MPT

We are a husband & wife in our late-30s traveling to Paris for 5 days (7d with travel time) in November. This is not our first trip to Paris and we will not be hitting all the major sites. We would however, like to visit Normandy (D-Day beaches & MSM) for 2 days, 1 -2 nights.

The plan is to take the train from Paris to either Caen or Bayeux to use as a home base and pick up a rental car. Do you rec one town over the other? Which rental company to you suggest? We plan on self-touring the beaches and museum in Caen, unless you rec using a tour company.

For MSM, is driving there easy and do you suggest staying on the mont or near?

LauraLF

I would highly recommend Dale Booth Normandy Tours. We toured with Dale and it was the highlight of our trip. I really can't imagine trying to self tour. Dale gave us a wonderful tour both historically and by weaving in personal stories of soldiers and the people in the villages of Normandy. He will make the most of your time without you feeling rushed.

We based in Bayeux which worked great. Our hotel was in town and there were many restaurants and cafes an easy walk at night. We did not go to MSM so I can't address that.

MPT

ttt

StCirq

I've been to Normandy many times - never took a tour or felt the need to. A Michelin Green Guide and some basic research is all you need. With a car it's easy as can be to get to all the sights.

We always stayed in Bayeux. Caen was heavily bombed during the war and is almost entirely rebuilt. Bayeux was barely scratched and still retains its charm. The Mémorial Museum in Caen is well worth up to half a day and an enormously useful overview of the events that took place. The much smaller museum in Arromanches is good, too.

Take the train to Caen, where you will have a far greater selection of rental cars. We always rent from AutoEurope. It's about a half-hour drive to Bayeux. Driving to le MSM is easy. We have always stayed nearby in Dol de Bretagne.

Fodorite018

We used Allan Bryson when he was with Battlebus, but now he has his own company. His website is http://www.ddaybattletours.com/allan-bryson.html.

Anyway, we have done both, on our own as well as the tour, and the tour was excellent! You get so much more out of it than you can ever imagine, regardless of how much history you already know.

We have had great stays in Bayeux at both the Churchill Hotel and the Hotel Reine Mathilde.

You can easily take the train from Paris to Bayeux, and do a tour one day and then do MSM the next. The Churchill runs a shuttle to/from MSM, which is what we did this summer. You do need to book in advance and it is a small van, so only about 8 people per day.

If you can allow enough time, I highly recommend the museum in Caen.

cbo86

I believe the Caen Memorial in Caen has tours of the D-Day beaches. Also I've heard good things about D Day Battle Tours and Dale Booth Normandy tours, both run about 90 to 100 euros pp for a full day with only about 6 to 8 people on the tour. (We did a battlebus tour, loved it but the company is now retired.) I believe the tourist office in Bayeux also offers 1/2 and full day tours. All of these tours have web sites.

Bayeux would make an excellent base plus it has the Tapestry which is a must see.

StCirq is dead on about MSM(and Bayeux), we stayed on the Isle and enjoyed it but the views from the mainland at night were fantastic and we could have saved a little $$$ staying there and been just as happy.

ronaldkwok

I visited the DDay Beaches, Caen and Bayeaux (though only superficially) and also MSM in my recent tour of France. My trip report below has photos to give you an idea on what you can see there, which perhaps can assist in deciding which town is preferred to be your base in Normandy.

Ronald
http://my-tourdefrance.blogspot.com/