Suggestions for a day in Normandy

I'm also planning a trip to Paris and Normandy for my husband and I at the end of August (we haven't been to Normandy yet). From all the weeks & hours of research I've been doing I believe you might be best skipping Caen & staying 2 nights in Bayeux (see the Tapestry, Cathedral and Normandy Beaches area). The WWII museum in Bayeux is reportedly much better than the one in Caen. We're taking a half day "Overlord" group tour of the Normandy beaches and doing the other things on our own, our usual way. That's what we are doing based on all the recommendations I've recieved. Will you have a car? You can rent one in Caen at the train station, I hear very easily and it's a fairly short drive to/from Bayeux. Then you can take the train to Paris (from Bayeux or Caen).

Bayeux is a must. Stayed at the Reinne Mathide. Fabulous. The town was so cute. We (family of 4 with 2 teenagers)did the "beaches" drive (we rented a car). Started in Caen went west to Point du Hoc and finished back in Bayeux.
If you dont have a car then join a tour group, or private if you can afford it. Either way, just go.

We rented a car and were able to drive along the coast and see the WWII beaches as well as some of the small towns. It is very easy to drive in this area. Pick the sites you wish to see and use viamichelin.com to get directions. Ste Mere Eglise is a nice small town with the airborne museum and Utah beach close by, Bayeaux is close to Omaha beach and the American Cemetary, as well as Arromanches which has the old mulberry port things sunk off shore and still visible. Right near there at Longues sur Mer (think that is name) is a turnoff to see the giant guns still pointed out to sea on the coast. Also, Pointe du Hoc is between Omaha and Utah...with a car you can see all in one long day...we did!

My daughter and I spent two nights in Bayeux at the end of March '12. We stayed at Hotel Reine Mathilde, which is right across the street from the cathedral. Our window opened up to it....so beatuiful when the cathedral was lit up at night! We paid about 50. american dollars per night for our room, and there is a lovely restaurant donwstairs. We took the half day tour of Omaha and the American cemetery, using Overlord tours....our guide, Sean, was great. I found the Cathedral to be even more amazing than the Notre Dame in Paris, (and much much less crowded). Tapestry was also quite something to behold. The town itself has many restaurants from which to choose, and several shops, as well as outdoor markets. We took the train from Paris directly to Bayeux, then back to Paris.

We did this several years ago and my husband loved it so much we went again the next year. We used a small tour group (8 people) but that group no longer operates as the same company. We loved Bayeux because it's such a beautiful city. I would recommend a small tour group, but if you do it yourself, I would suggest seeing the beaches (try find out when it's low tide), Pont du Hoc and the American cemetery. Add on other things as time allows

There's a lot to see in the area, and if you only have one day, you'll have to prioritze what it is you want to see/do. I would recommend Bayeux over Caen for a more central location to stay in. The Bayeux Tapestry is really neat and worth the time, but if you really want WWII/D-Day sightseeing, then you'll have to skip it. If you want a complete picture of D-Day, then hiring a tour guide is the better way to go. To maximize seeing what you want to see, a private guide would be best, although pricey. For an overview of D-Day, you can read up on it at home (and watch "The Longest Day") and then use a guide book/map to find your way around. There's a museum in Bayeux, and a little Airborne one in St. Mère-Église (don't forget to stick your head in the church to see the paratroopers descending next to Mary in the stained glass window.) The American Cemetery is a must-see, and you can walk down to the beach from there. At low tide you could look for the artificial harbor that was built at Arromanches (which was never intended to last this long). Point-du-Hoc and Longues-sur-Mer will give you a good look at the obstacles the soldiers faced, but, like many of the remaining parts from D-Day, are best with a guide to provide an explanation of what you're seeing and what it looked like on D-Day (same goes for Omaha Beach. We would have missed everything our guide pointed out) You would definitely need to rent a car for this option. Enjoy!

Spending four days/nights in Bayeux and one day in Caen, was proportionally good. Day-tripping out from Bayeux to the historical sights, beaches, and wandering the surrounding villages, made for one of my most memorial visits to France. Battle Bus Tours does a nice job on the Normandy visit. When you drive the beach from Deauville to Ste. Mere-Eglise now, it's difficult to believe the destruction of that area during the war. Be sure to see Arromanches - it still gives me goosebumps!Enjoy.