My wife and I will be traveling through the Normandy region with 4 of our friends in early October 2016. We'd like to see some of the WWII sites (beaches, museums, etc.) as well as Mont St. Michel. Does anyone have any suggestions for places to stay? My ideal place to stay would be a quaint B&B with 3 or 4 rooms. This will be my first visit to an area of France that is not Paris so something that has a "French-countryside feel" sounds perfect. We are thinking of making this a 2 day-2 night side trip from Paris and are OK with spending the 2 nights in different towns. We're also OK splitting a room between the 6 of us or getting separate rooms for each of the 3 couples. Oh , and I don't know if this affects the recommendations, but we're all upper-20's/early-30's. Thanks in advance for the help.
Posted by
North Georgia, USA
1097 posts
We are staying in the studio owned by the same person that owns this B&B: www.vacances-normandes.com
If the link doesn't work, google La Thiaumerie.
Posted by
Kansas
1175 posts
We stayed at www.bandbnormandie.com, a delightful 400 year old farm with modern facilities. They have a house for rent as well which might be just what you need. It's just outside Villers-Bocage, which is around 10 miles southeast of Bayeux. Odile's breakfasts are to die for and the motorway is close by. Mont St. Michel is around 90 minutes via the four lane motorway. We arrived before the horrendous crowds on the tour buses, spent around 2 hours at the Mont, the drove around the bay to Cancale for the famous seafood. We then drifted back to our B and B on the back roads, sampling local cheeses, meats, and of course Calvados. The D Day beaches are around 20 miles. Three nights or even four would be your best bet for Normandy.
We usually take the train from Paris to Caen and fetch our vehicle from across the street from the Caen RR station. We use AutoEurope. Bayeux is around 15 mile plus another 10 or so to Villers-Bocage. Caen works best since we can return our car there (open on Saturdays) and take an easy train ride back to Paris. Get your own GPS with Europe maps and learn to use it prior to your trip. We also bought a Michelin map of Normandy and both were invaluable. Normandy was one of our best ever trips.
Posted by
Chicago, USA
19 posts
I stayed in Bayeux at Le Castel Guesthouse and loved my stay. I know there are at least 3 rooms there. I also took the Overland D-Day full day tour and it was a 5 minute walk from the B & B to meet the shuttle.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32212 posts
Chris,
If you want a really "immersive" history experience" during your stay in Normandy, a couple of the exceptional D-Day guides also operate B&B's. One of them even has a mini D-Day Museum right on the premises.
Unfortunately, I don't believe they're large enough to accommodate three couples. If you want to have a look anyway, here are the links.....