hurrygirl

My 65 yr. old husband and I want to visit Normandy June, 2022 mostly to see the war memorials.
We are both very active hikers and bikers and wonder if we should be doing some of the sightseeing this way or is it advisable to use a car? We already have a trip to Provence booked for after this so really want an add on of about 5 days in Normandy.
Any advice on highlights here , the best method of travel, is it best to fly into Paris, take the train to Normandy and rent a car there ? We need to get to Avignon after this trip so we’re thinking we would fly into Marseile where we are picked up for our walking tour of Provence.
Any suggestions of nice places to stay in Normandy ?
Thanks in advance!

Tanya

bilboburgler

Normandy has war memorials from 1100s but I guess do you mean WW2?

The land is hilly north to south and the roads are generally not very fast, luckily (?) most of the landing areas are by the sea so the obvious are the beaches, the coastal bridges etc, then there is St Mere Eglise and then the more folded land heading inland. Cycling is certainly an interesting way of seeing some of these https://en.normandie-tourisme.fr/act...g-in-normandy/ down the bottom is a map which shows all the routes.

If you are going to do a more traditional Normandy holiday then do look to stay near Bayeaux (where the tapestry is housed), partially because that is a pretty pivotol place for the roads and partially because it has some nice B&Bs and hotels around. The normal start is a train to Rouen or Caen and then a car to drive around but you don't have to and obviously I wouldn't want you to drive straight after a long flight.

StuDudley

You could fly to CDG, rent a car, and then drive 2 1/2 hrs to Honfleur if jet lag is not a problem for you. Or you can do what we did and fly into CDG, take a taxi to St Germain en Laye, visit the sites in St Germain, stay overnight, then next morning take a taxi to the car rental office in St Germain, pick up a car, and on to Normandy.

See attached Normandy & Brittany for things to do in Normandy.

Stu Dudley

jamescarter4503

I took the family over Christmas to Paris and we rented a car and drove to Normandy. We were glad we did - it was quite interesting. We really enjoyed St. Malo, Mont St. Michel, and heard Dinard was very nice. We also stopped in Juno Beach, and while everything was closed, we had a nice tour of the beach and plaques of the Veterans.

In terms of driving from Paris, it was quite an easy trip. Of course train and renting a car is also easy, but I did like how we did it where we drove to the furthest extent west, and then headed east until we had seen what we wanted and then back to Paris. This made for more of a loop trip without having to go back to a point to drop off a car. I am quite comfortable driving in Europe, so for us this was the simplest and gave use the most flexibility.

Hope that helps and you enjoy your trip! The summer will be a much nicer time to see the sights, but suspect it will be busy as it was reasonably busy even in the winter, especially Mt St Michel.

StuDudley

"""stay near Bayeaux""

In case you need to look up this town - Bayeux does not contain an "a".

See attached Provence itinerary.

Stu Dudley

hurrygirl

Thanks so much. We are mostly interested in WW2 sites.
I think we will pass on biking this time.

hurrygirl

Thanks so much for the quick reply. We really appreciate it.

hurrygirl

Thanks so much for your help. We really appreciate it.

hurrygirl

Thank you so much.

Jean

If WWII is the focus, don't miss the Peace Memorial (Museum) in Caen.

https://normandy.memorial-caen.com/museum

janisj

Stu gives lots of good/great advice on the forums -- especially about France . . . But this bit is a real clinker for sure "You could fly to CDG, rent a car, and then drive 2 1/2 hrs to Honfleur" even with the qualifier "if jet lag is not a problem for you" It is never a good idea to drive after an overnight flight, and one will not know if the jet lag or micro sleeps are a problem . . . until they are.

The rest of his post is fine -- to stay over at least one night car-less in St Germain en Laye and then drive to Bayeux or wherever you decide to stay.

Or you could stay in Paris a night or two depending on if there was anything you wanted to do there.

StuDudley

janisj

Where in her post did hurrygirl mention an overnight flight? She might be from the UK. Or a 7 hr flight from NYC. They are over 65 and should know all about jet lag. One of her prior trips was to India - so she does have some travel experience.

Stu Dudley

janisj

Stu -- 'experience' does not matter. Just because one was OK once (or 10 X ) has no bearing on what happens the next time. PLEASE do not advise people to drive after a long haul flight - folks on the roads in France would appreciate that.

(BTW - I HAVE driven long distances several times after landing at LHR or CDG and managed mostly fine. But that was ages ago before I did more reading up on things like micro sleeps which is even worse than 'jet lag', and other issues/research - Let's just say I was young, cocky and dumb -- it couldn't happen to me - and luckily it didn't. But now I understand it isn't just jet lag and it is dangerous)

Though let's not hijack the thread fighting about this

StuDudley

Where does she state it is a "long haul flight"?

Stu Dudley

bms4au

We visited Normandy in September 2019 and loved it. Bayeux is so beautiful and a great home base. We took a train from Paris with a change in Caen. Were in Bayeux for two days I believe. We did the full day American D-Day tour with Bayeux Shuttle and would recommend them. Only regret we had was not spending a day or two in Caen and visiting their museums. Good luck and enjoy!

joannyc

I spent a week or so in Normandy seeing the WWII sites in the Fall 2019. You may be interested in the first week or so of my trip. Hope you enjoy!

Western France - A TR in Pictures

hurrygirl

Thank you. We will check that out for sure.

hurrygirl

Hi Stu,

I should have mentioned I will be coming from Alberta,Canada. I have travelled extensively and agree that taking on too much the first day can be challenging.

Tanya

hurrygirl

Hi Joannyc,

This is great info. Thanks so much.

Tanya

shelemm

My favorite stops were Arromanches, the American cemetery in Colleville, The Museum of the Atlantic Wall in Ouistreham, and Pointe du Hoc. Also, the act of driving (or biking) through the bocage to the corridor of death (la couloir de la mort) is quite the experience. There is an excellent chapter in Travelers Tales France about this, a great read. (There is also an excellent chapter about the destroyed villages of WWI and clearing ordinances, but I digress). If you rent a car, it is much easier to just rent a car in Paris and not have to fool with the train.

I was very interested in seeing Bayeux, but ultimately disappointed in the experience. If you should want to see something other than the WWII sites (especially good if you rent a car from the get go) , the village of Beuvron en Auge is almost impossibly photogenic.