Bayeux tapestry. Figure about 45 minutes to view the tapestry (everyone follows an audioguide keyed to various panels in the tapestry) and another 45 minutes (not obligatory) to visit some displays on upper levels--not related to the tapestry. I recommend highly the Airborne Museum in St. Mere Eglise; the D-Day museum in Arromanches which has great exhibits and a movie about the artificial harbors (Codename: MULBERRY); the museum and grounds of the Normandy American Cemetery; and, (I suspect you are already planning to go) the Caen museum which includes D-Day and WWII exhibits as well as a broader presentation on war and peace. So, with all the available museums, and the travel time between locations, I recommend not visiting MSM and focusing your attentions on the WWII experience (with the Norman Invasion thrown in).

I agree with Darrel. I was just on a RS tour thru this area. We spent the night on MSM and then 2 nights in Bayeux for a full day DDay tour. I thought I would love MSM but really did not. I thought I would like the DDay tour/area but I LOVED it! Wow! It was one of those times that I really wished I had had another day for the DDay landing sights. There is SO much to see. What really touched me was how the very small villages still honor the Allied forces.

I also was surprised at the Bayeux tapestry, which is not really a tapestry like the ones you usually see all over Europe. It was amazing and hilarious. I loved the expressions they put on the horses faces among other things. Really brilliant.

It sounds like you are going to tour yourselves thru the DDay sites. I am not the expert having only been there one time. We toured with Dale Booth Normandy tours and he does have a book. All profits from the book go to support various DDay sites that don't generate enough money to manage on their own. His book gives you suggested times it takes to visit certain sites and does relate some of the stories he told us along the way in case you are looking for help in this area.

http://www.amazon.com/D-Day-June-1944-Following-Footsteps/dp/1781220042/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1446044658&sr=1-1&keywords=dale+booth

Hi Celeste,

I would agree with Darrel and Pam. Although Honfleur is a nice town, with just 3 nights I'd skip it in favor of staying in Bayeux 2 nights. I'd then head to Mont St. Michel later in the day on your 3rd day and spend my last night there, on the Mont itself. It can often be swarmed with tourists during the day but at night and early in the morning, it's wonderful. Other than the WWII museum, there's little to see in Caen. You could see it on your way to Bayeux or visit as a day trip.

My husband and I spent 2 nights in Bayeux, and spent about a day and a half visiting WWII sites. I'm sure we could have spent more time there. Since you mention your husband is a history buff, I would recommend slowing down and staying in Normandy. There are so many sites besides the well-known ones that added to our knowledge and sense of adventure. We found D-DAY, Major & Mrs Holt's Pocket Battlefield Guide to Normandy Landing Beaches to be a handy, and almost too thorough, resource.

Darrell - thanks. Now I'm leaning toward a home base in Bayeux or Caen. If we decide we have time, we can venture toward MSM.

Pam - thanks for the book recommendation! I was a bit taken aback by the cost of the private tours, but it is understandable given that they are private. I think, though, that with additional research on our own we will be okay.

Rich - when my husband realized that Honfleur was birthplace of Satie, he was sold. In addition to being a history freak, he's a musician... I am not sure I can convince him to skip Honfleur now. Perhaps a stop there to see the museum and have lunch, then on to Bayeux (or Caen, depending on our lodging as referenced in my other thread)? Would that be do-able?

The comments by the other posters are spot on. Here's a few more from someone who's visited Normandy three times. Try to stay in Bayeux, not Caen. Caen was leveled during the battle for Normandy, so it is a modern city with little charm. Bayeux was spared from Allied bombers, so it has the real feel of a traditional Normand town. The Satie Museum in Honfleur is fabulous--probably my favorite place in that village outside of the old port. I think your plan to visit it and have lunch is enough for Honfleur, then travel on to Bayeux. Finally, be sure to give yourself plenty of time to visit the D-Day sights. Two full days is minimal if your husband is a history freak. I'd skip MSM and concentrate on D-Day under these circumstances. The other option would be to extend your trip and after spending time in Bayeux, do an extra night at MSM. The magic happens there after all the tourists leave. To be a part of it, you need to stay in a hotel on the island.

Thanks, padams and T. Very good info.

I think we'll pass through Honfleur to stop at the Satie museum, then head on to Bayeux and stay there for the three nights we have, taking the train back to Paris from Caen.

You guys are great about helping provide focus to those of us who want to see it all at one time. "We will be back!" :)

I am not sure what the cost is for the private or small group tours as mine was included with the RS tour. However, whatever Dale charges is completely worth it. Wow, he was just fantastic. He (and others I am sure) was able to include sites relevant to people on our tour. Several people had some kind of tie to DDay in that relatives or others landed during the invasion. I had asked him if he could point out an Advanced Landing Ground (temporary airfield set up near the beaches) that my Dad's fighter squadron landed on after DDay. He not only did that, but worked ALGs into his discussion of the strategy post DDay. Really interesting. I also loved how he started us with a discussion of the landscape in June 1944 and how the Germans had flooded the area inland from Utah Beach. We were on a high point on the road then and it was so easy to see that and how the causeways went out to the beach area.

With this guide at least, the price is worth it.

Celeste -unless you actually are going to do something in Caen on the day that you return to Paris, such as the Museum, you do not need to go there to take the train back to Paris. These trains are all the same trains that leave Bayeux about 20 minutes earlier..

Larry,
I was thinking about having to return the rental car in Caen, and didn't even consider doing so in Bayeux but I guess that'd work too. Sometimes we miss the forest for the trees, don't we?
Thanks!

Yes indeed, those trees can really obscure the views.
FWIW, we spent a wonderful 3 nights in Bayeux this past April. Because of a screw-up with the French rail system that caused us to alter our plans, we first overnighted in Caen after coming from London because we could not timely make the last train to Bayeux (of course, the train we needed was back on schedule after we rearranged our plans), went to the Museum the next morning, on to Bayeux later that afternoon, beaches tour all the next day (Overlord Tour), and the day after wandering all over Bayeux. It's a delightful and walkable town. No car, but then again, Mont Saint-Michel was not on our agenda.

We stayed in Caen three nights in June. After arriving in Bayeux I had a D'oh moment and realized that is where we should have stayed. Bayeux is centrally located to the D-Day beaches and there is plenty to see and do there. Picking up or dropping off a car in Caen is easy as the train station and the car rental offices are across the street from each other. The drive from Caen to Bayeux is quick and easy and if you stay on the backroads it is quite scenic.

Thanks again to everyone. We've booked a room in Bayeux (actually a small apartment) for three nights that's right in the center of town through VRBO. It looks lovely. We'll just drive wherever we decide to go from there. And we can drop the rental car in Bayeux (Hertz) and head back to Paris on the train.

I love it when a plan comes together. :D
Celeste

You've gotten great advice and made the right choice imo. We've been to Bayeux many times, staying a week each time. Bayeux is super charming while Caen is the opposite. It's also much closer to the sites. There is so much to see and do, spending all your time based there is best. I wanted to mention that the DDay museum in Bayeux is our favorite. And it's a lot less expensive than the hyped one in Caen, which we did not like.