Normandy

My wife and I visited the D-day beaches in 2011. We did a day trip from Paris taking the trainit was a very long day. We used a different tour; the name escapes me and it doesn't matter as we weren't crazy about the tour. In hindsight we would have rented a car and visited what we wanted according to our priorities. You may want to consider this. If you get a car with a GPS with instructions in English, you'll be fine. By the way, if you've not studied the geography of the D-day landing, the sites are quite spread-out and you'll spend quite a bit of time traveling from one site to the next. Do you have train reservations or are you driving from Paris? If you're taking the train (even if you're not) it may not yet be light when you depart Paris, and it definitely won't be light when you return. By the way, search down on this site, there are loads of questions and fine answers about Normandy, D-day Beaches, Museums, etc.

I, and others, think the WWII museum in Bayeux is better than the one in Caen. It is also less crowded and a lot less expensive.

My adult son and I did the Band of Brothers Tour by Overlord Tours in October 2012 and it was a small group (5 in our van), well done, informative, and included the cemetery, museum (not the one in Caen) and several beaches. But it's a full-day tour, starting at 8:30 am which is before the train from Paris arrives, so I'm not sure how you can do it as a day trip. We took the mid-morning train the day before, arrived in time for a lovely lunch, walked around town, saw the tapestry and church, stayed overnight, took the tour the next day, and they dropped us off at the train station around 6pm for our train back to Paris. Actually, another day there would have been nice but my son's visit to Paris was too short to stay longer.

hi, 1 day is too short. Its a 2 hour train ride to Bayeux in the Normandy area (4 hours to/from Paris). Bayeux is a 20 or so minute train trip to Caen. I dont think timewise you can do better in a car. I took a private tour starting in Bayeux where i was staying. It took from 0800 ~ 1800 and he knew the roads and sights so we didnt get lost. It didnt cover the "BOB" tour, but covered by memory and didnt cover any museums: > Utah beach > Omaha Beach (we were on the beach @ low tide so you get an idea on how much ground the US forces had to traverse with out cover!) > St. Mere Eglise > US Cemetery > German Cemetery > Pt Du Hoc
> Agonville Church The museum in Caen will take several hours as will the one in Bayeux. The Tapestry itself can take an hour +, depending on if you get engrossed in it as i did. happy trails.

St Mere Eglise is also a Must See.

Ray, so you are saying that getting a car would NOT be a help with the time? I see that the Caen museum does its own tours and would pick us up at the train station, take us to the museum and the cemetary and the beach. That seems like a pretty good arrangement. Our hotel in Paris is 1 block from the Lazare train station that takes you directly to Caen. We definitely don't have the time to do 2 days in Normandy. Car or Train?

Linda:
A quick though for you to ponder. As you've seen from the thread, Paris to Normandy, tour D-day sites, Museum, and back to Paris is a real stretch in one day. Earlier I suggested getting a rental car-early in the day. Be advised this isn't based on our first hand experience, but rather a couple who are good friends that had never been to France, let alone Normandy. They rented a car with a GPS and had no problems whatsoever. This is not to say there are "billboard" size signs along the way, but if you're familiar with a GPS you'll be okay. On the other hand, with any tour, you don't control the itinerary and/or how long/short the stay is in any single location. With a car you're in control. Whether you drive from Paris or pick up a car in Normandy would probably be determined by how much you like to drive (or not), and what car availably is in Normandy. Well, it wasn't so quick after all; sorry.

hi, linda, what im saying is that it will be a LONG day for whoever is driving. If you are driving from Paris, you will waste approximately 4 hours driving to/from Paris. the 0800~1800 itinerary i gave you was the one my guide drove, not me and he knows the area, no GPS, no pulling out the map to see where we were going. Yes with a car you can do/see more, but ONLY IF YOU HAVE THE TIME! since you say you are only going to be there 1 day, im saying, you wont be able see alot. If you want to drive, then I strongly suggest you figure out WHERE you want to go in the short amount of time you have noting the opening/closing hours of the museums and travel distances and times between the sights you want to see. as far as seeing what "an american" should see, that is up to you. Im an American and i felt that even with all i did see, it wasnt enough. DD wasnt just an AMERICAN action, it involved other countries too and i want to see the other areas the next time i go back. just a for your information (fyi) and this is how i see it and my opinion, the DD beaches are being developed and wont look like it in so many more years. If you use google maps and look, you can see the development everywhere. recommending something to someone i dont know is difficult. i would ask, whats important to you? have you seen the movie "the longest day"? you can get some ideas from that. with regards to the tour from Caen, i readup on those and choose not to go with them when i was researching my trip to Normandy last year. i actually changed my itinerary from 1 day to 2 days in Bayeux and it still wasnt enough time. if all you can afford (time wise) is the Caen tour, then go for it.
happy trails.

Hi
We are 4 people traveling together and have decided ( after reading a lot of the advice on this site) to take a tour and leave the driving and planning to others. We will be taking the tour given by the Caen museum . Why go this route? We realized that 1) the planning was stressing us out 2) our time was limited 3) that our interest and knowledge base was not so indepth as to not be satisfied with what the tour will show us. 4) while we have driven with GPS etc we did find it a little stressful. I am usually an independent traveller - but there have been times I've used tours and been happy I did. Hopefully this iwll be one of them. Just my 2 cents

I appreciate everyone's input. I don't think we will be getting a car b/c I can't see us checking the map, etc. once we get there with such limited time. I know we are going to miss ALL kinds of fascinating things and that pains me but it's either see a little or not go at all (frankly, I am more interested in Normandy than Paris so it is a real shame). Do you all agree that we need to see 1) the Caen Museum, 2) the Am. Cemetery, and 3) Omaha Beach?

Linda, We visited last fall and spent 3 days at the Ivy House, 10 minute walk from Utah Beach. I was not disappointed in Omaha beach, but it was very built up. Utah Beach, I imagine is as it was in 1944. Great museum and little else. Also, do not miss Pointe Du Hoc, and the American cemetary. Near Utah Beach is the field made famous in Band of Brothers where they took out the artillery batteries on D-Day. there is a memorial to Dick Winters near the spot. Jeff

Check the half day tour at overlordtour.com. You won't see the museum in Caen but there is a nice one in Bayeux and you might have time to see the tapestry.
Longues-sur-Mer and Pointe du Hoc are not to be missed. You will enjoy it more if you watch The Longest Day and Private Ryan. These are not really Band of Brothers sights but have to do with the beach landing. It may be the best you can do in limited time.

hi, also i forgot, that i spent a day on a tour to Mont St Michel. i really enjoyed it and plan on going back too. happy trails.

William's thigh bone might be buried in Caen at Abbaye aux Hommes at Eglise St Etienne; you could visit on your own. After the Bayeux Museum of the Battle of Normandy, (a must!), walk kitty-corner from there to the British WWII Cemetery; another must. This may have already been addressed, but can you take the BofB tour as a day trip from Paris? You may need to overnight in Bayeux, etc., because of the early start. Training to Omaha Beach might be a challenge... :-( You could do well with Bayeux only, OR a combo with Caen if you really want. I'm not sure how you can 'do the beaches' in a day without a car or a tour. Can you arrive in Bayeux late afternoon the day before? Possibly train back to Paris (or wherever) after your touring the next day? This is a really large area you're trying to cover. BTW, there's a beautiful American Military Cemetery just outside Paris...just a train ride away.

I agree with others that, if you're specifically interested in the D-Day sights, the Bayeux Museum is much better than the one in Caen. The Caen museum is more of a general war and peace museum, whereas the Bayeux Museum is more specifically focused on D-Day and its related issues.