We would like to travel to Normandy and the beaches after our tour of Paris. We have two days and will be leaving from Paris, then after our trip, heading to Charles de Gaulle to go home. Anyone has recommendations on travel to and from and on places to stays, tours, etc. while in Normandy?
Thanks .
Robyn: Try going up to the right hand corner of this page to 'search' and enter queries like, 'day trip to normandy', 'D-Day beaches', etc.; AND/OR go to the 'graffiti wall' (above), scroll to 'sightseeing', then click on 'world war battlefields'; AND/OR scroll through the travellers' helpline topics on 'transportation' and 'to the west'.
You'll find more about doing Normandy and the D-Day beaches/battles (and how to get there) than you ever wanted to know; and from people who've done it (including yours truly). For accomodation, and this'll probably raise some 'hisses' from those who prefer the more traditional small hotel/B&B experience, check Trip Advisor for Novotel in Caen and Bayeux. After Paris hotels (and they're great) you may want something a bit more like Illinois for a change; both these Novotels will give you that at a fairly decent price. Have fun and a great trip.
With two days, I would recommend using a car. Normandy is a fairly large region, and its various sites lie spread out over some significant distances. Even the D-Day sites, although more closely spaced, sit over a significant length of the coast that you really can't explore on foot alone. If you plan to visit Mont. St. Michel, consider using this as your base. Although it isn't centrally located, you can tour the abbey in the late afternoon or early morning when the hoards of day-trippers have returned to Paris.
I cannot recommend Battlebus highly enough. In the past two summers we have done three tours with them, and each was beyond description. I am quite a WWII student, and the detail, insight, and personal stories related to us, in the context of some of the places about which I had read and studied, could not have been more inspiring. In many cases, while visiting historic sites, I would prefer to do a self-guided tour, based on my knowledge of the event and location. In the case of Battlebus, the exact opposite is true. They know where to go, and the information they pass along at the various stops is simply not available without years of study.
What about this?
Day 1 - Bayeaux
You could rent a car or go by public transport. If you do rent a car, do it out of the airport.
Bayeaux is one of the few places in Normandy that was miraculously not destroyed in the war. It retains a lot of beautiful medieval character.
There's a great little cathedral and the magnificent Bayeux tapestry depicting the Norman invasion.
Day 2 - Museum of Peace and the D-Day Beaches
There's a great Musueum of Peace in Caen with great historical sections on WWII, but also artifacts to our other great examples of man's inhumanity ot man - a piece of the Twin Towers, a slave's shackles.
They run good minibus tours of the beaches right out of the museum. There's a good cafeteria too.
I would suggest a slightly different itinerary.
Day 1: Take a morning train to Caen. Visit the War Memorial. Take the train to Bayeux. Visit the cathedral and see the tapestry. Spend the night in Bayeux.
Day 2: Take a full-day tour of the D-Day beaches. Take the train to Paris in the evening.
