Day tour of Normandy - Bayeux tapestry included???
 

Hi:

I'm trying to plan the last part of our April/May trip.

Does anyone know if there is a day trip out of Paris to Normandy (WWII beaches) that also includes seeing the Bayeux tapestry? I know this is a very long day but I'm not sure if I can rearrange our existing reservations to include one night in Normandy.

Any help much appreciated,
Carol

We stayed one night in Bayeaux and loved the town. the cathedral was worth a visit but I definitely would not arrange a trip to view the tapestries. Not very impressive in my opinion.

I think trying to do the WWII sights on a day tour from Paris is a long day as it is; trying to include the Bayeux tapestry would make it a hectic experience. Is there any chance that you can spend a night in Bayeux, which is a charming town? The tapestry is simply wonderful and you should take the opportunity to visit it but I think you would enjoy the tapestry and the WWII sights more if you had a little time to appreciate them.

Nini and Mamc:

Thanks for the info. We definately want to spend a night in Normandy (Bayeux) but I'm still trying to rearrange our Paris hotel reservations.

My husband is a WWII buff and wants to visit the beaches, etc (as do I), but I've also just recently heard a lecture that included the tapestry in my docent-in-training program at the art museum. I do hope we can spend the night.

Carol

I agree that you'll need to the beaches or the tapestry for a one day trip. The tapestry museum is set up with a (long) explanation and video presentation before you get to see the tapestry. Spend a day or two in the area.

Loved the tapestry and also loved the very well airconditioned theater where the video is shown. The video was a good prelude to the tapestry, IMHO; I suggest you skip the life-size mock-up of the tapestry though. Both are offered before you get to the actual tapestry. I used the audio thingie, which enhanced the experience also. The tapestry is very creatively displayed with good lighting behind it.

The life-size mockup chronicles the history of Anglo-Saxon England and Norman France leading up to the invasion. There's a lot of genealogy included, tracing the royal lines that Guillame d'Orange and Harold Godwinson sprang from (and why both held claim to the English throne).

I had just read all of that background (e-Book) on the train to Bayeux, so I skipped the history lesson and went straight to the movie and tapestry.

Go out to Bayeux in the evening and you will have a (very) full day to see just about all there is to see. Try to be around Port-en-Bessins at lunchtime.

I too, LOVED Bayeux, it's a wonderful, charming little town with its market day, small streets, terrific restaurants, cathedral, tapestry, etc.

You CAN make it a very early departure from Paris for a day trip out to Bayeux; however most tours take all day and start ~9:00 am. That said, I would advise going out to Bayeux the afternoon before: see the Notre Dame cathedral, the Bayeux Tapestry, then be set to go on the tour the next morning. The tourist office in Bayeux has several local tour companies that can pre-arrange ahead of time a 1/2 or full day tour of the DDay beaches and even to nearby Mont St. Michel. (I have used 'BusFly' tours in Bayeux in the past, however, not sure if they are still conducting tours this year, you could check with the Bayeux tour office for further information).

We saw the Bayeux tapestry several years ago and rented one of the headsets to share among the three of us (big mistake). I was listening to it and started telling my daughter what I was hearing. She suddenly started laughing and I couldn't figure out why. Turns out it was very quiet in the room and with my headphones on, I couldn't tell how loud I was talking. Evidently, I was making a speech for all to hear... (sorry, I know that doesn't answer your question, but I couldn't resist sharing that). We enjoyed the tapestry (the little movie before you go in is well worth it), but my daughter, 14 at the time, was not terribly impressed and has always referred to it as "the rug".

This is too much to do in one day. Just seeing the Normandy sites in one day will be difficult. I'd skip the tapestry for your next vacation, and yes, if you're wondering, we did go view it. It was interesting, but the WWII sites were more interesting and took most of the day to view at least somewhat properly.

Sesamee

If you really can't spend a night in Bayeux, I would get up at the CRACK of dawn and take a very early train to Bayeux. Have breakfast when you get there and wander the pretty streets - check out the cathedral. Go see the tapestry (it's awesome - I mean it was woven in the 11th century and tells the story of the Norman invasion - how could it be "not very impressive" as one poster wrote? I don't get that! It's beautiful, and probably very different from what you imagine - it was for me) the minute it opens (I'm sorry, the guidebooks I have here don't say when, but you can probably get that info from the Bayeux tourist office website), then go on one of the D-Day tours that is run out of Bayeux for the day, then back to Paris by train.

It will be an exhausting day, but sometimes those days when your senses have been bombarded for hours are the days that are most memorable travel days.

Since your husband is a WWII buff, be sure to visit Caen to see the peace memorial, and the pegasus bridge and museum, and visit the museum at Arromanches where you can see the remains of the mulberry harbors.

Those sites, and some of the other invasion sites, will take quite a while to see. I would suggest at least two days in Normandy, which would give you time to see the tapestry, too.