My family and I just returned from a trip to tour the WW2 sites of Normandy. As an American, I had a lot of negative feelings about traveling to France this summer. Before I left I was fearful of encountering anti-American sentiment and was feeling like I did not want my 'dollars' going to the French economy. Boy was I surprised.

Not only did I find the Normandy region to be beautiful, the people could not have been more warm and welcoming. Every town we went to had an American flag and a monument to the troops who had liberated the town. In the American cemetary there were teenagers who were literally scrubbing the crosses clean with toothbrushes. We were eating lunch in a small resturant one day and a elderly woman who spoke very little English came up to my mother-in-law and said 'American?'. When she nodded 'Yes', the woman reached out and hugged her and kisses both her cheeks and said 'Merci'. Every shop and resturant we went into, people were more than willing to help us 'communicate' in a combination of English and very 'poor' French (totally opposite of my experience several years ago when I visited Paris).

Visiting Normandy was a tremendous experience. I was not alive during WW2 (I'm only 27) - but seeing those sites made me really appreciate the awesome task of D-Day and the incredible sacrifices made by those men all the more. It made me even more proud of my country. It also made me realize we should be careful about saying negative things about an 'entire country'. While I'm sure there are people in France who have/will treat American's poorly -- we certainly did not find anything but warmth and hospitality in Normandy. Everyone in the US keeps harping on 'The French have forgotten all we've done for them'...well the folks we met Normandy have not forgotten...

glad to hear you had a good reception; we're going to spend 5 days in Normandy early August with Bayeux as our base and 7 days in Paris. My dad and uncles did fight in WW2 so it will be an emotional experience for us I'm sure.

Hi Bailey,

Its good to hear something nice for change.

Merci!

Re: "In the American cemetary there were teenagers who were literally scrubbing the crosses clean with toothbrushes."

Very nice to hear that since things like that don't make the news. What makes the news, unfortunately, is when someone defaces grave markers in Normandy with graffiti.

No offence, but why would you go to Europe with such a negative attitude? It seems as though you were 'searching' for things to be anti-american. To your surprise, maybe just like most of us, the people of France simply don't judge the people by their nation. I hope you don't carry this attitude with you on your travels as others can surely sense when your guard is up.


"Every town we went to had an American flag and a monument to the troops who had liberated the town." - that's great to observe, but what is the big deal?? I don't get it. Just go to another country and enjoy their culture. Soak it up. Forget your worries. Leave those at home....that's what a vacation is about

Good to hear your report. I plan on visiting Normandy with my son(28)and daughter and their spouses in September. My son has been filled with "garbage" from his friends about how poorly we will be received, but is going anyway and will be our strugling interpreter - he is studying French dilligently. My brother was in the second wave at Omaha beach and survived. He still won't talk about it much though.

Glad that this message put some of you at ease! You will really enjoy your trips. Definitely take tissues - it is indeed an emotional experience.

One thing I wanted to add -- we ended up not only going to the American and British cemetaries - we also visited the German one. At first I didn't really have a lot of interest in seeing it - but honestly it was a very interesting site that I am glad I didn't miss. The stark contrast between the American and German cemetaries is amazing. The German one is so somber and almost feels ire.

Travel-Crazy = I didn't go to Europe with a negative attitude (I spent 8 other days on this same trip in England) - I just was apprehensive about going to France given the current political environment. As the daughter of an Air Force vet, I grew up on military bases in the US and was going to pay respect to my countrymen (not really to explore France). I was fearful that I would get there and people would be unfriendly or feel the need to harp on their views of current events (as that is how it has been portrayed in the American media). I wrote my note to let folks know that the old adage about 'believing half od what you read' is true because the Frenchmen we encountered were very lovely indeed.

BailyH - Thanks for posting your experience.

travel crazy - You sure don't get it, do you?

BaileyH-we had the same experience with our trip to France this summer. We covered 1200 miles, and never encountered anyone who wasn't gracious, helpful and welcoming. We didn't make it to Normandy, but it will definitely be on our next France itinerary. Thanks for your post!

visited Normandy in 1987 and had the EXACT same experience! At the time they were celebrating the 40th anniversary of Dday and the people were indeed, emotional. It was very moving and surprising because, we too, were not expecting it. It made us feel grateful that we never personally experienced the horrors of war and indebted to our brave countrymen and others for doing what had to be done in the name of freedom.
Thank you for your post Bailey! It brought tears to my eyes, remembering. Glad to hear the "soul" of the place hasn't changed.
Remember, those who disparage the people of an entire nation in one breath have most likely never had the eye and mind opening pleasure of leaving their hometowns.
have a great day!

Thanks for your report. I think also Bailey once you get outside of Paris people are friendlier in general. Just like most other places..get out of the big city and people are more relaxed and laid back.

My son and I were in Normandy in June for the opening of the Juno Beach Centre to honour Canadian vets; we actually got jobs (volunteer) as ushers that day. It was heartwarming on our trip to see our Canadian flag flying in towns and even on private residences throughout the area. We were welcomed everywhere and met many people and heard a multitude of stories from both Canadian and French veterans. Besides Juno Beach we visited Omaha, Sword, Gold beaches, Pointe du Hoc, Arromanches, Verrieres, Ouistreham (great museum there called "The Bunker"; it's a 5 0r 6-storey above-ground bunker the Germans held for 4 days after D-Day because it was so well fortified. You can walk through and it's filled with displays of how the men lived in the bunker. We also drove to Mont St. Michel before heading to the Riviera and back to Paris. My son has already said he wants to go back next year for the 60th anniversary of D-Day.

And to think that some poor misguided folks (who probably don't travel) thought renaming the dish "Freedom Fries" was a good thing. I am sure if THEY had gone they would have been even more surprised at the warm reception than you were. Glad you had a great trip.

What a wonderful post to find here. It makes me want to visit Normandy so much more. What a positive story to read! Thank you.

Also, had a similar experience in NOrmandy several years ago. Thank you for posting.

Everyone Knows I love provence, but after that, It Is Normandy and Brittany for all the reasons the posters have stated, and more. Inland is different from the coast so you have so much variation and good climate. And then, you have the coastline into Brittany,
with spectacular views and both with great seafood.

Cigale, we keep thinking we should go to Italy next, and then we stop and say, we still have to see Normandy and the east coast! We loved France so much, and to see your post makes me want to just go back and see some of what we missed!

Wren, the drive along the coast is incredible, so much to see of nature from a different angle, the lighthouses, the surf, the rocks, the places so lovely, yet simple, to stay or have a bite along the roads. And the Islands you can visit by road or boats.
So Totally different than Provence. If I were rich, I would have a house in both areas.

What would you think about going in October? Is the weather decent then? We are thinking perhaps Oct., 2004. And I will be consulting you for advice!!

When we flew out of CDG earlier this month, our pilot told us to look out the window to see Mont St. Michel, and the Brittany coastline...breathtaking is an understatement!

Hi all, Cigalechanta (did I spell that correctly?) I've just noticed your post here, and I'm wondering if you could tell us a bit more about your favorite villages or places to stay along the coast in Brittany? And to which islands you've boated from there? My only visit to Brittany has been a stay in Dinan and a quick trip to Quimper, and I've often thought I'd like to go back. Thanks when you have time. J.