France Normandy Coast WWII

We took an all day tour from Bayeux (we were staying there) We booked our tour through viator.com, but they are a consolidator and we were actually on an all day tour with Overlord Tours. It was very comprehensive and our guide was very knowledgeable about the area and history.
We visited several small towns were significant actions took place, visited 3 of the beaches with time to walk on them briefly.
Then we went to both the British and American Cemeteries. I would recommend being at the American Cemetery at 4:00 when they lower the flags and play taps.
We did not go to Calais or Dunkirk and when I go back, I will visit them. They are only about 25 miles apart. (so I can't comment ) but here is the link to Overlord Tours just to show you what they offer. https://www.overlordtour.com/

I hope you have a wonderful trip. I will never forget my day touring this area.

We toured the area on our own and just by happenstance were at the American Cemetery at 4:00 when the flags were lowered. It was one of the most moving experiences of my life and something I will never forget.

What shows up on someone else's "best of" list is irrelevant. If a place is interesting to you, go there - regardless of whether or not someone else thinks it's a "must see" or a "waste of time."

Hi rmgood7

Just a quick note, and I agree with the comment that if it is important to you it is important.

You may find things that interest you in Dunkirk and Calais, including the Rodin sculpture in Calais (nothing to do with WWII) but personally I prefer to get away from Calais and Dunkirk as quickly as I can.

My reasons are very pedestrian. That area has been for many years the focal point of illegal immigrant camps and attempts to cross the Channel any way they can. While I support refugees who are in peril I have difficulty when their actions put me and my wife in danger. The only way that they can reach England from there is to smuggle themselves in trucks going on ferries or the Eurotunnel, usually by cutting the curtains around the trailer or forcing seals on the door, or in cars, usually pre-arranged but often enough by stopping a car and forcing the driver to take them, or by trying - usually fatally - to climb aboard moving or stationary Eurostar or freight train carriages. There were several who attempted to walk the length of the tunnel while trains were passing inches away.

I personally have had to dodge roadblocks put up by them to stop traffic so large groups can attack the stopped traffic, and once nearly hit a man running across the motorway.

All the laybys have been closed and fenced and guarded truck stops have been built, and additional very high fencing has been built at strategic points around the roads and railways but it doesn't help. The camps have been dispersed several times but they always slowly reappear.

So while I used to visit Calais as part of my European driving trips (I take several a year) and usually slept in Calais, my only goal now is to pass through as quickly as possible and uneventfully. I now stay no closer than Lille or Bruges or Oostende.

During several flare ups I have had to cancel trips because it really wasn't safe.

I hope that when you visit it will be during one of the quiet times and that you enjoy your visit.

I haven't mentioned Dunkirk because I have never visited there other than once many years ago trying to find the beaches that the soldiers were stuck on during the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940. I wasn't successful. Dunkirk is another cross-channel port primarily for trucks and one car ferry company (DFDS) and it has similar problems but to a lesser degree as Calais.

My guess is that somebody will say that my comments are racist. Nope, I don't think so. Mankind is one. My sympathy is genuine. The danger that drivers in the Calais areas have to deal with is genuine.

If you don't know what is going on you might think it is just a peaceful beachfront town.

Thanks Nigel. You confirm what I had heard about Calais. I truly appreciate your input.