Bonjour~ Husband %26amp; I have 10 days to spend in Normandy this October. We will have a car. We want to take a relaxed tour and drive mainly on scenic drives along the coast for example and inland on smaller roads. Don%26#39;t want guided tours. We will be based in a small coastal village named Vauville. We want to do day trips as well as over night trips. Will do some of the big sights - Mont St. Michel, Canadian cemetery at Juno, and some cities and larger towns: Honfleur, Rouen etc.. But I would like the opinion of travellers and residents of places that would be otherwise unknown to us. Experience the small and interesting villages, stay at rural B %26amp; B%26#39;s, and as one poster put it - hear the voices of french people!
Any advice is very appreciated! We are looking forward to exploring this part of France very much.
Thanks.
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I was working on a post that was getting quite long, so I%26#39;m going to split it up according to some of your interests.
Rural B%26amp;Bs:
We stayed at the Chateau de Colombieres, which is inland from the beaches a bit, about 10 min from Isigny, 20 min from Grandcamp-Maisy (which is where we had dinner). The chateau is very pretty, complete with a moat! We stayed in a suite, as there were three of us. The bedroom was in a turret, which was pretty neat, and there was a large living room attached, with a fireplace. The chateau was apparently used for printing propaganda during WWII, and the owner, who is very interested in the chateau%26#39;s history, has put together an exhibit about that. He also gave us a tour of some of the other parts of the chateau.
When we returned to our room to settle in, we found a nice fire in the fireplace, perfect for the cooling October afternoon, and he brought us a bottle of champagne and some nuts. Very relaxing! We enjoyed breakfast at the chateau the next morning before beginning our D-Day tour. I%26#39;d definitely recommend this one.
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I assume you mean Vauville near Deauville, and not Vauville near Cherbourg. Great location for Honfleur, Caen, Rouen, Bayeux, Etretat and Pays d%26#39;Auge. If you can push further west on the expressway, go to La Hague (I have lots of photos at www.mynormandy.com) - west of Cherbourg, and Barfleur/St-Vaast east of Cherbourg. La Hague is an area with a wild coastline of high cliffs and small harbors, Barfleur and St-Vaast are picturesque fishing villages.
The cathedral in Coutances is my favorite in Normandy. Very sober Gothic style.
Have a great trip.
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If you%26#39;re interested in Monet, he did a lot of work in Normandy. We did a driving tour of this one afternoon (we didn%26#39;t stop everywhere, unfortunately). We did stop in Etretat for awhile- Monet had done some paintings of the cliffs, and the elephant%26#39;s tusk here. Words can%26#39;t do the scenery justice, but it%26#39;s quite something. I%26#39;m almost positive that this is also where we saw signs for a goat farm selling all sorts of goat products-- cheese, goats milk chocolate, ice cream made from goat milk, etc. The goat cheese was among the best I%26#39;ve ever had (rivaled only by some goat cheese I%26#39;d purchased at a market in Annecy)--unbelievably fresh, creamy, smooth, and light as a feather.
If you%26#39;re thinking about Giverny, we went in October and the gardens were still in bloom. We hired a private guide for an hour and a half tour, and found that really enjoyable.
When you%26#39;re heading to Mont St Michel, you may want to consider picnicking along the way-- we had some extra food left from the previous day%26#39;s picnic, so we stopped in Avranches, which is the last big town near the Mont, and supplemented what we had with some chicken, frites, sausages, and pastries that we collected in the town and had a picnic right near the Mairie.
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For Giverny in October, you want to call ahead to see if the flowers are still blooming because it%26#39;s not always the case. I was there at the very end of October, and when I got to the entrance, they were running a discount rate because of %26quot;frost,%26quot; which really meant the flowers have all wilted.
I went to the American Cemetery and it%26#39;s well worth the trip. Honfleur is worth 1/2 day to 3/4 of a day just to wander around and have a great seafood lunch. Etretat is well worth another 1/2 day as well.
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Thanks so much for the great info everyone.
Yes grandcopais, the Vauville we will be staying at is the one near Cherbourg. I%26#39;m told it is a very small village. Barfleur/St-Vaast are both on my list to see.I want to dive into a plate of seafood. Also Etretat, it does look beautiful, it all does. Some of the other destinations you all mentioned will be overnight trips.
I%26#39;m not sure if we%26#39;ll get to Giverny. If time permits, we will.
Thanks again for the help msp203. I will certainly check out Chateau de Colombieres. It sounds wonderful especially on a brisk mid October day. Fine wine, fine food, a great room with a fireplace -how romantic. I can%26#39;t wait to go! Don%26#39;t hesitate to give any more advice - I love it.
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Anytime! I got tired last night, so I saved D-Day for today.
The owner of the chateau gave us a booklet which I believe is produced by the Normandy Office of Tourism. They%26#39;ve arranged the various D-Day/WWII Normandy campaign sites, museums, etc, into five driving tours, and have posted corresponding signs around the area. We used that book as a guide to create our own tour, but it%26#39;s a good reference for sites and museums. The only drawback is that it doesn%26#39;t post opening times (as we discovered when we tried to visit a restored German battery museum near Utah Beach, only to find it closed).
I can%26#39;t remember if you%26#39;d mentioned reading up on D-Day or if that was someone else. If you haven%26#39;t, you%26#39;ll definitely want to. Ambrose%26#39;s D-Day book is good (as is Band of Brothers, though D-Day is only a part of that book), and Ronald Drez compiled interviews with the veterans from the Eisenhower Center (called Voices of D-Day), which is also interesting.
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Hello - I live here %26amp; work here near Cherbourg... one of the things I give to our guests is a suggested day out which makes sense of the invasion beaches and suggests where to go what to see and where to stop to eat, which museums to see... otherwise it can end up as very baffling...we are near Ste Mere Eglise so do suggest start the D Day beaches from there %26amp; Utah Beach - I am more than happy to send you a copy of this if it would help.
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How did you find a place in Vauville, it%26#39;s just past the end of the earth! You%26#39;re probably too far for day-trips east of Caen, but there is plenty to see in the Cotentin peninsula. Explore the back roads around Jobourg, the Baie d%26#39;Ecalgrain, Port-Racine. Further south, don%26#39;t miss Carteret, the abbey church in Lessay, the cathedral in Coutances. Valognes has a very nice cider museum. Have a meal at La Malle aux Epices in Auderville, and at the Auberge de Goury. For a fancier meal, try La Marine in Carteret. And take your walking shoes!
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Budget a good two hours for the Juno Centre museum, which is excellent. It does a wonderful job w/ Canada%26#39;s role in the war. Brief beach tours are also given by Canadian students.
(As to Ambrose%26#39;s D-Day book: don%26#39;t spend any money on that one, it is rubbish. As a Canadian you%26#39;ll be especially offended by the author%26#39;s blatant American biases.)
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Hi grandcopais: Well, some friends have a house there and they have graciously let us stay for the 10 days. I could use a little %26quot;end of the world%26quot; right about now! And, we do have a car and plan for some over night trips. Thanks for the tips and eating spots. Will look into them for sure with my comfy walking shoes on my feet!
ohnonanette: Thanks for the offer! You can send it to me by using TA%26#39;s send a private message. Thanks very much. Really appreciate it.
xxrrttyy: I am looking forward to the Juno Centre museum very much and will take note of how long it will take. We%26#39;ll leave early and probably stay over the night.
Thanks again everyone. Only 1 month to go!
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