We will be in the Normandy area in April 2024. We are staying in Bayeux for three nights, and have several more days before we need to fly out of Paris. Suggestions on what else to do? We will not have a car. We are interested in cider and looking for a cider tour that would include transportation. What city or cities to go to? Sites that are a must-see? Any hotel recommendations? Thank you!
Posted by
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, USA
13946 posts
Are you interested in the DDay landing areas? There are many tour guides in the area that can do one day in the American sector of Utah and Omaha Beaches plus Saint-Mere-Eglise, Angouville-au-Plain, Point du Hoc, etc plus another day covering the beaches where the Allied forces from Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, French and Polish forces landed at Gold, Juno and Sword Beaches plus Pegasus Bridge and some other sites.
There is the Bayeux Tapestry which is definitely worth seeing - takes a couple of hours to see the tapestry (which is actually more embroidery to me than tapestry) and will need a timed ticket.
My last stay in Bayeux was 8 years ago so not terribly current but I really liked Hotel d'Argouges.
Posted by
Long Beach, Ca, usa
646 posts
amrsausman,
You have extra days before Paris, if I read you correctly. Three nights in Bayeux gives you two days there, so I see one full day seeing the D-Day sites, one full day for the Bayeux tapestry, cathedral and museum, with some cider tasting perhaps. You may want one more day there to have a slower-paced visit. That being said, as you work your way back to Paris on your extra days, I recommend having a car and driving by way of the Route des Abbayes, Rouen and Giverny. You would be driving alongside the Seine River part of that time (don't use the autoroute...use D roads instead), a beautiful drive. The Abbaye of Jumieges is definitely worth a stop. Rouen's cathedral is lovely and the town has wonderful medieval architecture. Giverny, of course, has Monet's house and garden. There are lots of things to see on the Route des Abbayes, and in April everything will be green and lush. And Giverny should be loaded with tulips then, besides the other flowers there. RS guidebook doesn't mention the Route des Abbayes, but other guidebooks do (Frommer perhaps). RS will discuss Rouen and Giverny. And do a search for them on this forum.
Without a car, definitely get to Rouen and Giverny. We drove, so I can't give advice on getting there. Whatever you do, April, with it's possible rainy days, is still a beautiful time to be in just about any part of France.
Have a lovely trip!
Posted by
Vancouver, BC
515 posts
I can’t help you with the cider part but we were in Normandy earlier this year for 10 days. We did not have a car either and chose to stay in Le Havre for some of the days at the Novotel, which is across the street from the train and bus station. Le Havre has a lovely small Impressionist museum and is known for its mid century architecture. It was easy to take the Nomad bus to Honfleur and Etretat and the train to Rouen for day trips. We then stayed in Caen for a few days and it too had interesting sights plus we did a day tour of the Canadian D Day sights. We used the Nomad bus to go from Le Havre to Caen; it was very straightforward.