Just returned from 2 weeks in France. The absolute highlight of our trip was our day spent with Chris (www.visitdday.com).
I was traveling with my older parents and was a bit overwhelmed with the Normandy portion of my Rick Steves guidebook. So many sites and museums associated with D-Day! How to make sense of it all? Chris is a former Royal Navy Commando who has a passion for the events of June 6, 1944. The places he took us and the history he shared … well there’s no way we could have done it on our own! Chris accompanied us in our rent car and spent the entire day with us. It was simply wonderful and we will never forget it.
If you are lucky enough to visit Normandy, do yourself a favor and contact Chris (chris@visitdday.com) You won’t be disappointed!
Posted by
North Georgia, USA
1097 posts
I just recommended Chris in another thread ... if you have a rental car, he's the BEST.
Posted by
San Francisco/Marin County
9420 posts
Thank you for posting, good to know!
Posted by
3122 posts
This sounds terrific. Having visited the D-Day sites without a guide, I can vouch for the value of hiring a guide if you really want to know what you're seeing and which locations merit your attention. Also, without a guide it takes longer than you think to drive from one interesting location to another along the Normandy coast. You can easily take a wrong turn or get distracted by signs for attractions with similar names.
We were not upset or disappointed with our guide-less experience, but if we had a chance to go again, with a full day, we would "do it right" with a guide like Chris, based on MapGal's high recommendation.
Posted by
Paris
9562 posts
Yes, the D-Day guides may seem expensive, but I don’t know another time when paying an expert some money brought such value to my experience of a place. It just takes your experience to a whole new level.