Beaches in Normandy

I've never seen that particular question about the beaches that participated in the 6th June 1944 invasion. I haven't been all along the entire 50 mile or so length of the invasion beaches, but I have done a fair chunk of them - and I simply can't remember a beachfront hotel in that part of the world - good, bad, or indifferent. There are some small hotels in Arromanches, which is where the Mulberry Harbour still exists a little, but they are set back. Half a dozen or so miles inland is the excellent town of Bayeux with its superior D-Day museum and Bayeux Tapestry and the very good yet reasonable Churchill Hotel.

The weather is unpredictable in Normandy. It was beautiful last April and May but cold and gray in June and July, then again beautiful in part of August and September. We wore wool sweaters under our raincoats on July 22 while touring the beaches last summer.

Ansbach James has the answer. Deauville has a grand beach and seafront hotels. It will be expensive, though, so be prepared. Trouville is a bit down-market and less expensive therefore.

If you are staying a minimum of 3 nights, I would recommend checking out the KeyCamp website to see the properties they have in that region. Click for the map of France and then click on Normandy for the fastest way to see them. Although not necessarily beach front, they have pools and nice facilities for families. While I've not stayed in one of the Normandy locations, I have stayed with KeyCamp before and really recommend them. I'm not sure if their kids camps will be running at the end of June, but they usually offer several hours/day of day-camp like programming that the kids can participate in while the adults get some alone time. Since this is a British company, English is the official language, so your kids don't have to worry about any language barriers. If you do go this route, pay close attention to whether the type of accomodation you select includes sheets and towels, or whether you need to rent them. (We bring our own, but that may not be possible for you traveling overseas)

Lance, You didn't specify what ages your kids are, but you might consider taking one of the excellent D-Day tours while in that area. As I recall, some of the tour companies offer half-day and full-day tours, so if you think the "attention span" might be a bit short, opt for a half-day tour. While it's certainly possible to drive around and see the beaches on your own, keep in mind that the landings took place on a 50-mile front and the battle sites extended some distance inland. Unless you know where to look, it's easy to miss important sites. A tour is really the most efficient way to cover the significant sites in a short period of time. For example, there's not really much to see on Omaha Beach. Having a Guide who really knows the history provides a much richer and rewarding travel experience (at least IMHO). Cheers!

The beaches around Normandy are beaches that you can tour and look at from a historical standpoint, they are not a place that you kick back and enjoy like you would in Florida. The waters of the English Channel are very cold, as others have pointed out the weather is unpredictable and they have some of the highest tides in the world causing whatever beach there is to appear and disappear twice a day at a very rapid rate. This year at Mont St. Michele I saw a tour bus parking area that three hours earlier had about four feet of water on it. That's why everyone in Europe is crazy to get to the south of France in the summer.

This has been extremely helpful. Thank you all very much for taking the time to reply. Much appreciated! Lance