How to divide up days in Normandy
 

My husband is a huge WWII history student and we are going to, among other places, Normandy in September. I have 5 nights scheduled for Normandy (which includes part of one day in Giverny) because I know my husband will want to see every exhibit in every museum, every cemetery, beach, tank we can find. If we have too much time, we can find many places to drive for day trips. The hotel in Bayeux which I really want, Villa Lara, can accommodate us for the first 3 days but not the last 2 days of this part of our trip. Any suggestions on where we should spend the last 2 nights in Normandy? Is there another town you would recommend?

Thanks.

What is your destination/direction after Normandy? Many people like the small, picturesque fishing town of Honfleur. Or you could head to Falaise, the scene of the Battle of the Falaise Gap which is considered the last (and probably bloodiest) in the Battle of Normandy.

IMO, you won't have any trouble filling your days with WWII sights. Don't miss the Peace Memorial (museum) in Caen. In fact, I'd go there first.

http://en.normandie-tourisme.fr/arti...eur-278-2.html

http://en.normandie-tourisme.fr/arti...ise-412-2.html

http://normandy.memorial-caen.com/the-museum

Honfleur? Rouen? It really depends on YOUR interests....

Take a look at the following newsletters regarding upper and lower Normandy:
http://tinyurl.com/nfpskzl
http://tinyurl.com/pwxpcf9

They should help with you somewhat in planning your time.

I agree with kja' suggestions of Honfleur and Rouen!

Since your husband is so intersted, I just wanted to mention we stayed in Bayeux (LOVED the town) for 3 nights last June and wished we had more time. It is a great jumping off point to drive everywhere. You could look for another hotel there and stay all five nights...we stayed at Hotel le Bayeux and liked it very much, especially the location. OR you could stay in Honfleur or something at the start of your foray into Normandy from Giverney.

Here's what we did:
Arrival on a Thursday late afternoon, visited the Bayeux Cathedral (don't miss in my opinion), strolled the town

Friday: early to the Bayeux Tapistry (also don't miss), then Normandy Battle Museum in Bayeux - we thought it was really comprehensive and a great museum, then off to Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery, gun batteries at Longues-sur-Mer

Saturday: Utah Beach Museum, Utah Beach, Pointe-du-Hoc, Angoville-en-Plein (small church where two medics saved many lives and that still had bloodstains on the pew benches)

I loved just driving through the countryside getting to these sights. We missed seeing Arromanches and the Airborne Museum at Ste. Mere Eglise (my husband is a veteran and he wanted to see these). Driving distances were all quite short from Bayeux, but we spent more time at each sight and museum than we would have thought.

Have a great trip!

Honfleur is one of our favorites. We went there the first time by chance and loved it so much that we've made it a destination choice twice more. We always stayed at the Les Maisons de Lea (www.lesmaisonsdelea.com) which is the heart of town, on the market and across from the double vaulted wooden church.

On the way to Honfleur from Rouen are many old abbayes and some call it the road the rue de abbayes. For me the most spectacular is the Abbaye de Jumieges. If you have time you will enjoy it.

The WWII museum in Caen is very busy with tourists as you might expect and for that reason we found it a not as rewarding as we had hoped. The Normandy beaches were much more impactful emotionally. There isn't much at the beach sites in terms of buildings which makes them stark and foreboding. If you can manage, and I know this is asking a lot, but try to see Omaha beach at low tide which is when the troops came ashore. How anyone survived is amazing.

If you have never seen a European US Military cemetery then you really must go but carry a handkerchief. Your husband will be in awe. There was a lot of significance to St Lo but it would study of maps and quite a bit of time to sort it out. St Mere Eglise is probably worth the visit. The town celebrates it's WWII history and the last time I was there it still had a parachute hanging from the steeple.

As your husband will tell you the hedgerow country played a significant part in the Normandy struggle and I would suggest traveling a few of the back roads to get a flavor of these unexpected and deadly obstacles. Many times I've been stopped on the road as a dairyman treated me to the delightful spectacle of herding his distinctive Normandy cows down the middle of the road.

I second the Bayeux Tapistry (IMO, extraordinary!) and Abbaye de Jumieges -- and add the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen and Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rouen. Lots else to see in the area -- check the Michelin Green Guide for information and options.

(@ joannyc: :-) )

Why not just find another hotel in Bayeux?

St Mere Eglise, is a logical place to start (not logistically but historically), then drive to the nearest beach and you'll find that some of the side roads are named after individual American heroes. Work your way along the beaches looking out for the cliffs , the Mulberry harbour and Pegasus bridge. Not sure how much of Operation Pluto can be seen, but the whole thing would have failed without it. A trot up to Cherbourg (where Pluto 1 came ashore) is worthy as you can see the old Gestapo HQ which still has the bullet holes in it and visit fortress high above the town.

While making your way along the beaches drop inland towards Falaise and note the small fields separated by hedges which made up some of the hardest fighting, literally hedge by hedge.

This article covers a fair bit http://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-ge...ponse-to-d-day

Thank you all so very, very much for all your thoughts and all this wonderful information. I'm going to look into Honfleur. That will also put us one hour closer to our next destination which is Bruge. I really appreciate all your help. All this information on WWII sites will be perfect for us.

As long as you have to move, anyway, I think another town makes sense. I wouldn't think you'd need to spend more than 3 days in Bayeux, anyway. It isn't very close to Giverny, if that's what you were thinking, it's about 200 km. Giverny is closer to Paris than Bayeux. Although maybe that was the idea of stopping in Giverny on your way to Bayeux.

I think HOnfleur is a good idea, also.

Thanks so much for your idea. We are going to go to Honfleur. Thanks everyone for your help.