Normandy for 4nights in Honfleur

Honfleur is worth a stop on your way to Bayeux, which most on this forum seem to agree is the best base for Normandy, especially the D-Day sights. Many recommend guided tours from Bayeux but I can't speak from experience about them.

Honfleur was my favorite on our trip. We stayed in a wonderful family run motel just outside of Honfleur called Motel Les Bluets (Blueberry Motel)

I can't help with the base cause we only spent 2 days in the area.

Bayeux is a better choice, but 4 days are too many for D-Day sights, in an area rich with history, beauty, and cider and grape harvests. What else do you want to do? You didn't mention MSM.

We had 5 nights -- spent one at Mont St Michel, two at Bayeux and saw Cathedral and Tapestry first day, spent full day on an Overlord tour of the American beaches, then moved on to Honfleur for two nights and did Etretat on the full day:
https://janettravels.wordpress.com/category/normandy/

Honfleur is not as good a base for the beaches as Bayeux and you really do need to see the Tapestry, one of those rare things for me that actually lived up to its billing. I had heard about as a school girl 60 years ago and it was a thrill to see the real deal. Honfleur is beautiful -- but an afternoon is plenty. We used it as a base to then visit the cliffs of Etretat.

Thank you for your imput. Our travel agent had recommended Honfleur but in researching we felt it was a little out of the way. We're going to check Bayeaux & home base from there. Mint St Michel wasn't on our itinerary because it was so far away, but I'm going to add that to our list. Thanks

I would completely agree with janetravels44. We did exactly the same as she did......Bayeux as a base, loved the cathedral there and the tapestry and the British graveyard. We did a day tour of the WW2 beaches with Overlord and it was wonderful. Spent a night in Honfleur and saw Etratet. It is such a great area. The hedgerows and Normandy countryside are so interesting.

I have never been to Honfleur, but if you are interested in D-day sights, it is not a good base and is not at all central to those sights. Honestly, my guess is your travel agent just googled "places to see" in Normandy and recommended Honfleur for it's typical tourist attraction—its port. But no one who actually knows the area would choose this as a base for D-day sights. Most people say they spend a half-day at best visiting Honfleur. And you'll spend at least a half-day each day (maybe more) getting from Honfleur to any D-day sights. Look at a map, it wasn't part of the d-day operations and isn't near any of them.

Bayeux is frequently recommended as a base for D-day sights for good reason. It is a great little city that is mostly preserved and has a lot to offer without being too big. I stay there sometimes, but my personal favorite is the quite smaller Sainte-Mère-Église. I will warn though that Sainte-Mère doesn't have nearly the accommodations or restaurants, but it is more intimate and closer to the U.S. Airborne operations during D-day. But it will be quieter at night compared to Bayeux during that time of year for sure, with less options for dining.

I stayed in Honfleur for three days this past July. I stayed at the Mercure Hotel. The hotel was pretty basic, very, very clean and beautifully air conditioned. It was also quite close to all of the action. I would definitely stay there again.

I really enjoyed my 3 days there. It was a relaxing time and Honfleur truly is something to be seen.

Since you have 4 nights I would give one of those nights for MSM. Arrive in the afternoon and explore the island after the tourists leave and then get up early in the morning to tour the Abbey. Buy an advanced ticket to avoid the ticket buying line. There really is a big difference in the size of the crowds once the daytrippers leave.

In Bayeux, we stayed at Hotel Le Bayeux and took a guided tour of the Normandy beaches with Overlord tours. At MSM we stayed at Hotel Relais Du Roy and took the shuttle across the causeway to get to MSM. I recommend both hotels highly.

Thanks all for great suggestions.

I really liked Honfleur though its really not central for D-Day sights. We stayed a couple nights in Honfleur and then stayed in Arromanches another two nights. The little town is charming and the beach with the artificial harbor from D-Day is very interesting. There is a wonderful, small museum right next to the beach.