Normandy Beaches and Mont St Michael

You didn't ask this, but I really recommend you stay in the town of Bayeux. It's wonderful.

At the tail end of a 2008 trip that also included Belgium, we stayed in Bayeux, saw the famous tapestry there and some of the town (they were also having their annual Medeival Festival, which we just stumbled upon), then had a day and a half for driving to as much of the D-Day/Normandy locations as we could fit in. Another day or 2 would've been even better, although we did cover many places, and we didn't use the services of a guide or tour company.

Unless you had deliberate plans to drive in Paris traffic on your way out of town, another possibility would be to take the train to, say, Caen, and pick up your rental car there, in a somewhat less-big-city environment. There's an excellent War museum in Caen, too, which you and your grandson would likely find very worthwhile.

We were in France for 3 weeks last fall right before the 70th anniversary of D-Day. We loved it! I highly recommend Dale Booth for a private tour of Normandy. He was pricey but well worth the money. He was a passionate story teller, knowledgeable and funny. We share him with another couple so that helped take the sting out of the price. I really recommend taking a tour of the Normandy beaches, even if you don't go with Dale. I think you'd miss a lot trying to do the beaches on your own. I also recommend you take the train from Paris to Bayeux and pick your car there or in Caen rather than driving. It was an easy and peaceful ride plus we didn't have to deal with Paris traffic or pay for extra days of car rental since we didn't need it until we got to Bayeux.

We were in Bayeux for 3 nights and only 2 days, we should have stayed at least another day. We stayed in a lovely B & B in Bayeux called Chambes d hotes Le Petit Matin which I highly recommend. We walked there from the train station which was a bit of a hike but very doable, although we got a little lost which was totally our fault. We also walked to pick up our rental car there which was a rather long walk too but it all worked out. The tapestry in Bayeux is well worth it and the town charming.
We also visited Arromaches and took in the museum at the top of the hill which has a 360 movie in the round which I recommend. I wasn't that impressed with the WWII museum in Bayeux however, just my opinion. Because it was right before the 70th anniversary there were a lot of reinactors all over the place which we felt added to the charm. It took us back in time seeing "soldiers" and WWII vehicles most in like new condition.
We visited Mont.St. Michel as we drove down the Emerald Coast to our next stop in Dinan. We spent a good 3 hours there which included walking from the parking lot.
Happy Travels!

I am leaving in 2 weeks and will be spending 3 nights in Bayeux (we are taking the train from Paris).
We are taking a day tour of the Beaches of Normandy and another day tour of Mount St. Michel.

There are 8 of us traveling together - so we opted for private tours each day and we are using
Viators. I have used them several times in different places in Europe - mostly Italy. (excellent tours and services)
They are a tour consolidator and will arrange for a group tour or private tour for you.
We found their prices and services to be just what we were looking for.
In Bayeux we looked at Hotel Churchill (it was full) and so we are staying 3 nights at the
Hotel d'Argouges. It looks to us like it is very easy to walk around Bayeux

We would recommend staying in Bayeux, so close to everything and a quaint town. Please book a tour as you will not appreciate what you are seeing when you visit the beaches, etc. They will recreate the history of what happened. Go to www.ddayhistorians.com. We used this tour and would highly recommend them. Your grandson is very lucky to travel to Normandy, wish more young people could learn and experience what happened there. We have always had great tours in Europe, but have also seen travelers reading from guidebooks and trying to understand what they are seeing.

Vicki,

I would also recommend staying in Bayeux, as it's a wonderful smaller town and also has a good D-Day Museum. While there you can also see the famous Tapestry which describes a much earlier battle. Bayeux is a good choice, as many of the tours depart from there. Some of the tour firms you could look at.....

• www.ddayhistorian.com
• www.dboothnormandytours.com
• www.overlordtour.com

There are lots of others (do a Google search). One hotel that you could consider in Bayeux Hotel Churchill, which I believe also offers parking. I'm sure the others will have lots of good suggestions or you could check the France guidebook.

It's difficult to suggest a "reasonable time frame". You can spend as much or as little time as desired. There's so much to see in that area, it would take at least several weeks to just scratch the surface. To take a couple of the tours, three nights (2 days) would be a minimum (IMO).

With a car you could also visit the Gun Batteries at Longues sur Mer, which are a short drive from Bayeux and/or the Museum at Caen. If you take one of the American Highlights tours, it will include the U.S. cemetery, which is well worth a visit.

Wow, I am delighted by the responses and grateful, too. Recommendation by Cyn and Sue to take the train to Caen or Bayeux and avoid Paris traffic is brilliant. I will check out Hotel recommendations from Sue, Frances and Ken. I've looked at Dale Booth tours and, yes they are pricey, especially for a group of 3. Also checked out Overlord tours, and will look at the ddayhistorians site. It appears there are many excellent and reputable tour groups. And, the exchange rate is great right now.

Ray, thanks for your time frame recommendations. This helps a great deal in determining how much time to allot for this part of our trip. As an aside, we are starting the trip in Switzerland where our daughter and son-in-law live (not the parents of this grandson accompanying us). We'll take the train from Geneva to Paris and spend the 2nd half of the trip in France - emphasis on Normandy.
This is my first time on Rick Steves Travel Forum, but not the last.

Vicki,

The museum at Caen is wonderful. Visiting Omaha Beach is a must do- as stated earlier- to stand on the beach and see how far our soldiers had to go and what they faced really puts it into perspective.

For a fifteen year old here are 2 more must do's;

Pointe du Hoc where the rangers came ashore. Explore the bunkers there and look over the cliffs and imagine having to climb them.

AND Longues sur Mer one of the few places where you can actually see German guns still in their original positions. These guns are not closed off or inaccessible. You can go right inside the bunkers as if you were a German artillery.

Vicki - sounds like a great trip in the making! You may have noticed that the exchange rate for the dollar vs. the euro has been favoring the dollar of late, but for the dollar vs. the Swiss franc it's been the other way 'round!

Be sure to have some galettes and (for the adults) Normandy cider while you're there.

Small number of beds/lodging on the Mont. Well worth it, but must reserve well in advance.