I am planning a trip to Paris and would like to see the D-Day beaches. Which city would you recommend, in terms of the city, NOT the tours operated from the location? Thanks?

Well, if you want a "city," it would have to be Caen, as Bayeux coudn't be called a city. But Bayeux is a lot nicer than Caen, IMO.

I have been to both and would stay in Bayeux, it's closer to the beaches. Also, Caen was almost completly distroyed during the war and Bayeux was hardly touched.

I was pondering the same question for an upcoming trip in October. When I asked a friend from France, he suggested that I consider Honfleur. After looking into this possibility, my wife and I decided that Honfleur would be better for us.

My friend's advice concerning Bayeux versus Caen was very similar to St Cirq. He recommended Caen if we wanted to be in a larger city where things would be open in the evening, etc. If we prefered small town ambience, however, Bayeux would be a better choice.

smueller: Admittedly, Honfleur is a lovely place, but it's not at all ideal for visiting the D-Day beaches. It's about 50 km farther, and you either have to crawl along the coast and then do that weird inland dip at Ouistreham, or you have to go in, and out, of Caen.

Thanks for all the responses.

Bayeux is definitely the place to be. It is very charming. And you also get to go see the famous Bayeux Tapestry which is in a terrific museum. Caen is just a big city - but it does have perhaps the best WWII museum in the world. But I would recommend that if you want to visit that, you do it as a side trip.