In June we will be travelling to Normandy, staying in Honfleur as a base. Is Giverny worth a visit, also Etretat, Veules Le Roses and Lyons le Floret. No-one seems to mention this area rather than the beaches and Bayeaux. Your help would be appreciated.

I have been to Giverny. I think that June will be beautiful with the flowers and lilies. It's a small town with Monet's home, garden, pond and bridge. What about Mont St. Michel? Are you traveling with kids? I am not sure about the others.

I agree about Giverny but make sure you see Rouen and some of the beautiful bridges over the Seine.

To the top

Etretat is lovely. You will enjoy a drive out there. There is accessible parking and you can see the famous 'falaises.' There's also a small church at the top of the adjoining hill you can climb up to get a better view of the cliffs and English Channel. Then, you could drive along the secondary roads and either stop in one of the villages you come across and lunch, or continue on to Fecamp. When you drive through that part of Normandy, you may be able to stop off at a farmhouse and purchase some 'cidre' for next to nothing! You could also drive on the secondary roads through Yvetot and then spend a late afternoon in Rouen. The city center is pedestrian and there are some lovely churches. You can visit the exact spot where Jeanne d'Arc was burned in 1431, have dinner in Rouen and drive back to Honfleur.

Stop in Trouville For a great lunch at "les Vapeurs" The mussels in cream are wonderful. If you do go to Giverny, my two places to lunch are "The Jardins of Giverny "and "The Hotel Baudy"

We are planning a trip similar to Stan's in May and are undecided as to which direction to go(west for a day or two in Brittany or east to Etretat, etc.) after we do the beaches, etc. We plan to stay in Bayeux; is it too far away for day trips to Etretat and the other eastern parts of Normandy mentioned in some of these replies? Thanks for any thoughts on this.

Excerpted from a recent post, following our trip to Normandy this past fall:<BR><BR>Author: Rex ([email protected])<BR>Date: 10/16/2002, 07:32 pm<BR><BR>Message: <BR><BR>...in Etretat, we really enjoyed Villa Bligny; more of a house than hotel, but with daily maid service. No meals IN the building, but breakfast available just down the street at a sister property if you choose.<BR><BR>http://www.proximedia.com/local/fran...s/produit3.htm and no e-mail here either, but responded to fax also.<BR><BR>Best wishes,<BR><BR>Rex<BR>

<BR>EYE SPY<BR>Always read your post. Very informative.<BR>Are you from France?

John: Thanks for your kind words. I have lived in France for 12 years (French father).<BR><BR>Sue: I would suggest you spend one night in the 'Eastern&quot; part of Normandy if you want to see &Eacute;tretat and Honfleur (you can see them both in one day). Lunch around the vieux port in Honfleur is wonderful! I particularly like Normandy - the food is delicious even if it is based on lots of cr&egrave;me fra&icirc;che!<BR><BR>Then you could travel by car through Pont l'&Eacute;v&ecirc;que (buy some cheese!), down to Lisieux if you want to see the Basilica of Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus (&quot;Sainte Th&eacute;r&egrave;se de l'Enfant J&eacute;su&quot;; she was from Lisieux), past Caen (Caen was heavily bombarded during WWII so not a lot of interesting things to see) and then to Bayeux which is about 20 minutes north of Caen. In Bayeux, visit the lovely cathedral (the spire looks like lace) and the tapestry that is not far on foot next to the city hall. There's even a plaque there Prince Charles and Princess Diana visited it.<BR><BR>You could drive to Arromanches just north of Bayeux and visit the beaches (a few hours around that part is fine - the American cemetery is particularly moving and well kept. The USA pays France a fee each year for upkeep).<BR><BR>From Bayeux, you might want to drive West on the D572 past Saint-L&ocirc; (which is not that interesting anymore because it too was heavily bombed during WWII), through the roundabout onto the D972 to Coutances. I love Coutances! It was settled by the Romans (&quot;Cosedia&quot. The cathedral is beautiful in the center of town and there are interesting shops you could buy lunch. Then drive down to Granville (there are interesting ramparts there. 30 minutes out of the car in Granville to look at them is fine. On another note, the world famous Christian Dior was from Granville). Then down to Mont Saint-Michel. It's charming, a bit touristy (so you may not want to eat there; have coffee or tea instead) and eat in one of the villages you drive through instead or in Avranches (before Mont Saint-Michel) or at Pontorson immediately after. Go into the Abbey. It's very sparse (Benedictine) but the views over Normandy, the ocean and Brittany are beautiful on a clear day. Pontorson is right on the border of Normandy and Brittany so you could take a picture of yourself technically in Brittany! Then back up the secondary roads to Bayeux. This drive will take one day but you will see the Mont and have driven through small Norman villages.<BR><BR>In addition, perhaps you want to overnight in Saint-M&acirc;lo or Dinard in Brittany past the Mont if you don't want to return to Bayeux. But Bayeux is charming and you will like it.<BR><BR>I hope this helps.<BR>

Thank you, Rex and ES, for your recommendations; it is helpful to hear of first-hand experiences in addition to checking out the travel guides. I especially appreciate the routes you mentioned, ES, as it would probably be easy to use the fastest route and miss lots of interesting little places.

You're very welcome.<BR>

You're welcome. Anything else, just ask. Have a great trip. Normandy is a nice region.

The only addition I would have is to not miss the WW II museum at Caen. It is excellent! I would allow about 3-4 hours to see the exhibits and view the movies.

I have found this posting very interesting as I too am visiting Normandy this year. However, it seems to be moving to Bayeaux and the beaches and I, as the original question, would be very interested to hear about the region towards Lyons La Floret and Giverny. Also along the cost towards Dieppe. Can anyone help.

Lyons-la-For&ecirc;t is an extremely picturesque village with gorgeous Norman architecture and several pretty hotels and a few restaurants--rather quiet when we were there, but some of the more special buildings have historical markers. The countryside surrounding the area is beautiful. There is lots on here about Giverny--have been in several seasons and it is always beautiful, however busy. Try going at the end of the day when the tour buses are departing--you'll have a bit more room to move around. The American museum in Giverny is also quite nice. One word on Honfleur--quite touristy but very pretty--we enjoyed the Boudin museum--if u r a fan of his.

This thread is a year old. He's already visited. I wonder how he liked it. Perhaps he,ll log on and tell us.

I highly recommend B&amp;B Broc Fontaine about and hour and a half from CDG and 30 minutes from Giverny. http://giverny.org/hotels/pivain/
Monet's gardens are wonderful and especially so if you stay close y and can get there when most tour buses aren't there.
Spend time in that area at this fantastic B&amp;B and then head to Bayeaux.

Ahh Normandy,

We spent 4 nights in Bayeaux with our 7 yr. daughter in 2002. We had a great time and would highly recommend the Normandy area. It's only 3 hours from CDG Airport and the highway takes you right past Giverny.

Giverny is w must see. We were there on a rainy May morning and it was still one of the highlights in all our travels.

In may humble opinion:

The WWII beaches are a must see for EVERY American. The museum is very well done. YOu'll stand at the waterline at Omaha and lood back at the cliffs and wonders who's bright idea was this! YOu'll never watch the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan again without balling your eyes out. I actually got on my knees and wept like a baby in the cemetary (tough to explain to a 7 yr, old). We booked a tour at the Bayeaux tourist office but should have probably used our own car. All the tour did was ferry you from one site to the next, no real commentary, etc. Could ahve brought back a few more bottles of 25 yr. Calvados with the $$$.

The Tapestry in Bayeaux is a world treasure. Cronicles Wm. the Conquerors' exploits across France. It's a must see. We stayed at the Hotel Churchhill right in the center of Bayeaux and it was just around the corner. The hotel was nice (relatively simple) and had a web site but I lost my last post looking for the link. If you want it let me know at [email protected] The cathedral is also great. Lots of small restaurants off the main drag serve great (albeit rich) food. If you like butter you'll have the best!

At trip out to Mr. Ste. Michelle is well worth the trip. It's pretty amazing and if you have time for the coastal drive it's well worth it.

YOu could also spend a half day in Deauville if you are into seeing how the &quot;other half&quot; lives (for us anyway). Lots of grand summer homes, a gorgeous beach, lots of Ferraris and lots of boutiques with branches in places like Palm Beach, Gstaud, Aspen, etc. Great people watching and a who's who of beach cabana owners.

Anyway, get a car, wander around and get lost. You'll love it.

Eat lots of mussels, drink cider and aged calvados, study your history, have a ball. . .

Via on dios,

Brian

If you are in the area of Lisieux there is a fantastic working farm to visit: Le Domaine de St. Hippolyte, five minutes out of Lisieux on the road to Alencon-Livarot. While you may &quot;self-guide&quot;, I would recommend the guided tours at 11:00, 14:00 and 16:00 which take about 2 hours. They take you through the domaine and all the buidlings including Cider barn w/press and dairy barns/cheese making factory as well as a walk along the stream, pastures and apple orchards. You could email them at: [email protected] to send you a brochure.

If you go be sure to taste their sampling of cheese and cider, but buy their CREME de Calvados...we have been unable to find it anywhere else and it is to die for!