Hello all and Happy New Year!
Next December 2nd my wife and I end a river cruise in Paris.
We have spent time in Pairs, but not the D-Day sites.
Thinking of taking the train, or maybe rent a car, from Paris to the area.
How much time is needed there to give it a fairly thorough look?
Is Caen a good home base for a few nights?
Any suggestions are most appreciated (RS book on the way).
RC
If you go to Normandy to walk the beaches in December you won't have to worry about crowds. Of course, many of the museums and sites will be closed for the winter. But you can still see many of the monuments, and the AMBC American Graveyard will be open. The weather is going to suck.
You can, with some luck and perseverance, visit most of Juno, Sword, and Gold in a day. But the monuments are right up in the towns, and take a bit of hunting down. If you do go this way make sure you stop in the Canadian Cemetery.
Utah and Omaha are further out, and quite different. Utah is in the middle of wide open dunes, Omaha has the large seawall and cliffs. Again, you can visit both in a day, depending on what else you add other than just walking the beaches.
Caen is good for the British/Canadian sites, but a fair drive from the US positions.
I would stay in Bayeux. It is IMO a more charming town. I don't know how many restaurants, etc will be open in December. Caen is much bigger and will have more places open, but Bayeux is closer to the sights you will probably want to see. Take the train to Caen (2 1/2-3 hours) and pick up your car there, then drive to Bayeux, visit the beaches, cemeteries, museums, etc. (About a half-hour drive between the two towns). In the summer I would spend two days visiting the beach sights, but in the winter, which may have pretty sucky weather, I don't know. Get a guidebook from the library that discusses the beach sights and pick what you want to see the most. Remember that it will get dark earlier in December also, so you will have fewer daylight hours. Pharmer Phil is a contributor to this forum and really knows her stuff about the Normandy beaches and history, etc. Maybe she will offer some advice for a December visit. If it were summer I would definitely give the area more days. There are other towns worth going to, such as Ste. Mere-Eglise.
If open, I would try to find a place to sample cider. Bayeux has a nice cathedral. Caen has an extensive WWII museum.
If you have extra days, I would drive to Rouen (about 2-21/2 hours) drop the car, and stay a couple of days. You can then take a train back to Paris (about 1 1/2 hours).
Bonne chan ce!
We did this in the fall and really enjoyed it, although I don't know what it will be like in December.
We took the train from Paris to Caen, rented a car in Caen, and stayed in Bayeux. Staying in Caen would have worked fine.
There are several companies that do tours of the D-Day beaches and they all leave/return to Bayeux. We did a full-day tour of the American beaches with Overlord Tours, it was great. If you look around this forum, you will find A LOT of praise for Overlord, it's well-deserved. They have several tours depending on how you want to break it down.
As far as "how much time is needed," I could have stayed a week with no problem. Since you have a car, there is A LOT you'll be able to see and do in Normandy. Visit Arromanche to see the Mulberries, Mont Saint-Michel is an hour or so away and it's awesome, and there are a lot of beautiful scenic towns. Again, i don't know what will be open in December, but you should be able to find something.
Enjoy!
In addition to the weather, the Sun will set in Bayeux around 5:00pm in early December. Still, book as much time as you can. I usually stay over a week, but I haven't visited later than September.
Caen has its Memorial, which some like and some don't, but I think it's worth a visit. it's also a short drive to Bénouville, where the Pegasus Bridge museum is located -- small but definitely worth it even if you're unfamiliar with its taking by British troops in the early morning hours of 6 June. It's open until mid-December before closing for the season, so if you're in the area in early December you should be fine.
Caen is a pretty large city, though, with accompanying traffic headaches especially during rush hours. If you're solely focused on American-related sights, I'd probably pick a smaller town. closer to Utah and Omaha Beach. Many recommend Bayeux. Carentan or Sainte-Mère-Eglise also would be candidates.
Unlike a lot of folks who visit in the summer or shoulder seasons, I live in the general area year-round (a little less than an hour's drive to either Omaha Beach or Utah Beach). Had the pleasure of living through tempête Goretti just last night.
If you have specific questions in the future as you firm up your plans feel free to send me a direct message and I'll do my best to respond.
I'd recommend starting with a one-day, small-group tour running from Bayeux. Overlord is one option. Then you can use your car to hit some other places of interest. Bayeux has a good invasion museum of manageable size and and interesting cathedral. Although I liked the museum in Caen, it is really a full-day affair, and many folks find it too time-consuming and too expensive.
There's lots to see in Normandy beyond the D-Day sites. I split my nights between Bayeux and Caen. Without a car, Caen was a better base for places to the east, which included Falaise (interesting WWII museum), Cabourg and Deauville in addition to Rouen and Honfleur. However, my trip was in the summer; I have no idea what conditions will be like in December.
Winters have been getting worse in Normandie. On the other hand We’ve been to St James Cemetery in November and the Normandie American Cemetery in December. The weather sucks big time but the spirit of eternity drifted among those graves. Fortunately the home we bought about 29 miles away beckoned, Its a toss up to go there.
