What to do in Normandy?

iKettles

iKettles

iKettles

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I'm going to Normandy next weekend and I'm just wondering if anyone's been and what there is to do/see? Preferably within 1-2 hours drive from Normandy.
 
Bayeux Tapastry
Omaha, Gold, Sword, Juno, Utah beaches. *D-Day beaches*
Bayeux War Cemetery
Le Memorial de Caen
In Rouen: Dames Cakes *YUM* The plague courtyard, drive the Rouen Grand Prix circuit - it's public roads
Pegasus Bridge
American Cemetery *9600 ish graves - absolutely huge*
Arromanches *Aka - Mulberry harbour*

I did a lot of the D-Day stuff last year for my birthday. Spend D-Day itself on Omaha beach. Really should get the photos sorted. Amazing places the beaches.

I did like how the french have used the german bunkers as foundations for their houses. :D Suppose it makes a great basement.

There is a vast amount to do in Normandy, it's just deciding what you want to do and getting there. I was busy for the entire week.

We stumbled across the Dames Cakes shop on Rouen and went and had a cuppa and a cake, only to find ot that it's one of the highest rated little cafe's in Normandy *their chocolate cake is fabulous!* 70 rue St-Romain ;)*
 
I was there on Tuesday afternoon, for the short space of time I was there (about 2-3hours) I saw a lot of stuff that interested me and I would love to go back for a few days to a week or so to really explore the history of the region. The batteries (Longues sur Mer) that remain intact are so obnoxious and daunting, but truly are great things to look at.

Pointe du Hoc is interesting to go see, however I do think that they should at least close off some of the craters to leave them the way they were when they were originally created.

A car is a very good idea to get around the different places, I don't know how you could you do it any other way as I didn't see too much in the form of public transport.
 
Flibster said:
Bayeux Tapastry
Omaha, Gold, Sword, Juno, Utah beaches. *D-Day beaches*
Bayeux War Cemetery
Le Memorial de Caen
In Rouen: Dames Cakes *YUM* The plague courtyard, drive the Rouen Grand Prix circuit - it's public roads
Pegasus Bridge
American Cemetery *9600 ish graves - absolutely huge*
Arromanches *Aka - Mulberry harbour*
Click to expand...
Good list, covered most of that when I went over for the 40th anniversary of D-Day in 1984. The American Cemetry is indeed immense.

There's plenty of stuff to see in Rouen - including the stake where Joan of Ark met an untimely end.
 
My mother lives near Volognes in Normandy so i know the area well and have done the usual tourist things.

The American Cemetery is truly moving. I was in tears when i first saw the sheer volume of crosses honouring the soldiers.
All the beaches are worth a visit for their sheer beauty as well as anything else.
The 360 degree cinema at Arromanches is also very moving and well worth a visit. My Grandfather who fought in World War II (albeit in Egypt) was moved to tears when watching that.

On the opposite coast, Mont Saint-Michel is worth a visit and heading North on the west coast, Nez de Joburg is worth a look for some stunning views and some rather cool cliff walks.

Dinan in Brittany (about another 30 mins drive south from Mont Saint-Michel) is a lovely town, full of history and amazing buildings. The small harbour at the bottom of the hill is extremely charming.
 
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As mentioned before - you HAVE to visit the American Cemetery - it completely blew me away at the pure scale of it - picture on the net just do it no justice at all.

Also as mentioned, Omaha beach - fantastic place - if you get a clear day with a bit of sunshine it makes for an wonderful day. One of the, if not the most beautiful beaches I have ever had the pleasure of visiting!

Also Bayeux - lovely town - beautiful beautiful scenery and the tapestry is very interesting!

No doubt you will have a good time :)

Chris
 
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I really don't want to step on people's toes and cause an upset but to me it's quite dissapointing that many people only mention Omaha beach when D-Day comes up, being British we have to remember the attacks that went down on Sword, Gold and even Juno (where the Canadians landed) beaches and not forget what they did. I guess it's because almost all hollywood films and games have concentrated mainly on Omaha and the fact that the attack didn't go to plan there.

Normandy is a great place to visit though.
 
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