3 days in Normandy (with an 8 year old)
 

My husband and I are taking our 8 year old toParis (going to see the French Open) and then 3 days in Normandy. We are planning to take an AM train to Caen and the. Pick up a rental car. Where is a good location to stay during our stay? Caen, Bayeaux or are there any centrally location coastal towns to stay? Would love some hotel recs? We definitely want to spend one day visiting the Dday beaches/memorials. Would like to visit some of the coastal towns and try some ciders and calvados. How far is MSM from Normandy? Will we have time to visit? We are also planning to stop in Giverny on our way back to CGD. Appreciate any advice. Thanks!

Mont St Michel is IN Normandy, which is a region of France. If you want to know how far it is from some particular point in Normandy, you can check www.mappy.fr

Here is a hotel on the beach near there in Arromanches
http://www.hotel-de-la-marine.fr/language/en/home-3/

I usually stay in Bayeux (note the correct spelling and ence pronunciation). You can hire a car and tour by yourselves around the WWII sites or get a tour. Do not miss Le Mémorial in Caen. On the coast itself, yes, Arromanches is a good place to stay and a nice town.

See if this helps. Our kids were 10 and 13 at the time.

http://ukfrey.blogspot.com/2012/07/normandy.html

We stayed outside of Bayeux at a wonderful place that also served a wonderful meal with the other guests. Their little boy would be 7 or 8 years old now as well (assuming it's under the same management).

http://www.chateaudamigny.fr/?lang=en

How many nights do you have in Normandy before returning to Paris/CDG?

We stayed in Bayeux and I think it is a nice town to use as a base. You can drive to MSM in about an hour and a half. We did both MSM and Honfleur in one day.
Recommend a one day WW2 tour. We used Overlord which was quite good. Do get a GPS system to use with your car. Either bring one or use one on your smartphone. Renting one is about $20/day.

Shelemm, we will be in Normandy for 3 nights (so we'll have 2 full days and 2 1/2 days in the areas). Did anyone visit any of the farms on the cider or cheese trail?
Indy_dad, I'll definitely read your trip report and check out the chateau where you stayed.

Michelle -- I re-read my report and it brought back some wonderful memories -- thank you!

Additional info in my TR as well:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...y-uk-stops.cfm

We enjoyed the cider & cheese stops but failed on the "Traditions" route back from MSM. There was a snail farm in particular that we tried in vain to find.

For the D-Day bits we went with a private guide and thought that worked well with the children. (We've done similar in Rome and Prague -- we like that kinda thing).

Good luck!

Oh, just noticed the Paris comment. Perhaps you have that covered, but here's my blog for that:

http://ukfrey.blogspot.com/2011/06/paris.html

Hi,

One cider farm you may want to stop at is Ferme de Billy.
http://www.fermedebilly.fr/

We stopped at their very nice tasting room and my kids enjoyed petting the donkeys on the farm.

If you feel like sort of a farm stay this B&B is really nice with a family (kids enjoyed getting eggs for breakfast!):
http://www.bandbnormandie.com/

We did a half day organized tour with Normandy Sightseeing Tours (Canadian focus). The guide was excellent and really engaged my kids (then aged 9 and 11). Pick up and drop off was in Bayeux.

We only had 3 days in Normandy but didn't have time to see MSM. We visited the excellent Caen memorial museum, the Bayeux cathedral and tapestry and the d-day tour. AT the tapestry museu they even have a special audio guide just for kids. One day was spent driving to Honfleur and through the back roads of the Pays d'auge. We stopped for various cheese and cider tastings.

Bon voyage!

Indy_dad, thanks for sharing your trip review. I have booked Chateau de Damingy during our stay and have reserved dinner there for our first night.
Jacolis, we will check out ferme de billywhile there. Any other suggestions are always appreciated.

Excellent -- do report back on this thread (so I it). If you are like us, one night won't be enough! We had completely different guests/company the second night.

We did the same thing this summer with our 4 children. One of our favorite parts from our 2 week trip. The car rental was so easy, literally right across the street from the train station. Our car had gps, we were Bayeux in no time. We stayed at the Ibis on the ouskirts, which was very basic, but I would recommend staying in Bayeux, it's the most gorgeous little town. We did the half day DDay tour which for us wasn't enough time. We felt rushed to move on from each site to the next. If you swing it, splurge for the full day tour or drive yourself! We loved having a car and driving through the countryside.

We are getting set for our upcoming trip. indy_dad and jacolis, do you have any recommendations on places to go cider or cheese tasting? Are the tasting places well marked along the road?

Google Route du Cidre Normandie and Routes des Fromages de Normandie and you will find plenty of information. Yes, the dégustations are well marked - they are looking for customers. Be careful what you drink. The police do not have to have probable cause to pull you over, and random stops aren't uncommon. The BAC level in France is half what it is in the USA, and they are serious about it. One small glass of cider is probably the limit.

Hi there,

For our day in the Pays d'auge we actually followed the route recommended by Stu Dudley who posts here frequently. He had kindly provided his Normandy itinerary.

From what I recall the highlights were:

- visit Liverot – do self-guided tour through the cheesemaking facility (recommended over Camembert)
- visit Cambremer - stop at Pierre Huet for a tour of the Calvados distillery, and then a tasting. Then walk 100 meters to the wonderful Les Jardins du Pays d’Auge. Good place for the kids to run off their energy and I really enjoyed the gardens.
- visit Beuvron en Auge - very pretty village with half-timbered houses. We picked up snacks from a nice bakery.

As noted above you can google the route du cidre. We also had the Michelin map for the region.

You could do a more leisurely tour but we only had the afternoon. The morning was spent in Honfleur which we thought was a very pretty town. I had to visit the place from which Samuel de Champlain set sail when he "discovered" Canada. There is a beautiful church and we also enjoyed the "caramels" we purchased in that town.

In Bayeux, visit The Bayeux Tapestry,from 1066, the story of William the Conquerer. It is like a cartoon which you walk along viewing with audio/ ear phones. Doesn't take too long.

Just did 4 nights Normandy/Brittany. Took the train to Caen & picked up car. Visited the War Memorial Musem Caen, excellent. Drove to Bayeux & stayed 2 nights at Hotel D' Argouges. Nice rooms in old mansion. We enjoyed their garden each night with wine/beer & a cheese plate. Convenient to walk into town. Did the tapestry museum one morning & a half day D-day beaches tour with Normandy Sightseeing tours. Our guide Matt, was great. Very knowledgeable answering my many questions. Next day drove to Mont St Michel, parking at our hotel off the island. Walked to the Mont & spent most of the day there. Next day drove to Cancale, very picturesque town then on to Rennes where stayed the night and caught the train back to Paris the next day. I had wanted to go to St Malo but was concerned about parking, getting around. It was a wonderful trip & only problem was returning the car in Rennes. The train station is undergoing renovation, streets are blocked off & rental car signage is nonexistent. On the other hand, pick up in Caen was very easy. Used our phones for GPS, worked quite well.

Thanks everyone for your advice. Here's our proposed itinerary:
Wed: arrive in Caen at 11am by train. Pick up rental car. Visit Caen Memorial Museum. Go to Bayeaux in afternoon. Stay at Chateau de Damingy, outside of Bayeaux while in Normandy.
Thurs: visit Dday sites on our own. My husband's grandfather was part of Dday, so he would like to visit some places where his grandfather was.
Fri: this is our unknown day. Still trying to decide whether to spend the day in the countryside around Pays d'Auge, or if we should go to Mont St Michel???
Sat: visit Honfleur and have lunch there. Then go to Giverny and Monet's Garden before ending our day at a Paris airport hotel. Have an am flight on Sun back to the US.
If we go to Mount St Michel on Fri, is there any pretty countryside and cideries between Bayeaux and Mount St Michel? Could we visit some cideries or cheese places on our way to Honfleur?
Is Mount St Michel really worth the visit? I don't see us going back to Normandy and Mount St Michel again.

I would go to mont st Michel. It's beautiful. Go to the top of the Abby, past the crowds. I was there 50 years ago & always wanted to go back. Accomplished 3/31. Not sure where you can park though.

Le MSM website has comprehensive information about parking and taking shuttle buses to the Mont.

Hi Michelle,

Can't help with your question re MSM or Pays d'auge as we have not been to the former. I just wanted to mention that the Caen memorial museum is really good - very interactive exhibits and my kids learned a lot. Don't miss the souvenir gardens (if your son is like my kids they always appreciate being able to run off some energy outside...). After we picked up our rental car in the Caen (literally across the road from the train station) we had a good lunch at a small seafood place called La Cave aux huitres. The kids tried the baked oysters and the langoustine and loved it. We enjoyed the raw oysters with some nice French white wine!

BetsyG,
It sounds like you were in Normandy in April. what was the weather like? Temperatures? rainy, sunny? We might be in France next April, and am considering going to Normandy with some friends. The friends are interested in Normandy but don't want to go in April if it's chilly or rainy. They prefer a warm destination after Paris, so debating between Cote d'Azur or Normandy.
Thanks.

What the weather was like when Betsy was there means nothing reliable at all about what the weather will be like when you are there. Normandy is typically relatively chilly and windy and wet in April, but even that is a generality. For obvious reasons the Côte d'Azur is likely to be warmer, but do check the average temperature/weather sites.

St.Cirq, thank you for your response. I do realize that weather changes from year to year and is unpredictable. I still like to know what other people experienced when they are at a destination we are considering and at the same time of year. Your information is helpful. Based on typical Normandy weather in April, it looks like we would not want to go there. I personally don't mind the chilly part, but would not enjoy the windy and wet part. So I think instead we will pursue the Côte d'Azur option.

Karen, April is a fickle month all over France, even discounting climate change. The past two weeks here in the Dordogne (SW France) were so hot (80-90F) that we considered opening our pool. Yesterday it was pouring rain and cold and foggy all day (top temperature about 50F). Today it has been foggy, then clear but windy and again top temps about 50F. And we are 6-7 hours south of Normandy.

StCirq, we were in the Dordogne in May 2015 and loved it! One of our favorite trips. We had great weather for sightseeing, sunny and temps in the 60's and 70'sF. So I am surprised to hear that you've had temps in the 80's to 90's. April in France sounds like April in New England, where we live. It was 80F on Easter Sunday, and lately has been cold and rainy.
Thanks for your helpful detailed information.

It's been quite a rare year here for high temps, KarenWoo. The local farmers, who tend to plant by the lunar calendar, are completely confused and worried (big story in Le SudOuest yesterday about how troubled the wine growers are about seasonal upsets in weather).

Today it's cold again (there was a freeze last night!) and I'm completely confused as to what to do in the garden - plant ot not? We have a huge fire in the wood stove in the living room. Two weeks ago, we were in shirtsleeves and sweltering.

Odd and unsettling. But really great sleeping weather:)

Karen, sorry for not replying sooner, out of town. We were there late March. Weather was nice, no rain, not chilly. Mont st Michel was very windy & cool. But who knows for next year.

Everyone, thanks so much for all of your suggestions. We had a great trip. Indy_dad: we had a wonderful stay at Chateau de Damingy. Our room was wonderful and breakfast was delicious. What a find! Our son had a great time playing with their son Paul. Jacolis: thanks for your restaurant suggestion of Le Cave aux Huitres. We had a wonderful oyster lunch there.

I think MSM was totally worth it.

We arrived a little later in the day because we had booked a room on the island. We got there before everything closed down and made the visit with the hoards of other tourists. Then, they all went home and the streets were pretty vacant. We loved walking around with just a few other people and finding the teeny tiny alleyways. I'll never forget that.

Have great time in Normandy.

Glad you enjoyed your lunch, Michelle!