colette1479

Good Morning! My husband and I are planning a trip to France / Amsterdam this September, and I am looking for a good guide book for the Normandy region. We will be driving from Paris to Bayeux, and I'd like to be able to pull the book out while we are out exploring. The plan is to do a D-Day Tour with Overlord one day, and then explore the region on our own the other two days. We are both extremely interested in D-Day history, so a book with lots of historical information would be ideal.

Thanks in advance for your advice, I have always found Fodorites to be most helpful!

KB

StCirq

The Michelin Green Guide, but thre are also plenty of history books you could read.

PalenQ

Green guides yeh lay it all out so simple - with driving routes. Be sure to stop by the Caen Memorial first thing IMO as it has a huge relief map showing all the major sites and is just a great museum/memorial/visitors center.

Macross

Major and Mrs Holt's Battlefield Guide Books and Battlefield Maps - MAJOR & MRS HOLT'S DEFINITIVE BATTLEFIELD GUIDE TO D-DAY, NORMANDY LANDING BEACHES, GPS EDITION It really is so easy to do on your own and set your own pace.

Christina

actually, I don't think the Green Guides lay things out so simple as they are solely alphabetical (ie, every place and town is just listed alphabetically), they don't cover things by area, which I just don't find as accessible as other guidebooks. So I don't know anyone who excels in that area, but generally I found Lonely Planet and Rouge Guides very good for areas that aren't the major cities (I think Fodors does a good job of big cities). I use the Green Guides for research, but only after I kind of know what I am doing and want details on a particular place.

They do list driving routes if you want that, though.

I'd probably just look in a library for what you like best. Rick Steves does some places pretty good (I think Switzerland) and others not so much (like Paris IMO), so I don't know what his are like for that area, but I do think he can be good for neophytes. I met someone on a day tour in Normandy a couple years ago who said Rick Steves recommended the company we were using (Normandy Sightseeing Tours), and they were good, so I guess he must at least have a section on that area.

I think you have to go beyond guidebooks for detailed history, but Green Guides do have some, as I recall. I don't think R Steves has any.
If I had to buy one sight unseen, I'd probably get the Lonely Planet Normandy and D-Day Beaches book. I also thought Cadogan guides were excellent and have a lot of history. I think they are out of business, not sure as their last Normandy one is 2010 which I might buy cheap as things wouldn't have changed much.

PalenQ

Best most current info now online. Tons of stuff - one reason guidebooks - outdated when printed - are on the way out.

Jean

We used the Michelin Green Guide for our self-guided exploration of Normandy over several days. The suggested driving routes are very good, and the historical information was very helpful. I found the alphabetic organization of the guide easy to use with the driving recommendations.

I discovered the Holt guide after we had already been to Normandy, but we did use one of the Holt guides for WWI battlefields in eastern France and found it to be very informative.

Whichever guide you choose, I suggest you also buy a paper map of the region to help with planning, road selection, understanding distances, etc. We also bought a Michelin historical map which was first printed in 1947. It shows the landing and parachute drop points, progression of the invasion by date and direction, and the locations of cemeteries and "war relics."

https://store.nationalww2museum.org/...UaAqzzEALw_wcB

I hope you'll be able to see everything you hope to in the time you have. We loved the Normandy area, both the invasion sights and the region in general.

colette1479

Thanks to all for the suggestions! While I know that guidebooks are being replaced by the Internet, I guess I was thinking that a guide book and map would be a good option in case cell reception is spotty in the countryside. I've requested the Green Guide and the Holt Battlefield Guide from our library.

We definitely plan to check out the Peace Museum in Caen, would you recommend heading there on our travel day (Paris to Bayeux) so that we can acquaint ourselves with the area? We are scheduled to take a full day tour with Overlord on our first full day.

TDudette

Sorry Fodor's, but DH and I relied on the DK Eyewitness books. Have a great trip.

StCirq

Whether or not you go to the Mémorial the day you arrive in Normandy is up to you, but don't expect to breeze through it. The first time I went I spent 4 hours there. Of course you could always go more than once.

PalenQ

Even a quick pop in would be worth it IMO but like Saint says really a lot in there to take in and digest. But if you drive straight thru from Paris probably have some time. But I'd consider hitting some neat places en route to Normandy from Paris.

Scootoir

We took the train from Paris to Caen then drove the rental car to the Peace Museum for the afternoon. It was an excellent way to start our visit. When we were ready to leave a couple of staff members helped us with directions to where we were based. We used Frommer's 25 Great Drives in France which doesn't seem to be updated very often.