We will be taking a day trip to Normandy during our 10-day visit to France. We will be driving from Paris, then back to Epinay Sur Orge (south of Paris) for the night, heading toward Dijon the following day.
Is 6 hours enough time to budget for the main d-day sights (American Cemetary, Omaha beach, etc.)? It looks as if the sights are relatively close together and we will have a car. We will be taking a quick side trip to St. Lo (about 1/2 hour away?) either on our way to or from the beaches.
I realize this is a lot to pack into one day, however, the rest of our trip will be spent in the eastern/southern areas of France and these sights are a %26quot;must-see%26quot; for us.
Much thanks!
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For comparisons I will share our experience.
We had a car. We started at the Caen Peace museum about noon on one day. Were able to see also that day the Pegasus Museum before driving to our hotel and having dinner. After dinner we took a walk along Gold Beach.
The next day we visited Arromanche and the 360 theater. We had a short stay to look at the mulberry harbor, but it was foggy so couldn%26#39;t see much, didn%26#39;t have time for that musuem. Visited the Longues Battery, which we felt was very worthwhile.
Then we took some time for Bayeux and visited the Tapestry and Cathedral before heading over to Omaha beach. We spent more time at the new visitors center at the US military cemetary than expected but it was excellent and I highly recommend giving yourself enough time (we took about 2hours). Then toured the cemetary and heard taps and watched the flag come down.
We drove on to the memorial right on Omaha beach, then over to Point du Hoc where we were astonished at the size and number of craters still existing.
And lastly we drove to Utah Beach. The sun set around 10pm and it was light for a little longer. Obviously at Point du Hoc and Utah beach we could not visit the museums.
So we got a good taste of the D-day beaches in a day and a half and could have spent twice as much time wtihout any trouble if we had visited more of the museums.
You will find it takes longer than you expect and that there is more to see than you know about till you get there.
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Six hours may get you a drive by but it is not enough time in my opinion. At a minimum, you need to go to the cemetary, Vierville sur Mere and Pont du Hoc. I also recommend the musem near Bayeux where they have artifacts recovered from the sea including a couple of rare double drive tanks. Along the way there are several smaller private museums you may want to visit. And you have to take the time to actually walk on Omaha Beach, look up at the bluffs and try to imagine what it must have been like. Go to Vierville sur Mere and stand on the gun emplacement at the beach and imagine trying to cross the beach in front of that thing. In the summertime, parking is sometimes limited and you have to be patient and wait for a space. But you need to spend enough time at the cemetary to stroll and take in the entire grounds and may be look for friends and relatives. Pont du Hoc is much as it was on June 7, 1944. It is full of bomb craters and destroyed gun emplacements. Walk to the edge and look over and try to imagine climbing that cliff. I also recommend you drive over to St Mere Eglise and see the parachute musem.
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You may think everything%26#39;s close together but the D-Day beaches extend 80km (50 miles) along the Normandy coast. My husband is actually doing a D-Day tour tomorrow for some of our American guests and in order to get in St Mere Eglise, the airborne museum, Utah beach, Pointe du Hoc, Omaha Beach and the US cemetery and brand new visitors centre (an absolute must) he is giving them a full day tour (9am to 6pm) which should allow about an hour at the airborne museum and a visit to either the museum at Utah or the one at Omaha but not both, and then allowing a good 2 hours at the cemetery to take both that and the unmissable visitors centre in. We live just outside St Lo. St Lo to Omaha is about 35 minutes but why exactly do you want to fo there? It was a strategic objective for the US army and took many weeks and lives to take but it was 98% flattened by the allies and although I now love it because I live there, it is a concrete town created in the late 40s and 50s and not that attractive. I would suggest that this may be a waste of valuable time to visit unless you have a specific reason.
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Thanks all the helpful input!
Thiaumerie - we are going to St. Lo because my boyfriend%26#39;s uncle died there during the war and it seems important to him to see the town. He understands that this isn%26#39;t a big tourist destination and that we will more than likely just be driving through it.
It just may end up that we spend more time at the beaches and sites that we may not even make it there (as he%26#39;s a big history buff.....not so much for me, although I can appreciate it). I%26#39;d rather have a nice meal and shop for some local specialties (cheese, cheese, cheese and Calvados among others) as a break from the heavy history lessons.
My guess is that we%26#39;ll get there between 11- 12 and will want to leave around 7pm. We fully intend on revisiting at a later date, but as this is our first trip to France (his first trip abroad), we just wanted an %26quot;introduction%26quot; to the area, if you will.
Again, thanks for your comments.......additional recommendation are always appreciated!
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%26quot;...a break from the heavy history lessons...%26quot; Sigh.
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Flourgal, if you%26#39;re doing this trip on a Saturday then there is a great market in St Lo, which means you can all get what you want out of the trip! If you do come back to the area look us up in the reviews on this site if you want somewhere to stay!
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After just returning from France and Italy, I can honestly say that if you only have 6 hours for this and are driving (instead of using the train) on his first trip to Europe, do not even bother. Normandy to me (been to Europe several times) rates higher than most other areas in France, outside of Paris. My wife, who is not a history enthusiast, and I took a one day guided tour of the American sectors, and we both felt that was just an overview at best. Beyond the WWII areas, there is much more to see, do and enjoy. I would suggest taking a day out of somewhere besides Paris, and adding a night here. As I stated, my wife is not a history buff, but found herself crying a few times in hearing the stories and seeing the sights related to the extreme sacrifice of this place.
AS a side note, I had the best meal of a two week trip in Bayeux. Very good eating in Normandy.
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