Paris to Normandy
 

We are planning a trip to Paris in Oct., and were hoping to take a side trip to the Normandy and Omaha beach area, is this realilistic for a weekend? How far is it, and are there any other ideas for hotels, restaurants, and touring. <BR>

hi, <BR> <BR>yup, it is quite realistic. It's maybe a 3 hour drive max. <BR> <BR>Stay with Colonel Chilcott, a retired British Colonel and historian. He and his wife are wonderful! They live in Bayeux. <BR> <BR>try [email protected] I believe, I'll check into that for you. <BR> <BR>good luck! <BR> <BR>Beth

If the Colonel is full, try Manoir des Tourpes outside of Caen. Very nice B and B. Email is [email protected]. We stayed there in July and enjoyed it. Easy drives to see all the Normandy invasion sites. Mentioned in Karen Brown's book on France Small Inns and Itineraries.

We've just returned from Normandy/Paris. I would recommend Pointe du Hoc (Le Hoc Point), which still resembles a battlefield, complete with bunkers and shell holes, in addition to the more known sites of Omaha beach and the American Cemetery. In nearby Caen, there is also a fairly comprehensive museum on WWII, with films and exhibits, much better than the museum we went to near the beaches. Caen also has a couple of interesting sites with the castle and the Abbaye aux Hommes. <BR> <BR>I think a full day to visit the D-Day sites would be sufficient with a second day maybe to check out someplace like Honfleur or Mont St. Michel. <BR> <BR>The drive from Caen to Paris took us about 3 hours using the toll road (A13), other roads in France slow down quite a bit when going through towns, the drive on D513 from Honfleur going toward the D-Day sites, while quite scenic, took a lot of time.

Spending two days in this area of Normandy is completely feasible, I did it in May. The only thing you will regret is not spending more time there. We drove from Versaille to Bayeux one morning, checked into our hotel, had lunch and then went to the d-day beaches (Omaha, Point du Hoc) and the American cemetary and then drove to see the Mulberrys (we missed the museum there). The next morning we toured around Bayeux, don't miss the tapestry and the cathedral, then drove to the Memorial Museum in Caen. <BR> <BR>The hotel we stayed at in Bayeux was the Hotel Churchill. I would definitely stay there again.

Hi, <BR> <BR>glad this came to the top. <BR> <BR>memory jogger - the Colonel's email is not <BR> <BR>[email protected] <BR> <BR>but <BR> <BR>[email protected] <BR> <BR>good luck!