Normandy

Patti,
Took train from Paris to Bayeux. Tour picked us up there. See other Normandy posts here and Normandy forum on Tripadvisor.

Pattie, I don't have any information on Linkparis.com, but suspect that it will be a very limited tour if you're only doing it as a day trip from Paris. You'll have to decide whether that will be sufficient for your husband, or whether he might prefer a more detailed tour. The best method to tour the D-Day sites would be to plan a few days in Bayeux. While there you could tour the excellent WW-II Museum there and of course see the famous Tapestry, and also take one of the excellent tours that are offered in that area. You didn't say which tours you've looked at so far, but some of the best are (IMHO): > www.ddayhistorian.com (Paul Woodage) > www.daleboothnormandytours.com (Dale Booth) > www.overlordtour.com (various Guides) > www.ddaybattletours.com/elldi.php (Ellwood von Seibold) Overlord offers half-day tours, which are of course a bit less expensive. All of the tours have various options, depending on whether one is interested more in the D-Day events, U.S./British/Canadian campaigns or Band of Brothers sites. Most visit the U.S. Cemetery above Omaha Beach. At the least, St. Mere Eglise (nice Airborne museum there, and Pvt. Steele is STILL hanging on the Church Steeple), Omaha Beach and the Cemetery are essential (IMO). The Gun Batteries at Longues sur Mer (used in one part of The Longest Day and other movies) are just a short distance from Bayeux. If not covered on the tour you chooose, you should be able to visit there also (not sure about public transport as I had a rental car). Finally, Bayeux is a wonderful smaller town to visit, and there are some nice restaurants there. Good luck with your planning!

Hi,
Did you take the linkparis.com tour, or did you use some other company. This is a surprise for my husband who is a WWll buff, and I want it to be great, I like the small minivan concept, as I am on a budget and the private tours seem to be so expensive. But I am open to any suggestions...I picked linkparis .com because of their itinrary. They seem to spend some time at the Caen War Museum, before going to the Battle fields. It sounds like a great museum. Any help would be greatly appreicated ,as we have never been to europe... Thanks, Pattie

We're going to use www.normandypanorama.com next October. They might have what you're looking for.

My husband and I booked a day tour out to the Normandy beaches. We booked it on Gray Line Tours.com. We also used them for a day trip out to Versailles, Giverney (Monet's home and garden), all around Paris, Paris at night, Seine River cruise, etc. It was very sad and moving to see the beaches and the cemetary. It was a very gloomy and rainy day in June, but fit the mood. It is so much different to see the beaches, than to see them in a book.

Pattie, I just mentioned this in another post, and wanted to add here in case it could be useful for you: http://www.pariscityvision.com/en/france/normandy/d-day-beaches?Affiliate=7f100b0931 I have no information on what type of tour they offer, as I've never used this company (a bit pricey for my budget). Cheers!

Pattie:
See the post on "To the West" by Laura (02/09/13) with a very similar question as yours. The suggestions on that thread to rent a car are, in my opinion, "spot on". Since your husband is very interested in WWII he's probably done a lot of reading about the D-day invasion. As he likely already knows, the D-day event occurred over a very long stretch of coastline. In a limited one-day tour, you won't get to pick and choose what you want to see or how long you can stay at the places that are of special interest to you. You will have a very long day, but don't be intimidated by "doing it yourself", get a car with a GPS and you'll be fine.