DH and I have always been interested in WWII history, and we’ve decided to tour Normandy and the surrounding area this summer. Do any of you have advice for how to approach such a tour? I don’t even know how to start planning for it.
My H and I did this several years ago. We took a train from Paris to Tours and picked up our rental car. We went first to the Loire valley and on to Normandy from there. We stopped in Caen and toured the peace museum which I felt was worthwhile. We booked a small hotel in Bayeux that was in the downtown and had parking. We took a day tour to the beaches and battlefield areas. I can look if I can find the name of the company. We could have driven it ourselves but it was nice to have the history. We also saw the Bayeux tapestry. We spent one day driving and exploring the small towns in the area. Our next hotel was in Honfleur. We stopped at a few beach towns on the way. Once there we parked the car and just walked and explored the town. The next day we drove to Giverny and visited Monet garden. After the garden we drove to the Paris airport and returned our car. We flew home the next day.
I think I found my hotels and tour company here on CC.
You’ll have a great trip
Tour company is Overlord tours
Hotel in Bayeux http://www.hotel-dargouges.com/en/
We did it as a day trip from Paris (took the train to Bayeaux). I will second the recommendation of Overload Tours. They are fabulous! Also, don’t miss the Bayeaux tapestry!
We took a morning train from Paris to Bayeux. Had lunch and spent the afternoon sightseeing in Bayeux (saw tapestry). Ate a wonderful dinner and spent the night at a hotel in Bayeux. Everything was walkable so no need for car rental. Next morning, met the Bayeux Shuttle for their full day tour. Outstanding. At end of day they dropped us back in Bayeux where we collected our luggage from hotel and took the late afternoon train back to Paris. All wonderful!
We took a train from Paris to Bayeux, where we enjoyed visiting the museum, the cathedral, and the tapestry. If you have lots of luggage you may want a taxi to and from hotel, but town is very walkable and so charming. We spent two nights at a delightful b&b, the Hotel Ste. Croix, and booked a private tour of the beaches through Dale Booth. He picked us up at our hotel and spent the day with us, returning us to our hotel. It was a splurge but so worth it. Restaurant La Rapiere was excellent. Took the train back to Paris.
Our time in Bayeux and with the DDay tour was my husband’s favorite part of our trip. I wish we had been able to visit Mont St. Michel and St. Malo as well, but we had limited time.
Thanks for the tips! We are so excited. We found a cute apartment on airbnb. We also booked a two-day tour through Overlord.com. We will have a rental car so we can explore different areas (rental cars are pretty cheap through Autoeurope).
We will be there for five nights. I’m so excited I’m having a hard time concentrating on work!