We taking our 10 and 7 yr old boys to visit Normandy in early May. My older son is a WWII history buff and our younger son isn't so interested in history. We want to make it enjoyable for both.

Any suggestions?

Thanks.

We went to Normandy last summer and had a wonderful time. Our children, adults really, were older 22 and 19 but I'm sure your children will enjoy Normandy. Be sure to take warm clothing because it is absolutely freezing in Normandy! Of course this is coming from a Floridian so anything below 70 degrees F is cold to me!

We used Victory Tours for a half day tour and had a wonderful guide, Roel. He was funny and informative. He does offer longer tours but I'm not sure whether your children have the attention span for such a long day. I'm not even sure mine would have put up with it! Roel also has a B&B nearby if you are looking for lodging. Here is the link.
http://www.lignerolles.homestead.com/victorytours.html

Have a great time!

Hi mjrg,
My son was 7 when we went, he did not really care for any of the history, but now at age 9 when he hears about it, he remembers what he saw. His favorite things were the unique shells at Port en Bassin, and the huge seafood platters. He was in heaven with all of the seafood. We actually saw a lot of kids visiting the sites.

In October I went on the most fabulous Normandy Tour. I booked it thorugh this website http://www.lalande-normandy.com/newsite/index.asp#
though the people that do the tour no longer own the Guest house. You can inquire there if you decide to. There are not words to describe the experience we had. The Tour guides Father was THE WW2 photographer (he actually shared photos of Hitlers burned out bunker, stuff from the bunker, photos and history that you cannot imagine. As wonderful as this was, I cannot say that this would be interesting to your younger son.

I wanted to clarify that the area I was speaking about were the D-day beaches near Bayeaux. That is where our half day trip began.

We also visited Honfleur and Mont St-Michel in Normandy as well. We did rush it a bit with only 3 days to do all 3.

We visited the WWII sites in Normandy last June with our 3 sons then ages 14, 15 1/2, and 17 1/2. One of my sons is a real WWII buff and the others are interested in military history. All three loved the visit and I venture to say that a 7 and 10 year old would as well.

We chose to visit the Memorial Museum in Caen first and discovered this choice really helped all of us to enjoy the visit much more. They do such a great job at the museum, even non-museum loving children with potentially short attention spans will be hard pressed not to be fascinated by the D-Day movie and the outstanding exhibits.

We then visited Omaha Beach, Point du Hoc, and the American Cemetary. We were intentionally selective about the sights we visited so that everyone could get a feel of the magnitude of what took place historically without boring some in the party.

Far and away, Point du Hoc was the favorite of all 3 boys. When we followed the path from the parking area out to the open area closer to the bluff – all of the boy’s jaws dropped. It was impossible not to be impressed by the enormous craters everywhere and the still predominantly intact German bunkers. How did any of those rangers survive the climb up the cliff to take this tactically important area? After the awe passed, then my boys crossed the threshold into the “COOL!!!” response. They had a blast exploring every possible crater, bunker, and tunnel for well over an hour. One piece of advice, make sure that you pack a small flashlight. My boys wish that they had one for the tunnels.

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I will second the recommendation for Victory Tours. I thought he was great.

You know your kid... will the 7yo be miserable ? If so, this might be a good time to divide and conquer.

We stayed in Honfleur (and liked it) and did a day-trip to Etretat. I would think your boys would like that -- big white cliffs on either side of a small town. We hiked both sides - very fun!

most of all, have a great trip!

Thanks, everyone! I linked to Victory Tours and have a request into him. Will look into the other sites and remember to take flashlights!

Don't know much time you will have but the ocean-front town of Arromanche has both a museum and 360 degree movie. Arromanche had special role in the allied landings that sometimes does not get the press that it deserves.

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