arabianjedi

I'm living in the Middle East at present, with a limited range of guidebooks and travel resources available to purchase. I'm about to start planning a family trip to Normandy for one week next June (me, DH and two boys, 7 and 9) and will need to order a good guidebook and map online. Recommendations?

I've already started research on this site, looking at lots of old Normandy threads, and will post specific questions in due course, but this will be enough to get me started.

Oh, one other thing, we are very keen on the D Day beaches, memorials and museums (having done a number of similar forays into the Somme and other WW1 territory before we had children) but not sure that guided tours a la Battlebus will be suitable for our boys. Does anyone know of a child-friendly tour, or alternatively can anyone recommend a self-guided tour that we can do at our own pace?

Many thanks
arabianjedi

Padraig

I have no opinion on guidebooks, but I think there should be no argument about maps: Michelin "Local" series (1/150,000). They show every road and track, and are frequently updated.

One sheet might meet all your needs, sheet 303 which covers all of the D-Day beaches and a good bit inland.

smueller

The Michelin Green Guide to Normandy is perfect for an overview of the area, more detailed researching and planning, and even as a "take along" book when you go.

Robespierre

Michelin N° 102: The Battle of Normandy - also http://www.viamichelin.com/viamichel...t_normandy.htm

I have used private tour driver/guides twice, and highly recommend it. You can hire one at the Tourist Information Centre in Bayeux (or probably Caen, too). They charge by the carload, not per person as the greedy bus operators do.

aeiger

Hi
I'm traveling to Normandy next week and have just ordered the Cadogan guide to Normandy. I enjoy the Cadagon guides. The background on this is that I have the Insight Guide to France which is very good but limited. I also bought the Rough Guide to Normandy-Brittany. I am not very pleased with the Rough Guide. It seems to be geared more to British travelers coming over on the ferries to Normandy. It's information is limited at best. It does have some good points such as hotels, but the information about the historical sights is not what I expected from Rough Guides. It's the first time I've been disappointed with the series. Checkout Cadogan guides, I've also used it in the past. Michelin green guides are good also, as they also include driving routes. Unfortunately the book is alphbetized so that each drive tour, has to be looked up seperately for each town.

Underhill

The Cadogan guides are great for travelers who want in-depth information on an area and its culture. I find them less good for touring than the Michelin guides because of the organization: itineraries are suggested and the prime sights are clearly indicated.

arabianjedi

Thank you all. I didn't realise Michelin maps were so detailed but will definitely order those. As to the Michelin Green Guide, I looked on Amazon but it shows the latest edition of the Normandy guide as being quite old ie 1997 or 1998. Will this be a problem? I generally like my guide books to be no more than a couple of years old.

Jean

Although you don't have a guidebook yet (and I second the recommendation of Michelin's Green Guide), I hope you're including the Peace Museum in Caen in your plans. If you stop there first, you'll find the museum's bookstore is a great resource for books, maps and free brochures.

We picked up a brochure covering a series of self-guided driving tours. Follow the map and the sign posts along the road.

Go to www.normandy-tourism.org for a brochure you can download to help you plan your trip. There's also a link to www.normandywithkids.com.

aeiger

Hi
Michelin does have a 2007 edition of its Normandy green guide. I saw it ay Barnes & Noble. It should be on Amazon too.

blh

I have the 2006 edition of the Normandy Green Guide, and I believe that the 2007 edition will be available in October on Amazon.