My wife and I will have 3 full days in Normandy in mid October. We want to visit Mont St. Michel (probably one full day), the World War II Beaches and Memorials ( one day)and the seaside towns of Deauville and Honfleur. Is Rouen a possibility also on the 3rd day or is this too much? We will be staying near Caen and will have a car. Also looking for restaurant suggestions within a reasonable driving distance both for lunch and dinner and whether and how we should hire a guide for the "World War II Beaches visit. Thanks for your help.

If I were to visit this area again, which I certainly will, I would devote more time to the D Day sights. When I say this you must consider that history interests me so you should decide how much history and general sight seeing you want to do. With only three days you can't do the area justice, you will only get a taste. As far as a guide, do a seach on this site for threads on Normandy. You will run across many suggestions including Col Chilcott who we used a year ago. Best of luck on your planning. Normandy is a wonderful area and you won't be disappointed.

I think Rouen is too far a reach, unless you are driving on to Paris or the next stop on your itinerary. We needed, to our surprise, 4 or 5 hours at the museum in Caen. It was fascinating, whether you are pretty familiar with the history of D Day (which I am - or thought I was!) or not (our son). There is a decent cafeteria in the museum. From the museum, we drove straight out to the beaches and up the coast in the late afternoon, all the way to Point du Hoc, which I saw in 1965 and again in 2000, and it is, to me, a soul searing place. Leave plenty of time if you want to go to the cemeteries - we cut it too short. They close promptly in the late afternoon - 5 it seems to me, maybe a bit earlier as winter comes on.<BR><BR>Also leave time to wander Bayeux a bit. It is only 6 km from the coast, and despite the tourist overlay, it is a wonderful town, with a charming romanesque church (with gothic add-ons). And behind the church in another complex is the fantastic Bayeux tapestry - another history lesson from another time (1066 and all that, to borrow some other author's title). The tapestry easily takes 1-2 hours, more like 2 if you don't hurry, 1 if you are stepping along. Either way, it's worth it.<BR><BR>I wouldn't think you would need a guide for the beaches. There are tons of books and maps and they are pretty well signed - you can just poke along. It's a wonderful narrow road, not too much traffic. The infamous hedgerows are still there, and it doesn't take much to imagine how incredibly hard it was to get up off those beaches. <BR> A beautiful and historic place. Go rain or shine - I first saw the beaches on a cold, grey, rain-swept All Saints DAy - it made an indelible impression on my young self.<BR> Have a good trip - Marcia

I think that is too much for 3 days. We spent 2 full days seeing WWII sites. You can't miss the Caen Memorial Peace Museum. We spent all morning here. Then drive on to:Arromanches 360, Longues Sur Mer, Ponte De Hoc, beaches, and American Cemetery. then a one day trip to Mont St. Michel, which is a great site. You don't need a guide, just read up and take the Fodor's guide book.

I agree with the others. We spent 4 hours in the Memorial museum in Caen, and that was with two teenagers, and when we were done we thought about a half-hour had passed. The beaches, etc., take another full day. <BR><BR>Le Mont St-Michel does not warrant a full day. I'm not cheapening its historical significance, but you can very well traipse up to the top, see the Abbey, roam around, and climb down in two hours and get on with something else.<BR><BR>I would not plan to see Rouen on this trip - there's far too much to see there and you'd just race through and miss half of it - better to allocate the time to the D-Day sites.<BR><BR>

One of my favorite lunch places is in Trouville(next to Deauville) Les Vapeurs<BR>the mussels are wonderful, the ambiance friendly. There I learned by a french woman how to eat mussels using an empty hinged mussel shell as a pincer. There are things to look for in every area odf France , for Normandy, look for the fatages on roof tops these are finials made of glazed ,maybe metal, in shapes of monkeys, cats dwarfs, you name it. You can start with the Hotel Normandy in Deauville. If you have binoculars, bring them. We saw one home that had so many for it's small size. They are expensive and maybe only two artisans now exist who make these beautiful oddities.<BR>

Add my voice to the suggestion that you need more time in the Bayeux area. Visiting the WWII museum in Bayeux and the Bayeux Tapestry museum could take an entire day itself. However, it's possible for you to do some of the stuff on the way back from Mont St. Michel. You need to get to the Mont as soon as it opens anyway if you don't want to be compressed by the crowd, and as long as you don't shop on the way out, it's a rather simple visit (do rent the audiotapes there).<BR><BR>The Peace Museum in Caen is stunning, perhaps is one of the best designed museums I've ever seen. I would give myself at least a half day there.<BR><BR>If you have a car, I think you can do the D-Day things just fine. If we could go back, I would be spending time at every teeny-tiny museum on the coast. The Ranger Museum, for example, is very low tech but does a good job of achieving its mission.<BR><BR>By the way, the Normandy invasion museums have a deal that as soon as you go to one, you get a discount at all the others.<BR>

Unless you are the types that look into every nook and cranny and shop you will not need a whole day at the mont. We arrived in the early evening, spent the night in the village at the start of the causeway, got up, checked out, went to the mont and had breakfast there, saw it all and were on our way easily by noon. I feel like we saw everything and did not feel shorted. Use the afternoon to go on to other spots.

We stayed at a BestWestern in Bayeaux and then moved to Caen for a couple nights (Bayeaux was booked). I far preferred Bayeaux, it's a wonderful little town with great restuarants and easy access to all the D-day sites.

I was in Normandy in May of this year and went to the D-Day beaches and the Memorial Museum in Caen. I agree with the other posters that the museum will take half a day. It was amazing! We got there when it opened and then in the afternoon, took a tour of the beaches. The tour was booked at the museum. I disagree with some of the other posters that you don't need a guide. I love history and had done a lot of reading before going to the beaches. Our guide was incredibly knowledgeable about the area and told us so many things that you would not read in a book. She had her master's degree in history and obviously specialized in WWII history - she also spoke English beautifully. She gave us plenty of time at the various sights. I was so happy that we choose to take this tour. If I had it to do over again, I would have taken a second day to drive around in our rental car to some of the other sights and explore some of the little villages along the coast.<BR><BR>Have a wonderful time. It was an experience that I will never forget.

Thanks to all for the good info. We'll be in Normandy in mid-Oct., also, "headquartering" near Bayeux, and I'm planning a half day at the Caen museum and the rest of the day at the beaches. I have a day pretty much unscheduled, so if we decide we need more time at the WWII sites, we'll go back. Otherwise, we'll just meander along some of the coastal towns.

I regret that I wasn't able to contribute to this sooner (i.e., right after getting back last week). I guess I just didn't see this thread.<BR><BR>As much or more than any other trip to Europe, I got a lot out of visiting the sites of the Normandy invasion/battle - - and it's much more than seeing what is there now - - it's about learning about what happened there.<BR><BR>I thought it might be trite or dorky to watch the short (15 minute) films, but there were four of them that I found VERY, very good:<BR><BR>At the Airborne museum in Sainte Mere l'Eglise<BR><BR>Two in the Musee de l'Embarquement<BR><BR>and of course, Arromanches 360.<BR><BR>and we never even made it to Caen, nor to the Pegasus bridge memorial.<BR><BR>We DID enjoy visits to Pointe du Hoc, and to the American cemetery in Colleville.<BR><BR>I think that Honfleur can work as a single two hour lunch visit - - but undoubtedly, others will tell the merits of spending a full day or more there.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

I would recommend making Rouen a separate trip as it is rather far from both Caen and Bayeux. (We missed our early morning train from Rouen to Caen and had to take a taxi). It was over 1 1/2 hours away. We then took a train from Caen to Bayeux, which we made our base. I would recommend 'Bus Fly Tours' in Bayeux for wonderful day trip/tours to the DDay beaches, as well as Mont St. Michel for small groups (8-12 people). The local guides are very familiar with the DDay beaches and they explain them in great detail while touring them. Very informative and helpful!<BR><BR>Re: restaurants, I would recommend the Hotel Notre Dame's restaurant adjacent to the hotel. They offer wonderful local Norman specialties (lots of seafood, shellfish, meats, cheeses, etc) at reasonable prices. The food was delicious! The Lion d'Or in Bayeux is also a good choice.

up<BR>

Another vote for Bayeux and the tapistry. Don't miss it. You can combine Honfleur with the WWII beaches.

Is Honfleur a reasonable place for a hotel stay to visit the D-Day beaches, Bayeaux, Pegasus bridge and Mt. St. Michele in 2 days? If not, is there a better town that is more central and if so a nice hotel .<BR>thanks

Just returned from Normandy. Agree with just about all that was said. Make Bayeux your Hq. and go from there. Mt. ste. Michelle is a half day at best.<BR>Bus Fly Tours is now out of business having been bought out by Normandy Tours. We took their tour (full day) and it was super. Our guide was an older gentleman who was raised in Bayeux and was living there during the occupation of France and of course D-Day and the liberation. He spoke excellent english and when asked would relate some of his personal experiences during that time. Well worth the 70.00euros for the tour which lasted approx. 9 hours.

John:<BR>We are leaving in two days & I had planned on taking Bus Fly Tours. Where did you pick up the Normandy Tour ? Was it at the Caen Museum? We are staying in Bayeux & I'm hoping that they would leave from somewhere there. Is the 9 hrs including time that you spent at the museum. We are really into history & am looking for a full day tour. We'll do the Caen museum on another day.<BR>

Jon<BR>I made reservations through<BR>www.normandy-tourism.org<BR>They will pick you up at your hotel in Bayeux. You might try asking for Jacques as your guide.<BR>It includes time spent at the Airborne museum in Ste. Mere Eglise and the museum at Arromanches . Museum fee included in price of tour.<BR>Have fun<BR>

John:<BR>I just went to that web site. Was the company you took the tour with called "Bus Fly Tours'. I had heard that they were out of business , this must be the company that took over. Was the tour you took called a 'private tour' for the 9 hours and they take only American Express credit cards? There's so much info. on that page & I want to make sure this is the same tour.You didn't do MSM did you on this tour did you? Not interested in that. Just want to get the WW2 history etc. for this paricular day. Leaving in two days-help!<BR>Many thanks.