Overlooked Normandy

Rick Steves doesn't read posts here.

Also, keep in mind that Rick Steve’s curates his books and focuses on certain areas and places that she thinks would be good for his readers. Obviously, that’s not going to cover everything, and that’s why most of us here tend to read more than one guidebook, especially when we are looking for places that are not on the normal tourist’s radar.

While there are, without doubt, many worthy places of note in Normandy; to list every possible city, town, and village in France and then provide accurate and comprehensive details of every notable attraction, hotel, restaurant etc in each place would require an encyclopedia with many volumes. That is not the goal of the RS company. They provide a selection of sites popular with their usual demographics. Originally the guidebooks were based on his tour itineraries, and they still tend that way. Anyone requiring an in depth guide to specific areas should look online or in a good bookstore for more specialized guides.

Normandie and for that matter France is not an amusement park of “must see”, “best”. “overlooked” and all the other labels that pop up. It’s a fascinating country full of wonderful experiences and you’re not going to see all of them.

I’ve lived in Normandie off and on for 15 years and we’ve not scratched the surface but continue to enjoy it. If you do more than a drive by of the region you’ll see a lot and still not see everything. Enjoy yourself and don’t worry about what you haven’t seen.

Craig,
Your friends should get a Michelin Green Guide for an area for more detailed coverage. Traditional, like the old Baedeckers. No US travel guide to France is comprehensive. And who would decide what gets left out or included? Normandy alone is over 11000 square miles. How would you include all the villages, churches, museums, large and small, etc. in a France travel book?

I live in Normandy. My mother and grandparents lived through the war here. I've retired here. It's my friends who are disappointed with the book after having experienced what they consider big gaps.

To "lecture" me on the size and scope of what is available in Normandy is not necessary. I know the important sites with historical and cultural value.

I'm mentioning places of massive historical significance. Le Havre is a UNESCO heritage site for its reconstruction after the war and hardly insignificant in what it has to offer (one of the biggest cities in Normandy). There isn't even a cursory reference to it. For British readers Fecamp is where William the Conquerer was crowned Duc of Normandy and where he celebrated his victory over England at the Palais Ducas. His parents and grandparents are buried there. Instead, the tourist trap of Etretat is highlighted (only 20km away).

It's not about deciding to cover ALL of Normandy in detail which of course would be impossible. It's about cover the most important sites that best represent Normandy. This book appears to be incomplete.

Rick Steves' guidebooks, and most guidebooks for non-residents, are by nature very surface. If you try to treat anything in depth it will be uneven, so the best you can do is go for certain towns / cities / attractions that have sufficient tourism infrastructure and try for a few suggestions there, let alone the fact that this is updated on a regular basis. It doesn't hurt that not everywhere is treated, because after mass tourism comes overtourism, and frankly better to pick some of the better known places that have the infrastructure than spoil a whole province. Your friends are lucky they had you to show them your side of Normandy. And if your friends had done their homework, better to pick a specialised guidebook / series like Michelin rather than a generalist like Rick Steves, if they wanted to concentrate on Normandy. This is not to sleight Rick Steves' oeuvre, it has a very good place as a training ground for beginner or inexperienced travellers amongst other fortés, work which he built from the ground up.

I've been to Le Havre and I think people would be better off seeing it with the help of a guide to interpret what they are seeing, rather than use a guidebook.

Lavandula

Thanks for sharing your favorites. Of course you may have "must-see" destinations that differ from RS, or even from your traveling companion. Part of any itinerary is selectivity. I believe Rick states clearly that he's not trying to cover every place that is worth visiting. We've been delighted by places which others would likely want to skip - and vice versa. And some of our favorite memories come from places we've visited without planning to. One time we arrived at a very rural planned stop only to find it wouldn't open for some time. We took a walk in the woods along a stream and that's what I remember.

Craig,
No lecture was intended and I apologize for sounding that way. My comments were based on so many entries to the forum by visitors who underestimate the size of Normandy and the time it takes to actually visit the area, and who expect it to be a day trip from Paris. As for context, my husband's grandparents lived in Normandy during the Greman occupation. In Villequier their home was occupied by an SS unit who took over all but one room (where they slept with their youngest son, who was still at home). They were forced to wait on them and were kept on very limited rations. Sometimes they were beaten. After the Germans fled, they looked after some of the arriving Americans, as his grandmother spoke English quite well and had lived in the states between the wars. My hubby, at 4 y/o went from the states to live with them and they also lived in Le Havre (well, Ste Adresse) and later Marseille. He played on the gun emplacements and with "leftover" installations that the Germans abandoned. He remembers the rationing that still went on for some years after liberation. He also remembers the gouges in the footrest of his grandparents' bed put there by the officer's spurs when he laid in it. We very much appreciate and love Normandy and recognize all there is to see and do there (all of it). That is why I suggest the Green Guide for a more detailed source for a visit. Again, I apologize for any insult you might have felt.

Travel books are never complete- there’s always more to learn, know, and share. That’s what this forum does so well, many other resources.

A travel book helps you get your bearings, learn some things. Then you add your own research based on your interests. Many places I deem important or worthy are not going to be in every or even any book. A good reminder to have diverse sources when planning a trip and where to visit.