Good base for Normandy

We just did this and stayed in Bayeux. Lovely town, we liked it very much and it is well located to both the American, and other Allied sectors.

We stayed at Arromanches. Its a cute little town and the location was good for us. We visited the museum in Caan the day we left for Honfluer

We stayed at an out of town Bayeux luxury chateau-hotel, Chateau de Sully. Our primary concern was light traffic and easy parking after a day of touring, which it delivered. But it is expensive and not a particularly good "value." I hope you can find a real village. Suburban sprawl is present in all the prosperous European countries. At least in September, heat may be less of a problem.

I visited Bayeaux because I was more interested in the tapestry than WWII. Caen is worth considering. It's just as convenient, has a great WWII museum plus a Norman castle. Charming? You might like Honfleur. Bayeaux is pretty charming. Further up the coast is Etretat and Fecamp.

I wouldn't recommend Etretat. It has a tacky tone and isn't particularly close to the D Day sites. We had a reserved parking spot but aside from that, parking was metered and looked crowded (maybe not so crowded in September).

Bob, the way I'm understanding your comment is that you wouldn't overnight in Etretat, correct? I highly recommend a visit there, we spent a couple hours. We loved it. We had stayed in Honfluer for a couple days then went to Etretat and then to Giverny.

bk,

My suggestion would also be Bayeux. It's a beautiful town, with some good hotels and restaurants. There's also a WW-II Museum there and of course the famous Tapestry which describes a much earlier battle.

"from which we can then drive our car to see the D-Day beaches"

A couple of points to mention......

• For driving in France, it's highly advisable to have an International Driver's Permit or a certified translation of the terms of your license in French. Have a look at this site from the Embassy of France in Washington - https://franceintheus.org/spip.php?article376 .
• In addition to self guided touring, you might consider taking one of the excellent tours of the D-Day sites. You'll learn far more than by touring on your own, and you'll probably find that it's a much more interesting and rewarding experience. There are both full and half day tours available from some tour operators.

If your goal is a "charming town" where you can drive to the D-day beaches, Bayeux is hard to beat. Caen isn't really charming, and was largely destroyed in the battle for Normandy. Bayeux is an easy drive to, and centrally located to many of the beach sights, including a short drive to American and British beaches, as well as the Normandy American cemetery, Pointe-du-Hoc, and Longues-sur-Mer. One small town I'd mention is Sainte-Mère-Église. It is much smaller, and to the West of many sights, but ideally situated for the American Airborne operations and Utah Beach. I've stayed there for D-day anniversary visits on five occasions. But in September, there will be more to do and see (and places to eat) in Bayeux—which is where I stayed last September. You can still drive to Sainte-Mère from there for a nice visit, which I highly recommend. Also check out Le Molay-Littry for a nice, Norman inland town that isn't on the normal D-day routes. How long will you be in Normandy?

Thanks to everyone for their replies!

PharmerPhil: We'll have three full days in Normandy, plus part of a day after we leave Mont St. Michel.

I think Bayeux will be our "base".