We have three days in Normandy in mid-May. We will be driving from CDG Paris on the first day, in the morning. We're not sure which route to take and what to see.
Should we head towards Honfleur the first day? Is there a special route to go, or should we just go the quickest way? We are not in any hurry and will have all day.

We have one full day dedicated with a tour guide regarding the beaches of Normandy. Other than that, what else is a not-to-be missed item? We are staying just outside of Bayeux.

We plan on some time to see the Bayuex tapestry and the town of Bayeux, but are not sure how much time some of this takes, or how much we can put into one day. There is also Mont St Michel... is this a full day trip by itself?

Regarding on the way back - we are going to drive back to Paris and drop our car off somewhere (not sure if we should actually venture INTO Paris, or drop car off at a rail station or airport, and take a shuttle in.) Is there a pretty scenic route from Bayeux different than the way we will leave Paris?

I had Stu Dudley's Normandy itinerary, but now I can't find it in my email folders. I can't imagine I deleted it, as I thought I had it with the Provence/Cote d'Azur itinerary but it isn't there.

Thank you for any advice!

The tapestry does not take long at all. We got behind a tour group, and even with that I think we were inside for around 30 minutes or so. The audio guide tells the story as you go along, so once you enter the cue, it is a set pace. Bayeux is small and can easily be done in a day. We had a couple days there and loved it. Be sure to check out the cathedral.

It's short enough to post here

Normandy


Remember
Almost all shops & stores are closed on Sunday, & Monday morning, so don’t plan to visit a town then. The few exceptions are Honfleur & Pont Aven (most, but not all stores are open). We use Sundays & Mondays for visiting castles & taking drives through the countryside & along the coast.

Nothing gets in the way of the French taking their 2 hour lunch, so most stores, castles, & sometimes even museums will close for lunch. Often a castle/museum will be closed one day a week. Use the Michelin Green guide “admission times & charges” section at the back of the book (blue/green pages) to find out the specific days/times/dates of openings & closings.

The stars * represent the rating in the Green Michelin Guide (referred to as GG below) If I think the site is better than the rating, I will add a +, if I think it’s not as good I will add a – (minus)

Monday
Arrive in Paris – CDG
From CDG, get on the N14 heading northwest towards Rouen. At Magny, head west towards Vernon on the D86, then the D37, and the D5.
Monet's Garden & Home at Giverny* Open 10-6 Closed Tuesday See GIVERNY in GG
If you are a fan of Monet, visit the gardens & his home. If you are not a fan, but you like gardens, there are much better gardens to be seen elsewhere. In fact, my wife thought that some of the plantings in the round-abouts on the highways were prettier.

Valee de la Seine***- see SEINE in GG
Take route # 1 in GG. Skip Vernon, and from Giverny, take the D313, then the D10 along the north bank of the Seine to Courcelles. Cross the Seine to Gaillon, and then follow the D65, D176 north & cross the Seine again to Les Andelys. As you pass through Les Andelys, check into your hotel & visit the town.
Chateau Gaillard** The chateau is pretty much a ruin, but it has a lot of history & the views are great. The town of Les Andelys**- has a great setting, but the town is just OK. The main section of town is actually a little north of the Hotel.

Continue on Route #1 in the GG on the northeast bank of the Seine. We did not visit Bonsecours**, but I remember this area being a little too industrial for me, so if it gets a little too shabby at this point as you get into the outskirts of Rouen, head back to Les Andelys

Hotel – Chaine d’Or in Les Andelys. The restaurant at the hotel is excellent.

Tuesday
Rouen*** see ROUEN in GG
Take the walking tour outlined in green in the GG, but skip the section around the Musee des Beaux-Arts (we didn’t find it charming). This is a beautiful city, but it is large & getting into the historic center can be a little hectic. Remember, shops close for lunch about noon, so get there by 9:30, so that you can pop into some shops that look interesting. This is probably my favorite large town in the Normandy & Brittany region. Lots of cross-timbered buildings & great churches.

Valle de la Seine (continued) see SEINE in GG
Take route #2 in GG
Leave Rouen & get on the D982 heading west towards Duclair. Just past Duclair, get on the D65 which runs south along the west bank of the Seine, and then loops back north.

Abbaye de Jumieges***-. The abbey is in ruin, but the setting is very nice.

Continue on route #2 towards le Havre on the north bank of the Seine, but only go as far as the bridge over the Seine near Tancarville (don’t go to Le Havre). Head towards Honfleur.

Honfleur**+ See HONFLEUR in GG
Beautiful port town. Very touristy, but there is a reason it’s full of tourists. See the Cote de Grace**, described in the excursions section about Honfleur in the GG.
Check into the Hotel, but don’t visit the town now – it’s quite crowded mid-day, so it’s best to explore the town in the late afternoon or in the morning

There are some very beautiful old resorts along the coast from Trouville to Cabourg. These “old style” resorts have lots of old Gothic/Victorian houses, so if you like to see this type of stuff, drive along the coast.. See DEAUVILLE “La Cote Fleurie**” in GG.

Hotel – L’Ecrin in Honfleur - 2 nights. See Michelin red guide for location of Hotel. Getting to the hotel can be a little difficult, but there is parking & the hotel is very helpful (I believe they speak English).

Wed
Pays d’Auge*++ see AUGE in GG
This is the Normandy countryside that makes this region famous. Follow the route in the Michelin guide. From Honfleur, head towards Pont l’Eveque (famous for cheese), and then get on the D48 heading south towards Lisieux. Skip Lisieux** and get on the D64 heading south from Lisieux. Follow the route described in the GG, circling back to Lisieux.

St Germain de Livet*+ may be closed in early Oct. If not - open 10-noon, 2-5 Mich says there is a guided tour, but we walked through on our own. This is a very pretty chateau

Once back at Lisieux, head west on the N13 to Crevecoeur en Auge (see CREVECOEUR in GG). This is an interesting Chateau*, although it’s more of a series of buildings where there are displays and films about Normandy Architecture.
Retrace your route east on the N13 to La Boissiere, and then head north on the D59, continuing to follow Route #1 in the GG back towards Cabourg.

Beuvron en Auge*+ Very pretty village. If you only want to spend 1 night in Honfleur, this might be a cute village to stay in. No hotels are listed in the Michelin guide, but I remember that there are a few there. We stayed close by at Chateau du Tertre outside of Falaise, and had an excellent meal at Fine Forchette in Falaise.

Suisse Normande** see SUISSE NORMANDE in GG follow the route outlined

Carrouges Chateau** See CARROUGES in GG open 10-noon, 2-4:15. Guided tour (in French). This is an extremely picturesque and interesting Chateau – don’t miss.

Return to Honfleur, or go on to Bayeux if you want to stay 1 night in Honfleur & 2 in Bayeux. We enjoyed staying in Honfleur more than staying in Bayeux

Thursday
D-Day beaches & museums see Jack’s write-up

Le Memorial** See CAEN in GG The Memorial is north of Caen (the museum is well marked on the north ring road around Caen – it is in an industrial park). It opens at 9:00 so get there as soon as it opens.
This museum explains the war and the conditions & events leading up to the war. In addition to the exhibits, there are 3 (maybe 4) films to see. Only the first two (I believe) are of any interest. The best one shows the D-Day events from both the Allied & German perspective (they are shown simultaneously on a split screen). Plan on 3 hours at this Museum (have lunch there in the cafeteria)

Pegasus Bridge+ See DEBARQUEMENT in GG. Visit the museum and try to attend an explanation of the British glider landings on June 5 and the capture of this important bridge across the Orne river.

British Landing Beaches (Sword, Juno, Gold) The British beaches are in an (over) developed area & not as haunting as the American landing beaches. You might just want to drive quickly through this area.

Arromanches See ARROMANCHES in GG
Musee du Debarquement – watch the film
360 Degree theatre
Walk along the beach & see the Mulberries up closely

Hotel – Chateau Sully or Lion d”Or in Bayeux

Fri
Bayeux**- A quick walk through town before viewing the tapestry.
Bayeux Tapestry*** open 9-6:30
Battle of Normandy museum (open 10-12:30, 2-6) – this museum was closed in ’05, but may reopen

German Batteries at Longues-sur-Mer see DEBARQUEMENT in GG

American landing beaches. See OMAHA BEACH in GG
Pointe du Hoc More German batteries

Ste Mere Eglise See STE MERE EGLISE in GG. I found this a little tacky & the museum wasn’t that great. My wife spent the summer of ’66 living with a French family while studying at a High School in St Brieuc, Brittany. While on a field trip to Ste Mere Eglise, the mayor of the town gave each American student a small piece of cloth that was clipped from the parachutes of the 82nd Airborne Division, who landed & liberated their village on June 6 – at great cost.

We did not visit Utah Beach.

Head out towards Mont St Michel, via Carentat, St Lo, & Villedieu.

Villedieu les Poeles (See VILLEDIEU) is a town that has hundreds of stores featuring copper things. We have purchased most of our cookware from stores in this town. It’s an OK town to visit, & perhaps a good place to stop before the Mont.

Hotel – Either in Villedieu les Poeles, or at any of the bland hotels just outside of Mont St Michel. The idea is to be near the Mont so you can get there early the next morning (or late today). Staying at a hotel on the Mont would be great too, but they are a little pricey.

Sat
Mont St Michel*** listed in both Michelin guides
GET THERE EARLY. It becomes a zoo after around 10:30. It is the most visited site in France. The Mont consists of a cathedral and a town below the cathedral. The cathedral opens at 9:00 and they have headsets you can rent (in English) that takes you through the interior. The best thing to do is to get to the town at 8:00 & tour the town before the hoards of tourists arrive. At 10:00, the shop keepers haul out the postcard stands & the toothbrush displays & the streets are shoulder to shoulder people. Some friends of ours got there late, saw the crowds, & left before even going in the village or visiting the cathedral. They drove hours to visit the site.

Stu Dudley

Thank you mms for your help regarding Bayeux and the sites - it helps to have somewhat of a time frame!

Thank you, Stu, for your itinerary. Your Provence/Riviera one was most helpful, and I am sure this one will be as well!

Odd things to think about or search on

Route de Fromage
Route de cidre
St Michael's is in Britany and is worth reading the threads here on how to avoid the crowds.

Agincourt (little known battle)
Harfleur
Mussels and chips
La Manche
St Mere Eglise
Falaise

I seldom argue with Stu but I found the St Mere museum very moving as I read the diary of a soldier waiting for the USA to arrive from the coast they literally filled each house with their dead one by one as the German's advanced

You really should get to Arromanche if you can. It is an important part of the d-day landing story. The museum and the 360 degree movie are in separate buildings. If time is short the museum should get priority.

It is also a nice little beach town.

Honfluer is good to visit. A couple of hours there is all that is needed.

bilboburglar--We too found the museum to be very worthwhile.

Just a couple of comments on StuDudley's itinerary:

On Villedieu-les-Poeles: It's more like a couple of dozen sellers of copper ware (and pewter) than hundreds; it just seem like hundreds! Villedieu is actually a very nice town, with many medieval features, more than usual for Normandy where so much was destroyed in the war. It's well worth exploring.

On Bayeux: For people who do not have a specialised interest, two hours is plenty of time to see the tapestry. The cathedral is also worth a visit.

On Sainte-Mere Eglise: I agree with the judgement. The nearby village of Sainte-Marie-le-Mont gives a better account of the airborne element of the Normandy invasion.

Small correction on Mont Saint Michel: it's an abbey church, and not a cathedral. Even when it's crowded, it's worth battling your way through.

We visited Normandy last summer. We were going to return our car in Chartres on our way back and then take the train into Paris. "Gretchen" on this board suggested we return the car to Orly and then take a cab into Paris. That was a very good idea! I was having trouble envisioning us getting all the stuff we had accumulated along the way onto the train.

I posted a trip report last summer. If you click on my name, it should come up.

Have a wonderful trip. We certainly loved ours!

Bilboburgler,

I hate to disagree with you but Batttle of Agincourt is VERY famous!
When the French lost 2000 men and the English lost 100?

Ever hear of Shakespear's Henry V? The St Crispin's Day speech? "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers".

Irony...

My hidden point is that normally people want to see (generalisation) WWII battle sites in Normandy. There are other battle sites some of which are worth a visit. For me the top three are

Agincourt
Crecy
Waterloo

Unfortunatley only the first is in present day Normandy

ttt

We spent a day in Etretat -- it is famous for its white cliffs - beautiful. It is worth climbing to the top of each for their view....

Agincourt is a "little known" battle?

How sad, if true.

I thought that the remark about Agincourt being a "little known battle" was intended as irony. Perhaps not.

At any rate, Agincourt, or as it is now known, Azincourt, is not in Normandy but in the Nord-Pas de Calais region. There's a small but interesting museum, and a few sign posts, but not much else. (No point in the French commemorating a celebrated defeat). It's easy, walking the battlefield, to imagine it as it might have been in 1415.

Thanks Stu for posting your segment. We're headed to Normandy the latter part of April and while we have our route generally planned, I'm going to use this information too.

If your priority is the Normandy beaches and WWII history, stop at Caen and visit the Normany museum (just off the motorway). It's about a two hour program and certainly makes the trip to the beaches and cemetery visits meaningful.

Thanks, all, for your help. I will look into all the places mentioned and see if we can come up with somewhat of a route.

The idea of dropping the car at Orly sounds like the best idea - thanks, Kansas (and Gretchen!). I enjoyed reading your trip report too.

The Route de Fromage and Route de Cidre sounds especially interesting. I wonder where I could find more information on where the specific route goes? Any suggestions?

Thanks again - I think we're getting it figured out!

Ok

1) My remark about little known was intended to be Ironic partially as many of the individual battles of WW2 tend to blur one into the other etc and due to the surprising lack of interest

You are right its not in Normandy so sorry I was wrong (too much history not enough geography). I would recommend the following site which may be of interest anyway

http://www.azincourt-medieval.com/

Fromage and cidre routes I picked up in a Normany Tourist office so I just surfed a bit and this link looks useful http://www.aboutnormandy.com/Top%20Ten/Visits.htm Of these i enjoyed the musee de la mer the best as they let you walk through a nuclear submarine and the fish tanks are pretty good

bookmarking