Normandy, Brittany & the Best of the North_ With Paris (Fodor's) - Fodor's [11]
Unless you have a car, the D-Day beaches are best visited on a bus tour from Bayeux. Public buses are rare, although Bus No. 75 heads to Arromanches and Bus No. 70 goes to Omaha Beach and the American cemetery (summer only). However, Bus Verts du Calvados (www.busverts.fr) offers a “Circuit Caen-Omaha Beach” route that connects many of the D-Day sights.
As for guided tours, Normandy Tours (02–31–92–10–70 | www.normandy-landing-tours-hotel.com), which carries up to eight in its minivan, leaves from Bayeux’s Hotel de la Gare.
The guides are walking encyclopedias of local war lore and may be flexible about points interest to you. The half-day tours (€40) are available all year in English.
In addition, other Bayeux-based tour outfitters include D-Day Tours (02–31–51–70–52 | www.normandywebguide.com), with half-day tours (€50) and full-day tours (€80). Battlebus (02–31–22–28–82 | www.battlebus.fr) has a full-day extravaganza (€85).
FINDING A PLACE TO STAY
Dining and Lodging Price Categories (In Euros)
Restaurants
Hotels
¢
under €13
under €65
$
€13–€17
€65–€105
$$
€18–€24
€106–€145
$$$
€25–€32
€146–€215
$$$$
over €32
over €215
Restaurant prices are for a main course at dinner, including tax (5.5%) and service; note that if a restaurant offers only prix-fixe (set-price) meals, it has been given the price category that reflects the full prix-fixe price. Hotel prices are for a standard double room in high season, including tax (19.6%) and service charge.
Accommodations to suit every taste can be found throughout Normandy, from basic bed-and-breakfasts to the most luxurious hotel.
Even in the ultraswank resorts of Deauville and Trouville it is possible to find delightful and inexpensive little vacation spots.
Prices are ratcheted up in summer along the coast, so be sure to book ahead, especially on weekends when half of Paris heads to the seaside.
Many hotels are closed in winter. In the beach resorts the season runs from the end of April to October.
The region’s two largest cities, Rouen and Caen, are not among France’s best-served when it comes to high-end hotels.
To stay the night on Mont-St-Michel is a memorable experience, but be sure to reserve your room weeks in advance.
VISITOR INFORMATION
If traveling extensively by public transportation, be sure to load up on information (Guide Regional des Transport schedules, the best taxi-for-call companies, etc.) upon arriving at the ticket counter or help desk of the bigger train and bus stations in the area, such as Rouen, Deauville, and Caen. The capital of each of Normandy’s départements—Caen, Évreux, Rouen, St-Lô, and Alençon—has its own central tourist office.
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Air Travel | Bike and Moped Travel | Boat and Ferry Travel | Bus Travel | Car Travel | Train Travel
AIR TRAVEL
Paris’s Charles de Gaulle (Roissy) and Orly airports are the closest intercontinental links with the region.
There are flights in summer from London to Deauville. Year-round service between Jersey and Cherbourg, which sits at the northern tip of the Cotentin Peninsula, about 90 minutes’ drive from Bayeux.
Rouen airport has direct flights to Lyon and Montpellier.
Airport Information: Caen (02–31–71–20–10). Cherbourg (02–33–88–57–60). Deauville (02–31–65–65–65). Rouen (02–35–79–41–00).
AIR CARRIERS
Air France flies to Caen from Paris.
Ryanair flies to Deauville and Dinard (in Brittany, 56 km [35 mi] west of Mont-St-Michel) from London’s Stansted Airport.
Airlines and Contacts: Air France (08–02–80–28–02 for information | www.air-france.com).
BIKE AND MOPED TRAVEL
Traveling with your bike is free on all regional trains and many national lines; be sure to ask the SNCF which ones when you’re booking.
BOAT AND FERRY TRAVEL
A number of ferry companies sail between the United Kingdom and ports in Normandy.
Brittany Ferries travels between Caen (Ouistreham) and Portsmouth and between Poole/Portsmouth and Cherbourg.
The Dieppe-Newhaven