Travel fro Bayeux to Utah Beach & Caen Museums

You can take a train from Bayeux to Caen. The museum is quite some distance from the train station. I believe a city bus can get you close, but that will be a somewhat time-consuming option, so you may want to take a taxi. I liked the Caen Memorial, but a lot of people have made negative comments about it. The complaints seem to come down to three things: It is huge (takes about a full day), it is expensive and it is typically very crowded. The museum covers not only the invasion, not only WWII, but also the period leading up to WWII and the Cold War afterward.

I don't know about getting to Ste-Mere-Eglise without a car; my one-day D-Day Beaches tour stopped in that town long enough for us to visit the Airborne Museum (but only if we didn't take a real lunch break).

The invasion museum on the outskirts of Bayeux is quite good.

Thanks much... keep on traveling!

I’m in the “don’t care for the Caen Museum” camp. It seems to cover too much and was too scholarly. I thought that the D-Day Museum in Arromanches-Les-bains to be more interesting. It covers the beach landings with many artifacts as well as the Mulberry Harbors. You can even view the remains of the harbors in the sea. If you do rent a car, it will make your time there easier and you could add a day trip to Mont Saint Michel. If you are looking for great restaurants, try La Rapière in Bayeux. Pricey but wonderful.

Good recommendations— and thank you for the restaurant suggestion. Merci beacoup

Another vote against the Caen "museum." I really feel that if Rick didn't fawn over it, few Americans would make the trek. There are much, much better museums in the D-day area, including my favorite, the Utah Beach Landing Museum. Fortunately, another great museum is right in Bayeux. The Museum of the Battle of Normandy gives a good general overview of the battle—much better than the Caen place IMHO. As mentioned, the D-day Museum in Arromanches is also well done (although I'll admit I haven't been since they redid it a couple of years ago). It isn't as comprehensive, but it concentrates on the artificial harbors that were used to resupply men and matérial in the weeks after D-day—the remains of which can be seen onshore right outside of the museum. Also the Overlord Museum (outside of the Normandy American Cemetery) and the D-day Experience (Carentan) are worth visiting.

Get a car!!! Normandy is not well served by any sort of public transportation, and it is a long way between sites (45 miles between the five beaches as the crow flies, and you won't fly). But driving in France and particularly Normandy is easy. Just learn about and watch for the speed limit signs (some don't say the speed, they simply say things like "leaving the village," which means the speed limit reverts to its previous state). There is also a speed radar site right on the N13 between Bayeux and Sainte-Mère-Église heading East by the town of Isigny-sur-Mer. There is no tolerance for even a kilometer over the speed limit in France (i.e., no "grace" limit like in much of the U.S.). And you won't even know you got a ticket until it arrives in the mail long after your trip with an additional charge from the rental car company for the courtesy of sending it to you. That being said, GET A CAR. I can't imagine visiting Normandy without one, and there is so much to see when you get out of the town centers, including areas of action, and several well preserved German artillery compounds.

Bon voyage!

Thanks for the input —/ seems to be the theme that Caen is not worth the time and effort to get there so we’ll concentrate on the Utah Beach Landing Museum and Bayeux museums ….. and consider getting a car for the trek out to the Utah Beach museum …. appreciate your insights and counsel. merci beacoup

While it is true that the Caen museum is expensive, check if that expensive ticket is valid for 2 days. It was when I was there the year prior to the use of the Euro. The museum is much more comprehensive covering the inter-war years as well as WW2 and the Liberation of France. If you want to devote some time there tracking down every exhibit there given in 3 languages, no problem as it does ( admittedly) present overkill in history. I liked the Caen museum especially its book shop.

Ideally, you should see both the Caen museum and D-Day museum in Bayeux, (walkable from the train station), which I've seen twice, Caen only once.

I've not been back to Caen in 20 years or so but if I were to go back, I would skip the museum and arrange with its Tourist Office to see (by taxi) the famous chateau south of Caen that had a pivotal and salient role in the Battle for Normandy.

You can easily do both St Mere Eglise and Utah beach the same day with a car. But don't miss the American Cemetery at Omaha, and if you have a car, plan to stop at one, or more, of the local distilleries for cider and Calvados. Norman cider is the best.

If you don't decide to do Caen, and have a car, I recommend you take a ride out to Cherbourg. The harbor still has bunkers visible from the battle, and the museum at the port is really good. it has displays for WWII, the Titanic (which departed from there), and an excellent aquarium. Also a nuclear sub you can tour. And the restaurant there is very nice also.

I have no idea whether Rick Steves recommends the Mémorial de Caen or not, but I live in the area and have visited it several times.

It's an engrossing presentation of the descent into the hell of WWII and the uneasy peace that emerged afterward.

True, it's not all shoot-em-up recounts of the liberation of France or even Europe generally, nor is it intended to be. And it's not focused on American exploits during the liberation.

But it's a sobering, detailed (not comprehensive, but detailed) look at what this part of the world went through during much of the 20th century.

I would recommend a visit.

And -- rent a car. Your visit will go much more smoothly. Just stick to the larger roads and try to avoid the small, narrow roads full of blind curves that wind through the bocage.

Edited: I second the suggestion to visit the retired nuclear submarine at Cherbourg; Le Redoutable. It's much bigger than the diesel-electric submarines one can visit in many parts of the U.S.

Much bigger.

The visit comes with a good handset narration in English (if you choose) describing the parts of the submarine and the lives of those who crew it. The museum (Cité de la Mer) also has on display numerous deep sea submersibles from some of the earliest to some of the most modern.

Thanks much.