Normandy, Brittany & the Best of the North_ With Paris (Fodor's) - Fodor's [28]
Grand Hôtel du Luxembourg.
$–$$ | The Luxembourg has small but adequate guest rooms, fully renovated with bland modern furniture but with chic color schemes; all but two face a courtyard garden. Happily, it has one of the town’s best restaurants, Les Quatre Saisons (closed January), set in a bright-red salon, with a seasonal menu and regular favorites like sole with vanilla and regional tripe. Depending on the time of year, choose the honey-roast ham with melted apples, or braised turbot with sage. Pros: quiet; central, fine restaurant. Cons: unprepossessing lobby; some rooms are on the dark side. | 25 rue des Bouchers | 14400 | 02–31–92–00–04 | www.hotel-luxembourg-bayeux.com | 25 rooms, 3 suites | In-room: no a/c, Wi-Fi. In-hotel: restaurant, bar, some pets allowed | AE, DC, MC, V | MAP.
THE D-DAY BEACHES
History focused its sights along the coasts of Normandy at 6:30 AM on June 6, 1944, as the 135,000 men and 20,000 vehicles of the Allied troops made land in their first incursion in Europe in World War II. The entire operation on this “Longest Day” was called Operation Overlord—the code name for the invasion of Normandy. Five beachheads (dubbed Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword) were established along the coast to either side of Arromanches. Preparations started in mid-1943, and British shipyards worked furiously through the following winter and spring building two artificial harbors (called “mulberries”), boats, and landing equipment. The British and Canadian troops that landed on Sword, Juno, and Gold on June 6, 1944, quickly pushed inland and joined with parachute regiments previously dropped behind German lines, before encountering fierce resistance at Caen, which did not fall until July 9. Today the best way to tour this region is by car. Or—since public buses from Bayeux are infrequent—opt for one of the guided bus tours leaving from Caen.
Bus Tours
In Caen, the Mémorial organizes four-hour English-language daily minibus tours of the D-Day landing beaches; the cost is €69, including entrance fees. Normandy Sightseeing Tours runs a number of trips to the D-Day beaches; a full-day excursion to the D-Day beaches (8:30–6) costs €75.
Fees and Schedules: Mémorial (02–31–06–06–44 | www.memorial.fr). Normandy Sightseeing Tours (618 rte. du Lavoir, | 14400 | Mosles | 02–31–51–70–52 | www.normandywebguide.com).
You won’t be disappointed by the rugged terrain and windswept sand of Omaha Beach, 16 km (10 mi) northwest of Bayeux. Here you can find the Monument du Débarquement (Monument to the Normandy Landings) and the Musée-Mémorial d’Omaha Beach, a large shedlike structure packed with tanks, dioramas, and archival photographs which stand silent witness to “Bloody Omaha.” Nearby, in Vierville-sur-Mer, is the U.S. National Guard Monument. Throughout June 6, Allied forces battled a hailstorm of German bullets and bombs, but by the end of the day they had taken the Omaha Beach sector, although they had suffered grievous losses. In Colleville-sur-Mer, overlooking Omaha Beach, is the hilltop American Cemetery and Memorial, designed by the landscape architect Markley Stevenson. You can look out to sea across the landing beach from a platform on the north side of the cemetery. | Musée-Mémorial d’Omaha Beach, Les Moulins on ave. de la Libération, Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer | 14710 | 02–31–21–97–44 | www.musee-memorial-omaha.com | €5.90 | Daily Feb. 15–Mar. 15, 10–noon and 2:30–6; Mar. 16–May 15, 9:30–6:30; May 16–Sept. 15, 9:30–7; Sept. 16–Nov. 15, 9:30–6:30.
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