I am planning a trip to Normandy in June or July of 2008 for eight couples. We will be driving from England and will be spending 10 - 12 days. We are interested in seeing the D-Day beaches and museum as part of our trip. Any suggestions for absolutely %26quot;must visit%26quot; towns?
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With that amount of time you can do a nice tour of the various regions of Normandy. My list of %26quot;must visit%26quot; towns and villages would include Honfleur, Bayeux, Coutance, Pont Audemer (a charming small village), Rouen, les Andelys, Giverny, and Etretat. You might also do a tour of the many abbeys near Rouen, including le Bec Helouin, Jumiéges, St-Martin de Boscherville, and others.
Now would be the time to invest in a copy of the Michelin Green Guide to Normandy, which includes considerable information on sightseeing and recommended driving itineraries.
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Thank you . . . I%26#39;ll start my homework right away.
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I have a pamphlet i picked up in 2004 which lsts the major sites associated with the Normandy campaign. It was published by the tourism departments in the Normandy area. It was titled %26quot; The D-Day Landings and the Battle of Normandy%26quot;. Try contacting the Comite Departemental du Tourism du Calvados at www.calvados-tourisme.com or the Comite Regionale Tourisme de Normandie at www.normandy-tourism.org.
Its a great little guide and lists the important sites organized by the phase of the campaign from the lands through Operation Cobra and the capture of St. Lo. It has simple maps and contact information for all the museums. I must have picked it up for free at one of the local hotels.
One little known museum is the Musee des Epaves Sous-Marines de Debarquement in Port-en-Bessen. (near Bayeux) They have numerous large artifacts that were recovered from the ocean including two duplex drive tanks from the 741st Tank Battalion.
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You say you are %26quot;driving from England.%26quot; In rental cars?
If so, I%26#39;m not sure that you will be able to take rental cars from the UK to France. Even if you can I wouldn%26#39;t recommend it. Most people have a hard enough tie dealing with the unfamiliar sign-posting, right of way conventions, and so on in France without the added complication of driving a car with the steering wheel and controls on the %26quot;wrong%26quot; side.
If you are renting in France, manual transmission cars are usually cheaper than automatics and diesels will save you a LOT of money on fuel.
Get a good map of the region, preferably Michelin 1:200 000
There is a TON of must see stuff in Normandy besides the D-day beaches and all its associated sites and museums. Don%26#39;t miss the Peace memorial at Caen, Bayeux and the tapestry, Honfleur, possibly Deauville/Trouville, Pont Audemer, Le Bec-Hellouin, l%26#39;Abbaye de St. Wandrille, Jumièges, Rouen, Château du Champ de Bataille, Château Gaillard, Giverny — and that%26#39;s just a few places off the top of my head.
A good guidebbok such as the Michelin green guide to Normandy would be a worthwhile investment. And while I%26#39;m generally a big fan of travelling independently I feel strongly that using a guide for at least a day (preferably two) to take you round the D-day sites is a very worthwhile expenditure. There is so much to see and you will miss much of the story on your own.
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Regarding rental cars: We did a trip in 2001 where we landed in Germany and drove through France ending up in Calais to take the
chunnel to England. We rented the car from Hertz and it included the
price of the chunnel. We left the Germany/France car at Calais and
picked up the English car there at Calais and drove onto the Chunnel train. It was so easy. Then you just drive off on the other end and you%26#39;re in the %26quot;right%26quot; type car to just continue on. I am sure it works the same in reverse as you will be coming from Dover to Calais. We made the reservation through Hertz here in US and about 6 months in advance. We got a good deal that way. Our car for Germany and France was a diseal which is much less expensive fuel wise.
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