Normandy Coast

Old Feb 3rd, 2012, 02:24 PM
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Normandy Coast

We are renting a car at CDG Airport in October to spend 2 1/2 days touring the World War II beaches & Brittany area. Been to Caen and Omaha Beach briefly. Need suggestions on where to stay. We would also like a tour or tour guide to take us around the beaches one of the days. Ending up in Metz on the 3rd day.
Any and all suggestions appreciated.
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Old Feb 3rd, 2012, 02:39 PM
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We did this tour last year and had a great time. We took the train to Caen and rented a car there, but returned it at CDG. We stayed at B&B La Fiere www.lafiere.com and loved it. If you google the battle at La Fiere bridge, the old photo's show an old Norman stone barn by the bridge (this was the first bridge taken by the 82 airborne on D-Day. Vivian Roger has turned this old barn into a fantastic B&B. She and her husband Rudolphe are great hosts and very knowledgeable about D-Day and what to see. Many of the airborne reunions are held here. She recommended Ellwood Von Siebold for a tour and he was very information and fun. His driving is not for the faint of hear, however! La Fiere is a few kilometers from St. Mere Eglise, which is the epicenter of all things airborne, including the airborne museum and Auberge John Steele a very nice restaurant named after the American paratrooper who landed on the church steeple.

Sorry to run on, but you will enjoy a stay here, especially if you like dogs, Vivian and Rudolphe have two nice dogs.

You can't miss the tapestry in Bayeux, it is almost 1000 years old and tells the story of William the Conquerer.

We have many photos at http://franceturnage2011.shutterfly.com/

You will love Normandy!

Racer042
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Old Feb 3rd, 2012, 03:03 PM
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Bayeux is the best place to stay if you're interested in doing a guided tour of the WWII beaches.
I heartily recommend www.daleboothnormandytours.com He is excellent. You would need to make reservations as soon as you have your dates b/c he books up quickly.

We stayed at the Hotel d'Argouges in Bayeux, and it is a pleasant, centrally located, reasonably priced hotel. There is parking available; small fee, as I remember.

Have fun!
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Old Feb 3rd, 2012, 03:15 PM
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With 2-1/2 days you don't have time to do a tour of the D-Day beaches and Brittany, especially if you have to be in Metz on your third day (unless you have some sort of teleportation device). Get your rental car and head to Bayeux and base there on your first day. Visit the tapestry museum and cathedral and stroll around town on your first day. Or on your way there on the first day stop and visit Honfleur, Deauville and Trouville before heading on to your hotel in Bayeux. On the second day do your D-Day tour and on your third day head to Metz. Here is the Bayeux tourist office website and you can search it for a list of guides. You'll find info about hotels and restaurants in Bayeux on this site too.

http://www.bessin-normandie.com/

You should probably acquaint yourself with driving times between the places you want to visit. Go to the website viamichelin.com and get info on drive times and distances, toll and fuel costs and suggested routes (i.e. scenic routes). The drive times given do not consider stops (fuel, food, bathrooms) nor do they consider bad weather and traffic.

The drive from Bayeux to Metz will take almost 6 hours if you don't make any stops (unlikely) and if you don't encounter any bad traffic or bad weather.
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Old Feb 3rd, 2012, 03:36 PM
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Oh, the viamichelin route I researched will put you on the périphérique around Paris where you will hit traffic. Make sure you arrive near Paris around the middle of the day well outside of morning and afternoon rush hours. With the traffic and the stops you'll need to make for food/fuel/bathrooms plan on a 7-8 hour trip from Bayeux to Metz.
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Old Feb 3rd, 2012, 03:36 PM
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We used http://www.facebook.com/pages/Colin-...e/191220338034 when we went to Normandy. He is very informative and the more you know the more he is able to share with you. I would highly recommend him!
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Old Feb 3rd, 2012, 03:44 PM
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We have booked a room at Le Relais De La Tour Louise in the center of Bayeux for four nights in May. Great reviews. We have booked one day with Overlord tours. My husband looked and read a ton of reviews and decided on him. We felt like Bayeux would be good for evening, great places to eat and I love the small village feel. We are renting a car for two of the days so we can explore on our own. Our problem is getting to the ferry for an 8:30 am trip to Portsmouth. You can rent a car in Bayeux or Caen.
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Old Feb 4th, 2012, 06:21 AM
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We are taking the train from Gare Saint Lazare to Bayeux in March, staying there for two days, using Overlord Tours for a tour to the DDay beaches, then taking our hotel's shuttle to Mont Saint Michel for a day, then renting a car in Bayeux.
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Old Feb 4th, 2012, 06:42 AM
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CDg via Giverny (Monet's Garden - closed Mondays) to Bayeux - nicest town near D-Day beaches as about only one not destroyed in WW2 - check out the splendid cathedral and Queen Matilhda's Tapestry in a museum - long long LONG carpet tapestry documents the 1066 Norman Invasion of England

Mini-bus tours take you to the top D-Day beaches sites - the Bayeux Tourist Office will book any of several similar tours on site.

From Bayeux drive the few hours to world-famous Mont Saint-Michel - stay there - a gaggle of hotels right opposite the Mount on the mailand - great to see the whole island lit up at night from there - motor back to paris area and onto Metz - really will be on the road much of the time with that schedule.
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Old Feb 4th, 2012, 07:09 AM
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What FrenchMystiqueTours said....you don't have time for what you have planned. Base yourself in Bayeux. Check out driving times, as you don't seem to have a handle on that. Can't help with tours - I always use the Michelin Green Guide and drive myself.
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Old Feb 5th, 2012, 10:37 AM
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Thanks everyone. We booked the Hotel d'Argouges for 2 nights. (Thank you grandmere) Looks very interesting. Also a tour with Overland. (Thanks flpb & waterdog)
Will spend the last night in St. Michel.
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