Traveling to Normandy at the beginning of a trip to try to retrace my late father-in-law's step during WWII. We are considering staying in Bayeaux and/or Honfleur. We will probably spend 4 nights in this regein before heading to Belgium and Germany. Any suggestions on hotel in either city?
Posted by
OP
Dallas, Texas, USA
21 posts
Let's see, first I know how to spell "region", "steps", and "hotels". sorry.
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32202 posts
Ed, I'd recommend staying in Bayeux, as it's a wonderful and interesting town (with some excellent restaurants!). In addition to the Bayeux Tapestry, there's also a WW-II Museum on the edge of town. The other advantage of staying in Bayeux is that many of the D-Day tours depart from there. I used Battlebus last year and would HIGHLY recommend them (they have several tours covering different aspects of the invasion, such as "Band of Brothers", etc.).
Regarding Hotels you might want to check Rick's France 2008 Guidebook, which is available now, as there are good listings there in different price ranges. One Hotel to consider (depending on your budget) is the Churchill Hotel in Bayeux (the Battlebus tours depart from the edge of the Hotel parking lot at Place de Quebec).
Good luck!
Posted by
Pearland, TX, USA
852 posts
Ed, the above web site describes the facilities and costs of "The Old Black Dog Inn" in Evran, France. I send you this on the off chance it might somehow serve your needs.
bon voyage!... P.
Posted by
San Francisco/Marin County
9420 posts
Ed, love your sense of humor! I also recommend staying in Bayeux and I highly recommend the "Hotel D'Argouges" which is in RS book. It is a wonderful hotel, very inexpensive. It is very classy with a beautiful garden and lots of gorgeous flowers. The owner, Mme Ropartz, is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. Every one of the staff was professional, efficient, warm and friendly. Breakfast is included and it was great. The rooms are really nice and very clean, the beds are great, the bathrooms are large and beautiful. They have lots of parking too. It's a wonderful place to stay. We've been there 3 times. If you haven't been to Normandy before, you will love it. The French in that area LOVE Americans and are still very grateful to us for saving them in WWII. I hope you have a great trip!
Posted by
Marietta, Georgia
157 posts
Another vote for Bayeux.
Not only a great base, but you can also see the Cathedral, Tapestry, & some Great restaurants.
Just make sure if you rent a car get a GPS. The French roads can be very tricky.
Posted by
Orangevale, CA, USA
125 posts
I also recommend Bayeux, it is a very cute town and you can walk everywhere. I stayed at Logis Rempart in June and loved it (www.lecornu.fr/). Personally I don't really think you could go wrong with any place in Bayeux. I also loved the Battlebus tour.
Posted by
Manhattan Beach, CA, USA
108 posts
We stayed at the Lion D'Or in Bayeux in September. Not the cheapest, but very lovely old world style hotel with great breakfast close to the center of town. We walked from our hotel to the pick-up point of our Battlebus tour of the D-Day beaches. However, we were only there for 2 nights, and I hear Honfleur is more picturesque.
Posted by
Atlanta, Ga, USA
2023 posts
Hotel D'Argouges was a great place to stay. We would stay there again and as another posted said, very reasonably priced. Owners' dogs kept us well entertained.
Posted by
San Francisco/Marin County
9420 posts
We had absolutely no problems at all with the roads in Normandy. We did not have a GPS, just a good map. We found the country roads to be extremely easy to drive, easy to find our way and very, very charming. In fact, driving the country roads was a highlight for us.
Posted by
Rocky Mount, USA
108 posts
Ed,
I also recommend staying in Bayeux. My husband and I were there this past Sept. and stayed at Lion d'Or. It was very nice and they have a wonderful restaurant which is nice and convenient after a long day touring the D-Day beaches, etc. Also, if you can, hiring a private guide for the day is well worth the money. If possible, try to include Sainte-Mere Eglise (it's not that far away). The Airborne Troops Museum is fabulous, even if you're not a museum person.
Ashley
Posted by
San Francisco/Marin County
9420 posts
I agree with Ashley...Don't miss St. Mere Eglise. It is fascinating and was a highlight for us.
Posted by
Battle Creek, MI, USA
15 posts
I don't know if you are the bed and breakfast type but I highly recommend "Les Trois Pierre" in Bayeaux. It is in the heart of town, and run by the most gracious and delightful hosts. Their website is www.les3pierre.com. If all of the hotels are filled in this charming town then maybe this would work for you.
Posted by
Billerica, MA, USA
9 posts
We did the same trip last summer (2007). It was an amazing experience. Normandy is wonderful, and the people (whether in Paris or Normandy) were wonderful.
We landed in Paris, spent the night in Rouen, then to Honfleur for 2 nights.
In Honfleur we stayed here http://www.giaglis.com/GB_maison.htm
small B & B with wonderful hosts (per Rick's recommendation!)
In Bayeux we stayed at Hotel churchill
Great location, center of town, pleanty of parking.
http://www.hotel-churchill.fr/
You won't be dissappointed.
David
~
Posted by
Powell River, Canada
359 posts
A bit of a different perspective from a 'Colonial'. If you have the time, you may wish to have a look at Juno, Sword and Gold beaches where the Brits and Cdns landed on D-Day. There's a wonderful memorial/museum at Juno and a few miles down the road, in Caen, you'll find some great restaurants (and a good selection of hotels if you so choose). When I go over to visit my uncle's grave at Bretteville-sur-Laize I like Caen because of size, choice of services available and train connections.