D-Day visit

Thank you! We are doing all the American sights in the full day tour:)

Another question: We are flying into Paris and debating over renting a car and driving to Bayeux or taking the train and renting a car there & returning it there.

After Normandy we are exchanging in south France so will train there & rent another car.

If you like formal proceedings and don't mind the crowds, the wasted time waiting, and the long walks from overstuffed and distant parking areas, then staying over to watch events on 6 June might be worth it for you.

We live in the area and don't bother. It's too much hassle with so many people from outside the area clogging the roadways.

There's one poster on the site who nearly always recommends staying for the flag retreat ceremony at one of the two American cemeteries in Normandie -- at the one near Colleville-sur-Mer. It's fine, but, if you grew up on military bases as I did, it's not substantially different from what happens daily at military bases across the country. I can vouch that most people seem unfamiliar with traditional protocol for such an event (that is, stop talking or walking, turn to face the flag, and place your hand over your heart until the ceremony is over).

There are many ceremonies leading up to D-day itself, and I highly recommend many of them, Get a list from the local tourist offices (Google the office for Sainte-Mère-Église and Carentan), and keep in mind that many schedules are not finalized until a few weeks beforehand. Many of the U.S. ceremonies are centered around Sainte-Mère-Église, which is where the current US. military bases itself for that week. The large parachute drop at the La Fiére Causeway (both active military and reenactors) occurs on the closest Sunday—which this year is June 8th. And the official ceremony at the Normandy American Cemetery is on June 6th itself. Lots of speeches and security. If you want to attend that one, submit an application ahead of time at the American Battle Monuments Commission web site. The two times I went (including the 75th anniversary), I didn't get my "invitation" until I was already in town. On that day you have to park many towns away from the cemetery at prearranged lots and get bussed in on official buses. So it becomes an all-day event. But there will be ceremonies in almost every town honoring one person or unit or another all week long. All very touching, and none taking all day. Keep in mind that on June 6th itself, many of the local roads, including the N13 main highway, is closed to traffic for the day to allow dignitaries and officials to move around with proper security.

Oh this is wonderful information - both our fathers were WWII, one Army Air Corp the other Navy. Thank you so much for this information. We will be going to St Mere Eglise as well & will now put in a request for tickets.
Thank you again.

Just returned from 2 days in Bayeux as part of a 12 day vacation. The only place we paid to park was Arromanches. The lot close to the museum was empty at 9:45, quite crowded when we left. Other than that parking was readily available and free at all of the other sites. As an aside we went to the British museum and Winston Churchill Center at Vel-sur-mer (which is relatively new) and it is a wonderful site also. Very well done and recommended. There is no mention of it in Rick's latest Paris book.

We had planned our day around arrival at the US cemetary for 4 PM, spending an hour in the visitor's center and then doing the Flag ceremony at 5 PM. As we were going through security the agent advised us that the flag ceremony was at 4:15 and we needed to go there if that was our interest. The visitors center closed at 4:45 - the only fail on our trip. No I did not check the website, but everything I had read said the facility was open until 6 PM. Memo to self, always check the website.

Also for us, there were I would guess a few hundred people in the cemetary, all gathered near the flags at the flag ceremony, and of multiple nationalities. You could absolutely hear a pin drop when Taps was played. Our experience anyhow.

Just returned from France, which included visiting the many Normandy/D-Day sights.
As other posters have mentioned, the area will be flooded with a higher than normal number of people to include dignitaries and VIP's. The area is rural and only has 2-lane roads, I can't imagine the frustration one will have with the traffic and delays. While it's fantastic that you'll be there for the many ceremonies, I'd probably pick one and stick with that. Joining a tour is probably the best option during this period, letting someone else handle the driving, route-finding and parking will be a huge strain off of you. Just bring a bunch of hard-candies to help pass the time when the inevitable delays happen.

We just finalized June 5 overnight around Omaha Beach so will be there D-Day June 6. We'd like to go from there to St Mere Eglise that day & Pont du Hoc. We have a full day tour scheduled earlier in the few days but will drive ourselves on D-Day so thank you for the heads up. After ceremonies we will drive back to Paris to catch train. Hopefully by then the roads will be open???

It really depends on what heads of state are in attendance, and when they leave. During busy anniversaries (70th, 75th, 80th) they closed the main road until the early evening, and the areas right along Omaha Beach were closed too. You can still get across the entire area, but you really need a knowledge of the little, local back roads. It will be better this year than last, but you may not know until a couple of weeks ahead of time. I assume you mean you will drive to a station to get a train back to Paris and not drive back to Paris all the way, correct?

Well we have gone back in forth on driving from Paris - flying into CDG, or taking the train & renting a car somewhere in Normandy.
Do you have recommendations, we are very open to and appreciate experience of past travelers.
Thank you!:).

I took a train from Paris-to-Rouen, picked up my car rental in Rouen then continued touring the Normandy-region before doing the reverse 4-days later. I'll caveat that I also spent an evening in Honflur.
Others will take the train into Caen or Bayeux and pick up their car rental in those places however, check the operating hours of those location's rental offices. For my itinerary, picking up the car rental in Rouen worked for me.

crrmovesu,
You will find here on the forum that nearly everyone discourages driving after a long (esp. overnight) flight. I concur, and recommend taking a train to Rouen or Caen and getting your car there. You will have had a chance for a small rest on the train, which may also be faster. If you are arriving on the 2nd, the same as your first night in Bayeux, then maybe Caen would be better. It is closer to Bayeux than Rouen. If you arrive before the 2nd, spend the night in Rouen. It is worth a stop for it's cathedral, food, medieval section and Joan of Arc connection. The next day you can get your rental car and head for Bayeux. I would leave early. Also, the drive from there to Bayeux can take you along the Route Des Abbayes (beautiful drive), and next to the Seine. Well worth the time. An early departure still gets you into Bayeux in the later afternoon, with time to see the tapestry if possible. (Since this is around DDay, expect more crowds for most things in the area, tapestry included. I don't know if you need to reserve for that.)

Do I understand you correctly that you are planning to return to Paris ON the 6th? Be aware that the drive, without stops for gas, etc. will take about 4 hours, with decent traffic (not the tangle of traffic of people leaving after the various ceremonies). Are you heading to the airport or the city? I could be wrong, but I am envisioning you on the road late at night. You might do better returning your car at Caen in the afternoon and taking the train back. At least it is worth doing some research about train departure times, as well as operating hours for car rental offices in various locations. Many close for long lunches and aren't open on Sundays, and have limited hours on Saturdays. Viamichelin.com is a good website to discover drive times and costs and routes, etc. (But add time for gas/food/comfort stops to their times) SNCF will give you train options. AutoEurope can give you car rental options in different locations (they list the different car rental companies).
Best of luck in your planning.

All good advice from Judy. But I'll add that I have been able to drop off rental cars after hours in Caen at both Enterprise and Hertz. Both have key drops, but make sure you document the condition of your car with lot of photos before leaving it.