Normandy for 1 week , must places to visit and where to stay

[Speleo62]

hi
we have had to change our plans from NC 500 and are now off to Normandy middle of June. Would like advice on the must places to visit. War graves etc and good aires/sites to stay. Granny Jen any good tips??

 

[Hotel California]

Not fully regarding Normandie but we went allong the Normandie coast from Belgium to the Mont Saint Michel (just in Brettanie) and stayed in a few nice spots...
Read here

https://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/trip-to-le-mont-saint-michel.12066/#post-118341

 

[GrannyJen]

Honfleur, a huge Aire with hook up points, by a mega yacht basin and just so much fun. Eminently reachable on day one, an easy drive from the tunnel.

Bayeux, park up in the market square, the tapestry is amazing, the town is amazing, the food is amazing.

The beaches are a must. Provincial camp site at oustreham, a short walk from pegasus Bridge. The campsite is a bit dismal, although it was a dark, wet and windy October night when I was there, but brilliant for Sword and Juno and Pegasus bridge museum is a must.

A couple of campsites around omaha beach, the American museum is good, the American Cemetery poignant and evocative. Unfortunately the thousands of American visitors also make it one of the most expensive places in Normandie.

Do go to port en bessin, not for the pretty harbour and overpriced restaurants but for the walk up to the point where 47 Commando fought one of the most spectacular actions of the D Day landings. Read up on one of the many stories about operation Aubrey, then follow the path taken by Captain Cousins. Undoubtedly he deserved a posthumous VC and why he never got it remains a mystery.

You can go to Rouen. Good luck. The place is a nightmare. I only went to look at the Cathedral and to follow the trail of William of Normandie, I wished that I hadn't bothered!

 

[Speleo62]

Honfleur, a huge Aire with hook up points, by a mega yacht basin and just so much fun. Eminently reachable on day one, an easy drive from the tunnel.

Bayeux, park up in the market square, the tapestry is amazing, the town is amazing, the food is amazing.

The beaches are a must. Provincial camp site at oustreham, a short walk from pegasus Bridge. The campsite is a bit dismal, although it was a dark, wet and windy October night when I was there, but brilliant for Sword and Juno and Pegasus bridge museum is a must.

A couple of campsites around omaha beach, the American museum is good, the American Cemetery poignant and evocative. Unfortunately the thousands of American visitors also make it one of the most expensive places in Normandie.

Do go to port en bessin, not for the pretty harbour and overpriced restaurants but for the walk up to the point where 47 Commando fought one of the most spectacular actions of the D Day landings. Read up on one of the many stories about operation Aubrey, then follow the path taken by Captain Cousins. Undoubtedly he deserved a posthumous VC and why he never got it remains a mystery.

You can go to Rouen. Good luck. The place is a nightmare. I only went to look at the Cathedral and to follow the trail of William of Normandie, I wished that I hadn't bothered!

Thank you Granny Jen, I hoped you would give us a good starting point with all your knowledge of history and France. We will start reading up. Thanks to HC too, will read your link tonight

 

[GrannyJen]

Thank you Granny Jen, I hoped you would give us a good starting point with all your knowledge of history and France. We will start reading up. Thanks to HC too, will read your link tonight

Honfleur is a very pretty town with a nice waterfront, lots of yacht basins, a wonderful cathedral, great nightlife and a chequered history. Often overlooked as people head for the beaches, the Cotentin peninsular or to get ruined in Rouen.

Cotentin itself is interesting, Cherbourg boring but then the RAF did the town planning for them in 1944 so not a lot of history, inland is pretty but I like the coast, and Calvados.

Naturally Caen does not have a lot of old buildings and it's almost unavoidable if visiting the beaches, or coming off the beaches as Montgomery found out, and personally I find it quite unattractive, unlike Bayeux which miraculously came out of WW2 virtually unscathed.

 

[ArunAlec]

Agree with GJ, Honfleur is well worth a visit and If I recall in Oustreham there's an Aire on the seafront 2 minutes from the ferry.

 

[MattBW]

Arromanches is well worth a visit, in my biker days we stayed at a wonderful farm house with an English guy who had moved there. http://www.normandybeach.co.uk/
This is where the Mulberry harbours were landed and remnants are still visible. Good seafood if you like that kind of thing and a museum. Is close to Pegasus Bridge, Ryes and various d day landing beaches. Friendly town too.

 

[Bellcrew]

Agree with GJ, Honfleur is well worth a visit and If I recall in Oustreham there's an Aire on the seafront 2 minutes from the ferry.

I have seen a number of campers parked next to the marina in Ouistreham, users can presumably get code/shower tokens from the marina office.

 

[BillyCasper]

Arromanches and the Mulberry harbour. Campsite close to centre.

Bayeux fine British cemetery, D-Day museum and tapestry.

St. James fine US cemetery.

St.James, Armorlux factories for nice Breton sweaters and pea coats.

Modules, frites and cider.

I also like Le Havre, a massive working port, but the design and build quality of the post war new town centre shows up the likes of Basingstoke and Milton Keynes


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[Alibee]

Spent a few nights here in August 2015, loved it:

http://www.camping-lecolombier.com/