Which would you choose?

Both areas attract lots of tourists in June. Based on your interests (We enjoy history (WW2 especially) I vote for you to go to Normandy/Brittany. Did you research the day trip from Normandy/Brittany to the UK? It takes about 5 to 8 hours to cross.

I think you would like St Malo if you go to Brittany. There is a nice beach there.

I would choose Normandy over Provence. However, there are things to consider:

Weather: Normandy weather can have more rain and cold. Provence tends to be warm and sunny

Distance: Normandy is closer to Paris (if that is where you are flying into) With 7 days, time is precious.

Things to do:
Provence is about visiting hill towns, Roman ruins. I would want a car if I was there for 4 days so that I could maximize my time. Having said that, we found driving in that area slow. Obviously you slow down for every village you pass through, and there are many many villages. I have to admit that while many people LOVE Provence, it is not my favorite. Roussillon was nice, some of the other famous hill towns (Gordes for example) were so crowded that we did not spend much time there. The highlight for us was Les Baux. We went late in the afternoon and while there was plenty of people, the tide was turning. People were starting to leave and were not being replaced by newcomers. Also the site is large and can handle a crowd with it getting too bad.

Normandy is a beautiful area. Normandy and the Dordogne are my 2 favorite areas of France. Obviously, you have the D Day sites that are a don't miss. I do recommend hiring a private guide for a full day. With a family of 4, it will be cost effective and your guide can "cater" to your teens and their interests and what they want to see. We used http://www.normandy44-tours.com/ and they were excellent. We have recommended them to others on this site and they also loved them. Their price is less than purchasing 4 all day tours with a large company like Overlord. Our first visit we did an Overlord tour and much preferred having a private tour. I just prefer the green beautiful landscapes of Normandy to the drier, arid areas in Provence. We stayed on a farm out in the country and took long walks down country roads. We were 10 minutes from Bayeux for meals and about 6 minutes from Omaha Beach. (but that would require a car)

Day trips: Both areas have great day trips from wherever you choose to stay. I would check out a France book from the library and research some of those day trips and see what appeals to you.

My husband and I both take "no churches, no castles", tours (and sometimes we throw in no museums...but don't do that for Normandy!) I think you could do that with both of these areas, and it comes down to personal preference. As for me, I have returned to Normandy, and probably won't go back to Provence (I would choose the hill towns of Italy over Provence).

As for going to England....can't comment on the ferry over. When we went, we used the Eurostar from Lille and spent some time in England. I know people who use the chunnel and come back in one day but you would have to research that to see if it met your needs.

Whichever you choose, have fun and enjoy! (As if you needed me to tell you that but it is my way of saying there is no bad decision here. It is more about finding the one that appeals to you more.)

These are both good choices. But not uncrowded ones. Remember tourists sometimes flock to the good stuff, too.

Apply the 80/20 rule, and the arrive late - leave early stratagem when possible. Car rental a good idea.

D-Day sights may be especially crowded close to D-Day.

You will find fewer American tourists in Languedoc than in Provence, and in Brittany than in Normandy.

I think you would enjoy Brittany more than Provence. Everything in Provence is touristy, Brittany is relatively unexplored. Their crowds are mild compared to elsewhere in France. The only places I visited that seemed inclined to crowds are St. Malo and Dinan areas. I think you should seek out a small town "Pardon", a local church related festival that includes local music, dancing, costume and food. They have a schedule all around Brittany from May to September. There are great cliffs on the north side of the peninsula, prehistoric hinges, dolmans and a great bay in the South. It also has it's own claim to Arthurian legend in the forested center. My recommendation (though the tour is all in French) is Cairn de Gavrinis. You take a ferry tour from Larmor-Baden that includes seeing the Newgrange style passage tomb, a partially submerged hinge and amazing tidal flows between little islands that resemble white water rapids in rivers.

Since you like WWII, I'd stop in Normandy to see D-Day sights for at least a day. One you might like is stopping in Fecamp to see the cliffs. It's not crowded, Etretat - down the coast - gets most of the traffic (though it's really not crowded either). From the town, you can see a lone church up on the hill north of town. It's easy to navigate to the road that takes you there. Park there and walk to the cliffs, there is a walking trail along the top that offers spectacular views of cliffs (looks a lot like Dover). On the top of the cliffs there are a series of German defensive installations that were never destroyed, they were abandoned when the invasion arrived down the coast. The ones I saw were mostly filled with dirt but otherwise intact. You can climb on them and go inside (until the dirt stops you).

Provence is likely to be much busier than the Languedoc. The weather here is likely to be significantly better than Normandy/Brittany and the beaches are better. Inland will be quieter than the coast.

Normandy/Brittany has more WW2 history. I was there last June for 3.5 weeks and it was reasonably busy, although not as bad as mid July/August. The weather was very mixed including some dreadfully wet, cold and windy days (and a few very hot ones).

The UK isn't a realistic day trip unless you are travelling from Calais, as most ferries take the best part of 9 hours each way. Dieppe to Newhaven is 4 hours each way, but I wouldn't wish the dump that is Newhaven on anyone!

I would opt for Provence etc as the weather would be better and the scenery is more interesting.

Any interest in Neolithic sights or Celtic culture? I enjoyed a tour of Brittany last May that had me wishing I was younger and would be comfortable renting a car. Very cool things to see plus lots of little (and bigger) harbor towns.

I also loved some of the DDay sights back from the coast such as Pegasus bridge. I also enjoyed the battlements at Longues-sur-Mer south of where the British landed and placed one of the Mulberry Harbors.

There are WWII battle sites/sights in Provence also. Operation Dragoon doesn't often make guidebooks being in the shadow of the Normandy landings. "Days of Glory" is a film worth watching about Operation Dragoon.

Thank you...y'all are awesome! Keep the thoughts coming!

When it comes to WW2, I am basically a walking tour guide, though I do like private tours. (We used one in Rome and it was the best investment we could have.) I am not 100% where we are flying into. That will depend on our plans. I'm not ruling out flying into Paris just so we could spend a day or so there on our way back to Germany. (I'd prefer taking the train, which is doable from Paris, not so much from S. France.) Our plans are still so fluid right now...but I need to nail this down.

I appreciate any and all thoughtful answers. As much as I love the big cities, I realize that Paris is not all of France-- and I just like to see what most normal people live like. Thank you for the tips on England. You'd think I'd know by now not to trust Google Maps. (Multiple times I was quoted 4 hours via car when in reality it was closer to 7. Not great when you need to pee.)