Best way to do Bayeax, Normandy (WWII), Mont St. Michel with young children

Visiting the WWII sites, such as the American cemetery and Pointe du Hoc will cost you... hmm, let me do the conversion from euros... $0.00.

The best way to visit Mont St. Michel, quite simply, is to stay on the island, explore the town and the ramparts after the day-trippers leave, and visit the abbey first thing in the morning before the next division of day-trippers invades.

Thank you.

Regarding St. Michel, I have not found a place that could accomodate 8 for a reasonable price.

If we stayed there, would it make sense to spend a second night in Bayeax for the other sites?

Our children were 4 and 6 years old when we went to Brittany and Normandy.

Mont St Michel is not a problem at all for the kids. Took the little one on our shoulders at times going up through the narrow street - so she couldn't get lost in the crowds and didn't get too tired. Manoevring a stroller isn't that great with cobblestones and steps. We went early in the morning and took the first English speaking tour through the Abbey so it wasn't really that crowded even though we went in high season - July. I've got some great pictures of the kids enjoying the cloister.

We didn't do any battle tours but spent most of our time at the museum for the Bayeux Tapestries. They really impressed me AND they are very accessible for kids as they look and read like cartoons! Quite a few history lessons in there.

There is a military cemetary at Bayeux in walking distance from the museum. We read the tomb stones and used this for a WWII history lesson for the kids.

Our 6 year old actually liked touring churches and cathedrals that year. She especially loved the gory paintings of decapitated John the Baptist at Amiens ... but all those churches/cathedrals also have memorials for fallen soldiers of WWI/II that we always pointed out.

Regarding accommodation: we stayed at a small and very affordable B&B only 25 minutes away from Mt St Michel so that we could arrive in time for the first tour. Accommodation in a large! quad room is about 70 euro/night. And the kids will love its location in an historic Norman farmhouse from the 13th century!

http://www.manoir-de-la-mettrie.com/

Cecily - we rented a car and took our family of 4 to Bayeux, Normandy & Mont St. Michel. We visited the places found in the RS France book. We very much enjoyed doing our own tour instead of being on a group tour. We loved the museum in Caen and I think your whole group except the 2 year old would really get a lot out of it. Pont Du Hoc and the Cemetaries are all outdoors so even your youngest should find this very child friendly. Have you gotten the Rick Steves France book yet? He really has great ideas of how to travel with a family. It may answer many of your questions.

Thanks. I have the RS Paris but am waiting for the RS France to arrive and am anxious to plan this out. I will look into all suggested. Again, many thanks.