Normandy Visit base suggestions

[Hap]

I’m looking for a good location to base ourselves, for a long weekend trip to visit the WW2 beaches and memorials. I don’t know the area at all.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a decent small town, with good bars and eateries? Three of us going - just after a quiet beer and nice food, in interesting and nice surroundings.

 

[tonybiriyani]

Arromanches is a really nice, very touristy so may be expensive.
There's quite a few small towns between there and Caen, we have been to Lion sur Mer a couple of times which might fit in with what you're looking for.

 

[Norman_Conquest]

I’m looking for a good location to base ourselves, for a long weekend trip to visit the WW2 beaches and memorials. I don’t know the area at all.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a decent small town, with good bars and eateries? Three of us going - just after a quiet beer and nice food, in interesting and nice surroundings.

There was someone else asking this a while back, I will try and dig that thread out for you.

 

[Norman_Conquest]

Here you go - Easier to link this than go through it all again. If you are driving and will visit France again, I would suggest you get an Emovis Tag.

D-day landings visit

Thinking about visiting some of the beaches and key areas re the d-day landings plus the Somme in the spring. Has anyone done something similar and do you have any advice? What about hotels and how far would you recommend that we travel each day? Are there any must go’s? Thanks

fmttmboro.com

Emovis Tag UK

Travel without stopping on European Motorways. Emovis Tag UK can provide UK customers with a tag for automatic payment of motorway tolls in France, Spain & Portugal.

www.emovis-tag.co.uk

 

[Norman_Conquest]

When are you going?

I have visited Normandy on a few occasions and stayed in different parts to suit what we were doing. The last time we went to visit the battlefields was at Christmas time and we stayed close to Sainte Mer Eglise but felt the town was contrived around the American Parachutist. It was easy enough to get around most sites but it was very quiet due to the time of year.

I would message pierrequiroule for info, he lives in France and is also a historian. I'm not sure if this is field but I am sure he will be willing to help.

 

[jeff_potato]

We stayed at a caravan site near Cabourg early in the summer. Lots of villages around there and it was under an hour to Bayeux, with all the bunkers and sites in between.

Cabourg was a lovely town on the seafront and plenty of cafés, but it may be a bit gusty to sit outside at this time of year.

It was also an hour south to Falaise castle, which is good for any fans of Norman conquest.

 

[atypical_boro]

Ypres

 

[Hap]

Here you go - Easier to link this than go through it all again. If you are driving and will visit France again, I would suggest you get an Emovis Tag.

D-day landings visit

Thinking about visiting some of the beaches and key areas re the d-day landings plus the Somme in the spring. Has anyone done something similar and do you have any advice? What about hotels and how far would you recommend that we travel each day? Are there any must go’s? Thanks

fmttmboro.com

Emovis Tag UK

Travel without stopping on European Motorways. Emovis Tag UK can provide UK customers with a tag for automatic payment of motorway tolls in France, Spain & Portugal.

www.emovis-tag.co.uk

Thanks for doing that.

 

[pierrequiroule]

I would message pierrequiroule for info, he lives in France and is also a historian. I'm not sure if this is field but I am sure he will be willing to help.

Historian? I wish. Don't know where you got that from Norman. ;-)

Like Zoophonic on the other thread I'd suggest Bayeux, although I've never stayed there myself - we usually get gîtes in the middle of nowhere. Nice little town of about 10,000 inhabitants at a guess, about 5 miles from the coast and centrally placed for a lot of the landing beaches . Plenty of places to eat, particularly if going off-season. Most tourist-focused eateries in the smaller coastal towns will already be closed. And there's the tapestry of course.

 

[Hap]

Ypres

Love Ypres, been half a dozen times. This is a new project for us.

 

[Norman_Conquest]

Thanks for doing that.

When are you thinking of going?

 

[Hap]

When are you going?

I have visited Normandy on a few occasions and stayed in different parts to suit what we were doing. The last time we went to visit the battlefields was at Christmas time and we stayed close to Sainte Mer Eglise but felt the town was contrived around the American Parachutist. It was easy enough to get around most sites but it was very quiet due to the time of year.

I would message pierrequiroule for info, he lives in France and is also a historian. I'm not sure if this is field but I am sure he will be willing to help.

Easter I would think, or soon after. Planning stages atm.

Edit: not during the school holidays, reading comments on the earlier thread

 

[Norman_Conquest]

Historian? I wish. Don't know where you got that from Norman. ;-)

Like Zoophonic on the other thread I'd suggest Bayeax, although I've never stayed there myself - we usually get gîtes in the middle of nowhere. Nice little town of about 10,000 inhabitants at a guess, about 5 miles from the coast and centrally placed for a lot of the landing beaches . Plenty of places to eat, particularly if going off-season. Most tourist-focused eateries in the smaller coastal towns will already be closed. And there's the tapestry of course.

I'm not sure where I got that from but sure you once told me you worked in museums, etc. or have I made that up?

 

[Hap]

Ypres

We were back in Ypres earlier this year. I love the place. Also down to Loos where our relative was wounded too.

 

[Norman_Conquest]

Easter I would think, or soon after. Planning stages atm.

Edit: not during the school holidays, reading comments on the earlier thread

If you are crossing by the tunnel, remember you can boost your Tesco vouchers for 2 x the value of them against the cost of your tunnel crossing. It use to be 3 x the voucher value but Tesco have changed that.

 

[pierrequiroule]

Easter I would think, or soon after. Planning stages atm.

In that case it might be better to be based in a town like Bayeux. The coastal towns can be really quiet off-season and there's no guarantee there will be many places open, but obviously will vary from town to town. We were staying at Merville-Francheville the other side of Ouistreham in the last week of June, and half of the seafront restaurants were still closed.

 

[Hap]

In that case it might be better to be based in a town like Bayeux. The coastal towns can be really quiet off-season and there's no guarantee there will be many places open, but obviously will vary from town to town. We were staying at Merville-Francheville the other side of Ouistreham in the last week of June, and half of the seafront restaurants were still closed.

Thanks Pierre. That’s useful to know.

 

[Norman_Conquest]

In that case it might be better to be based in a town like Bayeux. The coastal towns can be really quiet off-season and there's no guarantee there will be many places open, but obviously will vary from town to town. We were staying at Merville-Francheville the other side of Ouistreham in the last week of June, and half of the seafront restaurants were still closed.

We visited the Battery at Merville which is linked on the other thread and well worth it. We went to go back on our visit at Christmas and it was closed - very little open in the area.

I read the book (The Day the Devils Dropped In) prior to our visit and it gave a great insight into the events that took place at the battery.

Edit: I meant to say that it is easy to get to Pegasus Bridge from here.

 

[Hap]

We visited the Battery at Merville which is linked on the other thread and well worth it. We went to go back on our visit at Christmas and it was closed - very little open in the area.

I read the book (The Day the Devils Dropped In) prior to our visit and it gave a great insight into the events that took place at the battery.

Edit: I meant to say that it is easy to get to Pegasus Bridge from here.

I didn’t appreciate Pegasus Bridge was there tbh. That’s a great shout.
I‘ve a bit of a blind spot in my knowledge there. I thought incorrectly that was part of Market Garden and in Holland.

 

[jeff_potato]

I've just remembered that I have also stayed at a nice place on the outskirts of Bayeux.

Chateau Bellefontaine, we went during a February half term and it was very cheap for a nice place to stay. That was over 10 years ago, but it will still be cheaper at the time you're planning to go.

I'd also recommend reading Antony Beevor's book about D Day and the battle of Normandy.