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Itinerary for Normandy-Recomendations for D-Day tours?

Itinerary for Normandy-Recomendations for D-Day tours?

Old Jun 6th, 2010, 04:41 AM
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Itinerary for Normandy-Recomendations for D-Day tours?

Husband, 15-yr old son and I are going to spend 3-4 days touring Normandy. After 3 nights in Paris, we will rent a car and stay 1 night somewhere between Paris and Rouen, 2 nights in Arromanche (sp?) and 1 night close to Paris. Will go to Mont St. Michel also. Son is very into history, especially WWII and he is really excited about going to the DDay sites. Any recommendations for guided tours? Any of the tourist sites we should skip? Thanks!
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Old Jun 6th, 2010, 11:39 AM
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We(with teenage boys 15 and 12) will be in Normandy early July. We are using Battlebus tours(www.battlebus.fr/index.html) which came highly recommended to us from family members. We also received a strong recommendation for www.ddaybattletours.com using the guide Ellwood von Seibold. He was booked so we went with Battlebus. We are staying in Bayeux which the tour company requests for easy pick up the morning of the tour. Good Luck!
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Old Jun 6th, 2010, 02:14 PM
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Battlebus is excellent! We used them 3 years ago. The day we went, it was myself, DD (16 at the time) and my mother. There was another family in our group that had 2 teenage boys. All of us were very impressed with the knowledge of our guide. The day flew by and we really wished we had allotted enough time for the 2 day tour.
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Old Jun 6th, 2010, 02:34 PM
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If I understood you correctly you said you are going to spend 1 night somewhere between Paris and Rouen before heading to Normandy, correct? Are you aware that it is only a 1-1/2 hour drive from Paris to Rouen, which means only a 45 minute drive halfway between the two places? If your son is really into D-Day sites wouldn't you just prefer to drive to Bayeux and spend a 3rd night there instead? Paris to Bayeux is just under a 3 hour drive. Perhaps you are thinking of seeing Monet's house and gardens in Giverny, which is a 1 hour drive from Paris. I'm just trying to guess. I'm assuming you know what to do in Paris but if you'll clarify why you want that 1 night halfway between Paris and Rouen I might be able to give you some advice for both areas. If you need to check drive times, distances and cost of gas and tolls use viamichelin.com.
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Old Jun 6th, 2010, 03:20 PM
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I was thinking of stopping briefly in Giverny and Rouen, then going to the Caen Memorial Museum. Guess we might as well stay that night at the same hotel as the next 2 nights. DO you recommend Bayeux over Arromanche?
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Old Jun 6th, 2010, 05:32 PM
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As FrenchMystique said, if you decide to stop for a night halfway between Paris & Rouen, he's got a nice plan with pics to entice you. Click on his name and that recent trip report should pull right up.

It's so great you're showing your son the WWII sites and that he's interested in history at his age!
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Old Jun 6th, 2010, 05:47 PM
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It's way past my bedtime and I'm off to bed now but as sap said I do have a trip report coming for that region but it is not up on the web yet. Should be in a day or so but I'll get back to you tomorrow. Thanks for the nice mention sap. I'm hoping you'll enjoy the report as much as I enjoyed the trip.
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Old Jun 6th, 2010, 07:10 PM
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My husband, 15 year old son and I are also going to Paris and plan to make a day trip to Bayeux and take one of the D-Day Tours. Battlebus is highly recommended but they do not accept anyone staying more than 45 minutes away. My son is very much into history and my husband is keen on taking one of these tours. One of the guidebooks mentioned Normandy Tours (leaves from Bayeux's Hotel de la Gare)and D-Day Tours. It would be good to find out if anyone has used either of these.
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Old Jun 6th, 2010, 07:13 PM
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We have stayed in Bayeux on both of our trips to Normandy and have visited Arromanches. The British Cemetery and Battle of Normandy museum are located in Bayeux and well worth visiting. You'll learn about the Mulberry harbor then see the remnants of it in Arromanches. We enjoyed market day in Bayeux, the cathedral and the choice of hotels, shops and restaurants. Stayed at the Hotel Churchill both times for its location and easy parking. There is so much to see in this area I could easily go back for a third visit.
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Old Jun 7th, 2010, 04:01 AM
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Oohlala1-when are you going? We'll be in Paris July 20-23, then Normandy 23-26. Have you booked Battlebus yet? They are already filling up!
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Old Jun 7th, 2010, 06:35 AM
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We are going to be in Paris July 21-26, flying to Naples on the 26th, from there to Sorrento, Rome, Florence and Venice and will be back in Paris for a night before flying out of CDG on the August 5. I have booked an apartment in the Marais for our stay in Paris...gives us a little more room.

I wish I could book Battlebus but you have to stay somewhere in the area for that. I also read that Bus Verts du Calvados offers a Circuit Caen-Omaha Beach route that connects many of the D-Day sights. Fyi, if you feel the tour didn't quite cover everything.
I also came across a post which mentioned www.overlordtour.com
I need to compare and then make a decision. Too many things to do.
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Old Jun 7th, 2010, 06:52 AM
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I highly recommend Roel Klinkhamer and Victory Tours. My husband and I took a half day trip (which ended up being almost an entire day)with Roel a few years ago and found him to be an excellent tour guide. Roel is Dutch-born and he and his wife also run a guest house, although we didn't stay there. He is passionate and knowledgable about WWII and really made the experience of the war very meaningful for us.

We also enjoyed staying in Bayeux. It's a charming large "small town", with plenty to do. For history buffs, the Bayeux tapestry, in my mind, is remarkable. I'm still amazed that it is so pristine almost a millenium after it was created.
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Old Jun 8th, 2010, 03:56 PM
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nan, I haven't forgotten about you so if you need trip tips let me know.
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Old Jun 9th, 2010, 03:12 AM
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Thanks for everyone's comments! We were only able to book a 1 day tour with Battlebus for Sunday-their 2 day tours were full! So far the Normandy portion of the trip looks like this: rent car at CDG airport Friday (after 3 nights in Paris). Head to Rouen, then Caen and ending at hotel in Arromanches. We will stay at that hotel Fri-Sun night. Since sunday is the all day Battlebus tour, we have Saturday and Monday to go to Mont St. Michel, other D-day sites not on the tour, see the tapestry in Bayeux, or whatever else is in the area that we decide to do. Not sure what order we will do things. Need to get back close to Paris Monday evening since we leave Tuesday for home.
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Old Jun 9th, 2010, 06:28 PM
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I also recommend Roel and Victory Tours. www.victorytours.com
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Old Jun 9th, 2010, 07:27 PM
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I have stayed in Senlis, 30k north of CDG when leaving Normandy and returning a car to CDG before flying home. Senlis is a sweet little town near Chantilly.
Ann Marie
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