Hi all, I'll be going over to Europe in about a week, and have planned out every last bit of my trip except for Normandy. I will be arriving in Bayeux on a Sunday and planning on staying for two or three days. In those three days, I want to visit Courseulles-sur-Mer, Longues-sur-Mer (the battery), Trouville/Deauville, and Mont St.Michel. I have discovered, thanks to this site, the shuttle from Hotel Churchill in Bayeux to MSM. I am planning on renting a bike and taking an afternoon to ride to Longues-sur-Mer, but my issue right now is getting to and from the Juno Beach Center in Courseulles-sur-Mer. I don't really want to rent a car, and I am having a bit of an issue reading the BusVerts site. Does anyone have any suggestions for this? The Sunday I arrive would be perfect, although I arrive at around 10h30. Thanks!
Posted by
Vernon, Canada
32213 posts
David, It would be much easier and more efficient to take one of the excellent "Canadian or American Highlights" day tours in that area (I can provide names if you're interested). The tours take a full day and they provide all the transportation. That would allow you to get to most of the places you mentioned, and cover more historic sites than with public transport. If you decide to try one of the tours, I'd suggest contacting them ASAP given the fact that you'll be there next week. They may be operating reduced tours at this time of the year. In addition to visiting Courseulles-sur-Mer (Juno Beach), a visit to the Cemetery at Beny-sur-Mer would also be worthwhile. There's also a WW-II Museum in Bayeux. Don't forget to see the famous Bayeux Tapestry also. With transportation you could also get to the Pegasus Bridge Museum. It will take a while to get from Bayeux to the Gun Batteries at Longues-sur-Mer by bike, but it's certainly possible (hopefully it's not raining that day). From what I remember, it took 15-30 minutes, but I was travelling by rental car. The Command Bunker was accessible when I was there, and I'm assuming that's still the case. I'd suggest packing a Flashlight along, as there's no lighting in the Bunker (it was used in the filming of The Longest Day so you'll probably recognize it). Happy travels!
Posted by
Texan in CA
4407 posts
FYI - If you haven't already reserved your place on the Hotel Churchill bus, do it ASAP! My suggestion for reading the BusVerts site is...Don't. It's just not set up for touring - the connections are (practically-speaking) non-existent, the stops at places you want to go to are very few, and it's really meant for commuters. ESPECIALLY BAD if you're trying to visit on a Sunday, last time I checked... Your sites are pretty spread-out; I'm really going to have to recommend a car :-( There's an entire block of car-rental places across the street from the Caen train station...(you could see MSM on your own then).