The Normandy Coast
Not just for WWII buffs
Hello Explorer! So you’re off to Normandy. You might be a WWII buff (married to one) or just want to explore this amazing coast, either way you are in for a treat! It’s a beautiful region of France and you will not be disappointed.
I have been fortunate enough to visit Normandy on three separate occasions and each visit was more amazing then the last. The first time was while my family was living in Germany and I toured the region with our local chapter of the American Women’s club (we basically rushed through all the highlights), my second visit was a one day port call on a cruise, and finally a more complete tour with my husband who was interested in the WWII sites. Based on all these visits I compiled a “Best of Normandy” itinerary. I also consulted my husband as to what WWII sites should not be missed.
My itinerary travels from the west to the east but you could drive it either direction without much difficulty. Use the links to skip ahead if you like.
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Getting to Normandy
There are many ways to get into Normandy. As an American the most convenient is to fly into Paris, rent a car and travel throughout the area. You can also travel around utilizing the trains but after extensively researching it I recommend sticking with the rental car. There are just too many beautiful coastline views and WWII sites to enjoy with own vehicle. I also HIGHLY recommend coming to Normandy via a ferry or using the Chunnel from London. As an American living in the Midwest I have a strange fascination with alternate forms of transportation not readily available to me. My last trip to Normandy was an add on vacation after my husband’s business trip in London. We took an overnight Ferry across the channel Portsmouth-St. Malo and took the Chunnel back to London. It was fabulous!!
Disclaimer – Hotels, tour companies, and museum are linked throughout the text. These are the places we selected based on our internet research –no commission or referral was received by “fortunate to travel”.
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Spend the morning in St. Malo walking the ramparts, brousing the shops and enjoying some crepes (3-4 hours)
St. Malo
Saint Malo is a wonderful port city to the West of Normandy (actually in Brittany). Our overnight ferry from Portsmouth delivered us to the city in the early morning. After picking up a rental car at the ferry port we headed over to the Old town/walled city. We found spending half a day in St. Malo plenty of time. If you visit, find your way up on the ramparts and circle the town (45-60 minute walk). Then head into town to pick up a crepe or two (one of the best crepes I ever tasted was from a street vendor in St. Malo) Finally, brose a few of the shops and just enjoy the atmpshpere. In all honesty, St Malo was pretty touristy but I loved that was it wasn’t touristy for an "American tourist" or "Asian bus tour". Everything seemed to be geared for the French or European tourist who might be visiting the area on holiday. I found that very refreshing and enjoyable! From St Malo head east towards Mont Saint Michel!
Mont Saint Michel
Mont Saint Michel should be on everyone’s bucket list! This place has it all covered: natural beauty, history, cultural, architecture and I could go on and on! It is hands down one of the most amazing places I have visited. The foundation of the current Abby was built in 11th century on an out cropping of rocks within a tidal flat (a tidal island) but its history stretches back into 6th and 7th century. On and off from construction thousands of people have traveled to the Abby as part of a religious pilgrimage (and still do!).
One of the greatest appeals of Mont Saint Michel is its location on a tidal island. During high tide the Abby and the surrounding town become completely surrounded by water. It is incredible to watch the water come in and then recede back (1/4 or 1/2 mile) into the channel. For just this reason I encourage you to stay for at least one tidal change and if possible stay overnight on the island. You can check the tides here to help plan you’re visit.
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If you are really adventurous you can take a guided walk out into the tidal bay. However, if you go please go with a professional. When the water returns it does not return in a nice straight line (like waves on a beach), there are channels and low areas which fill and can trap you if you don’t know what you are doing.
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To initially reach the island you will need to walk out (or be shuttled out to the island) at low tide. From there you can start your climb up to the Abby. A cobble stone pedestrian path winds its way to the top. Along the way there are numerous tourist shops, a few restaurants and street vendors. I realize many people are not fond of these “touristy shops” and might consider them inappropriate or distracting but if you truly consider the history of the place (a former pilgrimage site) you realization that these vendors have always been here. Perhaps, their merchandise has changed from prayer books and hand craved wooden coins/trinkets and how its t-shirt and magnets. It's all just of a factor of the times we live in.
Once you past the "merchandized zone" the path leads you to the magnificent Abby (which you can tour for a fee). During my last visit, good audio guides were available for an additional cost and I really enjoyed the commendation (insider tip – bring your own headphones with an old style plug, you can plug them into the headsets and it’s so much more comfortable then holding up a head piece to your ear for the whole tour).
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Eating and Sleeping
Staying on Mont St Michel is expensive and the rooms go quickly. We were lucky and able to acquire a room at Auberge St. Pierre. Also note that I said “acquire a room”. I used this language because the hotels on the island may only have a few rooms in their main building and have others scattered across the island (as our room was). It all works out and we loved our stay. We selected a package deal that included a dinner and breakfast. This seemed to be very common as I researched different hotels. Also I can’t stress enough how fabulous it was to have the island to ourselves in the evening and early morning. We were lucky enough to have the tide coming in and the sun setting at the same time. We found a restaurant patio with a view and enjoyed some wine. (Notice the water in the photo above that was not present when we arrived on the island).
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When it is time to move on to your next destination, but please don’t rush down the highway and forget to look back. If your traveling east, take the backroads and travel along the coast. The views back to Mont Saint Michel are spectacular!
Bayeux
Bayeux is a beautiful French town and has plenty to offer. Most notably Bayeux is the home to the Bayeux tapestry and a launching point for WWII history.
Bayeux Tapestry
I can honestly say I had no idea what the Bayeux Tapestry was until I visited Bayeux. If you are as clueless as I was; I will fill you in. This famous tapestry was embroidered in the 11th Century and hung around the nave of a the Bayeux Cathedral. It depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England with William, Duke of Normandy, and Harold, Earl of Wessex (later King of England), and the culminating Battle of Hastings. The tapestry is renowned for its craftmanship (and honestly I think for its longevity). Although I am not a huge art or history buff I really enjoyed this little museum and the story of the tapestry. They do an excellent job of displaying and explaining the tapestry as well as moving people along so there wasn’t a "tourist traffic jam". Once you visit this museum you will be amazed at how often you see a likeness of the tapestry used. I run into it all the time on decorative pillows, bags and other objects. It’s so fun to be able to say, “I saw that in Bayeux”.
Top WWII Sites
Pointe du Hoc​
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Port Winston (man-made port created to supply the troops after D-day)
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Longues-sur-Mer battery (German Atlantic sea wall coastal fortification)
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Saint Mere Eglise (town where the airborne landed strategically behind the lines)
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Cemeteries – both the German and American, the contrast is so striking!
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Airborne Museum
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Beaches (Juno, Omaha, etc. – there really are not any WWII remnants left, just memorials, so visiting one beach is enough
You can spend weeks and weeks visiting all the WWII sites in Normandy if you have the time and interest, but as most of us have limited vacation time my advice is to schedule a full day tour with professional tour company, then fill in any additional sites from the list above not covered. We took a full day tour with Normandy-sightseeing Tours and thought they did a fabulous job! You get the benefit of an expert who is really passionate about WWII history and the Normandy area in general. They even pick you up in a van and drive you to all the sites (small group tours, we had 6 in our group). Almost all the WWII tour companies offer varying itineraries depending on your personal interest (airborne focused for example), if you don’t know your WWII history it can be hard to choose. My husband (and in house expert) recommends the sites listed above. He selected the Normandy-sightseeing Tour "E1" and we filled in the other sites on our own. For the non-WWII buff I found Pointe du Hoc and Port Winston the most interesting.
We had a great stay in downtown Bayeux where we could walk to everything. We stayed at the historic LE LION D'OR Hotel and out best meal of the whole trip was at Le Moulin de la Galette.
Honfleur
If you are searching for the prefect picturesque French harbor town, lined with colorful tall skinny buildings and numerous cafes, make sure to stopover in Honfleur. The heart of Honfleur is centered around the Vieux Bassin, a sapphire blue harbor filled with bobbing tall masked sailboats.
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There is much more to Honfleur then just the pretty harbor. If you can spend the day make sure to take in a few of its highlights. Top on the list would be Saint Catherine’s Church. Built by a maritime congregation the church is constructed of only stone and wood. The roof is truly unique and resembles an inverted ships hull (something very different from your typical European churches). Adjacent to the church is the maritime museum that chronicles the early life’s of this maritime settlement.
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To walk off all the cheese and crepes you have have been indulging in throughout the week take a hike up the Mont-Joli. Although the hike is not long it is very steep and will help you burn some calories. From the top you are rewarded with spectacular view of the Seine River and the bridge of Normandy and a overlook of Honfleur. Yes, you can drive to the top but we really enjoyed the views all the way up.
Finally before you leave Honfleur be sure to stock up on some delicious caramels. I wasn’t aware before visiting Honfleur but the town is exploding with salted caramel shops. Colorful displays of metallic wrapped caramels will tempt even those who aren’t fans of these bits of joy!!
Hotel: La Maison de Lucie
Sorry no restaurants that impressed us.
Etretat
Etretat is located on the north coast of Normandy to the west of Bayeux and Honfleur and is known for its striking chalk cliffs, similar to the white cliffs of Dover in England. The chalk has been eroded by the sea to created majestic arches in the cliffs which rises more than 200 feet above sea level. The natural beauty of the coast line here has long attracted artists such as Monet, and is popular with French tourists escaping to the sea for the weekend!
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The best way to enjoy the Cliffs of Etretat is to take stroll along the coast. If the tides are low you walk along the coastal line or if you don’t mind a few stairs you can hike up to the top of the cliffs for the spectacular views. There are staircases that lead up on either side of the beach/city. During our visit we strolled along the top of the cliffs heading to the east. A well maintained trail heads to the east and many spur trails jaunt off to the cliffs edge. While exploring one of these spurs we discover a man-made cave that must have been created during the war. The cave lead to a nice vantage point/lookout were we found remnants of a cement base for WWII artillery.
Rouen
Half timber houses, cobblestone streets and the oldest time piece in Europe all await you in the magical city of Rouen. The capital of Normany is worth a visit on any trip to the region. A day in the city is all you really need to take in the ambience but I would never tell you to cut your time short in this medieval wonderland.
A walking tour is what you need in Rouen. Depending on your personality you can go about this a number of ways. Hiring a private guide is always a good option but can be pricey. Group tours are great but never work for my family. My husband starts to Baa like a sheep (literally BAA BAA!) and my daughters want to stop in a pretty shops, so we are ill suited in a group. My favorite option is a self-guided tour. There are a number of options here: read aloud self guided tours (the best of the best would be in the Rick Steves book). An audio guided tour on your phone like GPS walks, or the audio guide from the city of Rouen (are are linked). Which ever you choice make sure you hit the highlights listed below as you travel though Rouen.
Top Rouen Sites
Gros Horloge (oldest timepiece
in Europe)
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Churches (Rouen Cathedral, Church of Joan of Arc)
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Place du Vieux Marche
(picturesque square great
for people watching)
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Plauge Cementary
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Cobble stone streets
(get lost in the city)
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My final advice when visiting Rouen --is to get lost! Turn your Google maps off and put your phone in your pocket (well ok, you can use it to take photos) and loose yourself in the city. Wander down those cobble streets, pop into the small ancient churches and buy a pastry from a corner shop. Modern technology will have you covered, when you have had your fill of the eye-candy Rouen offers click that GPS app back on and find your way back to your hotel or car.
Giverney - Monet Garden
Return - Paris or London
Our last trip ended on the trip through the Chunnel back to London but you could just as easily travel to Paris for your flight back. Either way I hope you enjoyed your time in Normandy - let me know how it went!
A paradise like nothing else, cobalt blue water filled with pockets of flowering lily pads and weeping-willows swaying across the pathways, sooth all your senses at Monet's Garden. It's no wonder Monet's work was so amazing with all the inspiration his garden provided. I promise a trip to Giverney to see this garden will be worth your time. Spending a few hours here touring the house and garden will make for a lovely morning or afternoon.
Hello!
My name is Tricia and I
have been fortunate to travel to amazing destinations with my husband Jamie. If you are enjoying our travel content and would like to send us a thank you (and perhaps buy us a coffee or glass of wine on our next trip) I invite you to join our Patreon. Happy Exploring!!
