hi.
pls advise as to which is better - to join tours to the D-day beaches or go on one's own. we will be in Bayeux from aug 19 - 23. we really only have 3 full days. we will allocate 1 day to MSM and a half-day to the Bayeux tapestry.
rick steves' book mentions a caen-museum cum D-day beaches tour. it also mentions going by bus or taxi to the D-day beaches and a separate trip to the caen museum.
if joining a tour is better, pls give me info on it like the website, etc.
thanks a lot.
Olivia
You don't need a half day for the tapestry. Maybe 2 hours at the most. Spend some time in the D-Day museum in Bayeux, which many people feel is superiour to the one in Caen. Try to visit the British Cemetery too.
For the best and most efficient use of your time here, a guided tour with one of the smaller companies will give you a great experience. Not one of the large bus tours.
I totally agree with all Jo said. Check out "dday-experiencebedandbreakfast.com". Dale Booth offers tours of the beaches - we toured with him in a small mini-van and he was excellent! I know there are some other good tour leaders too. Dale does run a B&B also - we didn't stay with him, just took the tour and I highly recommend a guided tour and him.
Hi Olivia, I suggest that you visit the tapestry on your own and use a tour company to do the D-Day beaches and cemeteries. This company a variety of tour options. We used them in May and enjoyed the day.
Normandy Sightseeing Tours
6 Rue Saint Jean 14400 BAYEUX France
www.normandy-sightseeing-tours.com
Tél: 00.33.(0)2.31.51.70.52 -Fax: 00.33.(0)2.31.51.74.74
Email : contact@normandy-st.com
We visited the normandy beaches as a day trip from Paris a couple of years ago. We met a small tour in Bayeux and had an extraordinary experience. Victory Tours led by Raul(?). highly recommend this tour. We had visited the Caen museum on an earlier visit and found it to be excellent. If you are staying in Normandy, you should easily see the sites within the the timeframe of your visit. Walking on Omaha Beach and visiting the American Cemetery are very moving experiences.
One more vote for 2 hours to see the Tapestry on your own and using a van tour service to do a day-long tour of the beaches and museums. Several companies have been mentioned - I've used Overlord Tours (they have several tour options) and Olivier is a local who really knows the stories of the area. I went to Normandy b/c my son wanted to, but I ended up being very moved by the whole area. Bon voyage!
thank you, all.
I have sent an email to dale booth and to Normandy sightseeing tours. I will decide which one to get later.
Olivia
Olivia,
I'd also highly recommend taking a guided tour of the D-Day sights, as it's really the best and most efficient way to see them in a limited time frame. The beaches cover a front of about 50 miles and extend some distance inland, so that's a large area to cover (especially if you're not familiar with the area). The Guides are exceptional and you won't see as much or learn as much if you go on your own. In addition to Dale Booth (who is an outstanding Guide), you could also try Paul Woodage at http://www.ddayhistorian.com/ (also an exceptional Guide) or http://www.overlordtour.com/ (they offer a good variety of tours). The tours will be somewhat "pricey", but well worth the cost (IMO).
I agree with the others that two or three hours should be sufficient for the Bayeux Tapestry. Also, hopefully you'll get to the excellent Museum in Bayeux.
Just a couple of adds: I thought the tapestry was worth more than two hours, there's also a very good museum attached to it. It helped to be there early in the day, uncrowded, all the time we needed to examine that amazing window back almost a thousand years. Also, don't miss the cathedral at Bayeux with its Norman nave and towers. This is where they hung the tapestry once a year to show people what happened (from the Norman viewpoint of course). The cathedral doesn't take a long time and it's just a couple of blocks from the tapestry. The tall building with the pointy spires!
We didn't take a D-Day tour last year, but I think we'd have done better if we had. Can't recommend a specific one but Ken has always gotten it right as far as I know!
We booked the full day D Day tour with then Dale Booth. We spent a lot of time on the beaches with lots of tactical lectures but only 15 minutes at the American Cemetery at the end of the day. The tour was very good but too long and too many tactics. We returned the next day with our rental car and spent 4 hours at the American Cemetery, very moving, worth every minute spent there, ate lunch, then toured the British beaches, actually met a D Day survivor who lasted 12 days then was hit. I know a great deal about D Day and could have done it by ourselves. However, you will miss a lot unless you do at least a half day tour. Bayeux and the tapestry is at most two hours. Arise early and get to MSM when it opens to avoid the tour bus crowds. Two hours is plenty. We then drove around the bay to Cancale, about 25 miles from MSM, for a perfect seafood lunch with MSM visible across the bay. We then drifted back along the back roads to our stupendous B&B east of Bayeux. It was a perfect day spent in Normandie and Brittany.
We did a full day tour with Overlord tours. It was excellent and a highlight of our trip. I am not interested in history at all and did not look forward to this tour at all. Boy was I surprised. Loved every minute of it. Highly recommend. We booked the Band of Brothers tour.
