We will be in Paris and I see there are a gillion tours of Normandy and the D Day sites… but most seem to require a side trip to a cider mill which isn’t really of interest to us. Is there a tour with zero cider involved? And/or does it make sense to rent a car for the day on Normandy ? Thanks!
The Overlord Tours in Normandy are fantastic. No mention of cider as far as I recall.
It's best to spend a couple of nights (at least) in Bayeux to facilitate a D-Day tour, but if you absolutely cannot manage even one night away from Paris, I think your best bet (aside from arranging a costly private tour) is the Overlord Tour designed for folks taking the first train up to Bayeux from Paris. The tour picks you up right at teh train station in Bayeux and takes you back there at the end of the day; this way, you get almost the same tour content as the folks sleeping in Bayeux. Bus tours from Paris would have less content. Overlord uses vans rather than big buses for its tours.
Here's a link to Overlord's Tour #2FS: One-day tour for folks staying in Paris
I've taken the similar tour for people staying in Bayeux, and there was absolutely no cider involved. Our lunch break was at St-Mere-Eglise. The driver advised us of the Airborne Museum in town and pointed out there was a creperie available for lunch, or a bakery that sold sandwiches. (There may be other food options, but we didn't have a lot of time.) I opted for a sandwich, consumed while sitting on a bench, so I had time for the museum. I would have been smart to pack something for lunch to save a few extra minutes, but it didn't occur to me to do that.
I took an Overlord tour and it was great. The only mention of cider was when we passed an apple orchard.