Normandy trip

Juzek

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I'm planning a trip to Normandy in May so does anyone have suggestions how to spend a couple of days with Bayeux as a hub? Looking for recommendations for museums, historic sites, tours, and tips for getting around.
 

Michael Dorosh

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I'm planning a trip to Normandy in May so does anyone have suggestions how to spend a couple of days with Bayeux as a hub? Looking for recommendations for museums, historic sites, tours, and tips for getting around.
It's an incredibly broad question. I've been three times now and there is so much to see it would depend on what your interests are in order to prioritize. The cemeteries are all very moving - the American cemetery at Omaha Beach is monumental and almost celebratory, while the German cemetery at La Cambe is stark and sombre. Commonwealth cemeteries are beautifully kept. Not everyone is into cemeteries though.

There are a number of good museums - the airborne museum at Ste. Mere Eglise comes to mind - and some are easily missed (Juno Beach Centre).

The Longues Battery will take you back in time. The Pegasus Bridge site and museum is good, though the original bridge has been moved into the museum grounds. Both times I was there we were either low on time or the museum was closed - researching where you want to go ahead of time, and having a plan, will pay dividends.

Two days will seem like no time at all, so you may want to stay local - see the Mulberry at Arromanches, Abbey Ardennes near Caen, and there are some surviving beach defences (if you know where to look) on Juno, Gold and Sword.

Best recommendation - buy the Battlefield Europe books which are marvelous tour guides and historical studies.
 
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Bayeux itself has a good memorial museum : https://www.bayeuxmuseum.com/musee-memorial-de-la-bataille-de-normandie/

Of course, stepping out of WW2, do visit the Bayeux tapestry about Bill the Conq's invasion of England : https://www.bayeuxmuseum.com/la-tapisserie-de-bayeux/

Caen has a good memorial museum : https://www.memorial-caen.fr/

Ranville has the Pegasus bridge museum : https://musee.memorial-pegasus.com/fr/
You can walk on the D-Day bridge, which was displaced to the museum site when it was replaced by a larger, albeit similar one.
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Arromanches has a nice museum, including a presentation of the Mulberry artificial harbour : https://www.musee-arromanches.fr/accueil/index.php
You can even see elements of the concrete blocks on the seaside.
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Oh, and if you have a chance, I visited this place last June during the 75th anniversary of D-Day workup:


Just east of Caen, or south of Trouville-sur-Mer where we were staying. Nice little museum experience showing the history of Calvados (both the region, and the drink). You walk through a number of recreated scenes - an apple orchard, a distillery, etc., and at the end of the tour you enter a little brandy bar where the bartender lets you sample Calvados of different vintages and shows you the difference between the good stuff and the cheap stuff. Doing this tour was one of my favorite memories from the trip.
 

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I would recommend seeing the Bayeux Tapestry too, it also has a famous battle scene on it too, just to tie this post into the others. (When I saw it in 1994 it was wonderfully displayed in a cavern like room with very low lighting, while the tapestry itself was beautifully lit, and one walked around in an arc to view it in its entirety. Not sure how they have it now. So as the resident GS medievalist this is on your homework assignment. You will be quizzed on it next time I pay you.)

Oh and keep an eye out when in the country side on the water towers...some are disguised to look like old castle ruins, or crenelated, so as to blend into the landscape more. Nice touch that I thought.

Pont du Hoc is worth a visit, you can (or could in 1994) walk around the gun emplacements and into the old shell craters, plus the view towards Omaha is note worthy.

I second Michael's recommendations on the cemeteries, well worth your time.
 
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I was only in the area for half a day so was pressed for time but I will second the recommendation for the US cemetery, incredibly moving. I also enjoyed Pointe du Hoc and seeing the plaque dedicated to future Texas A&M president James Earl Rudder (whose heroics I had never heard about)

 

Michael Dorosh

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So as the resident GS medievalist this is on your homework assignment. You will be quizzed on it next time I pay you.)
Oooh....you could make this into a real scavenger hunt, too. Bonus points if he finds the beach-front bunker with the 75mm Sherman round still embedded in the front of it.
 

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Visit Omaha beach at low tide. Walking from the waterline to the hillside is a sobering experience. Then visit the cemetery. I can’t fathom how those heroes did what they did.

I had the same experience on Iwo Jima looking down at the beach from the top of Mt. Suribachi. I’m Air Force and have immense respect for my Army and Marine brethren.
 

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A series of very good recommendations are noted above.

Another stop I enjoyed is the church in Angoville-au-Plain. The story is covered in the book Angels of Mercy by Paul Woodadge (www.ddayhistorian.com).

The remains of German strongpoints are also interesting. WN 62 is one and it is located just east of the American cemetery.
 

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A series of very good recommendations are noted above.

Another stop I enjoyed is the church in Angoville-au-Plain. The story is covered in the book Angels of Mercy by Paul Woodadge (www.ddayhistorian.com).

The remains of German strongpoints are also interesting. WN 62 is one and it is located just east of the American cemetery.
I’ll second this one. My family and I had the opportunity to visit Angoville-au-Plain and it was a surprise highlight of the trip.
 

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Thanks for all the suggestions! We won't have time to do all of these but it gives me some ideas how to plan our trip and prioritize.
 

Michael Dorosh

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Thanks for all the suggestions! We won't have time to do all of these but it gives me some ideas how to plan our trip and prioritize.
Please post some pics for us when you get back. Eager to hear your impressions.
 

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I stayed there in 97 when I spent a week in the area. A good hub. You will need a car if you want to maximize your time, although things might have changed in the last 20 years.
We spent one day focused on each beach, going to museums and beach/countryside things. At one point was in a farmers field looking at a bunker (near Omaha), saw the airdrop re-enactment in Ste Eglise, was at Pegasus bridge the night of June 5th to see a very moving celebration.

I was moved by many of the local residents and some of my interactions. We forgot it was Sunday and didn't even think about things closing when we were near Ste Eglise. We needed to eat and found a bar/restaurant with lights on in the bar. When I asked about potential food the owner asked - are you American? after saying yes he told us to wait. In minutes the lights in the restaurant portion were on and he ushered us in for dinner. I should not have been surprised. Earlier in the day while watching the airdrop I commented to a couple from California we had met at the hotel and gave a lift to that we would never see 10-12 year old boys getting autographs from veterans in America, maybe Michael Jordan. A French women in front of me overheard, turned around and spoke in very good English with her finger gesturing at me "We teach our children, we will never forget!"

A vacation and experience I will never forget.
 

Michael Dorosh

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I was moved by many of the local residents and some of my interactions. We forgot it was Sunday and didn't even think about things closing when we were near Ste Eglise. We needed to eat and found a bar/restaurant with lights on in the bar. When I asked about potential food the owner asked - are you American? after saying yes he told us to wait. In minutes the lights in the restaurant portion were on and he ushered us in for dinner. I should not have been surprised. Earlier in the day while watching the airdrop I commented to a couple from California we had met at the hotel and gave a lift to that we would never see 10-12 year old boys getting autographs from veterans in America, maybe Michael Jordan. A French women in front of me overheard, turned around and spoke in very good English with her finger gesturing at me "We teach our children, we will never forget!"
Great story,thanks for sharing this. We had a similar experience in Clair Tizon where the whole town came out to offer thanks to our Canadian tour group. When I did a military burial at Vimy in 2017 (they found two men from my regiment that had been missing since Arleux in April 1917), the local French veterans group provided a volunteer honour guard. Which is why it pisses me off to no end when I see people cutting down the French with their little surrender monkey jokes. Your stories just reinforce how well former allies are treated - the closer you get to where they are buried, the better they treat you. I wish I had the opportunity to pay back, honour French valor at places like Bir Hacheim, Stonne, Ouistreham etc., Anyone visiting a French military cemetery will be struck by the scale of their sacrifice.
 

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Which is why it pisses me off to no end when I see people cutting down the French with their little surrender monkey jokes. Your stories just reinforce how well former allies are treated - the closer you get to where they are buried, the better they treat you. I wish I had the opportunity to pay back, honour French valor at places like Bir Hacheim, Stonne, Ouistreham etc., Anyone visiting a French military cemetery will be struck by the scale of their sacrifice.
Very well said.
The French 'surrender monkey' jokes are an ugly and tiresome stereotype, especially when perpetrated by people who claim to have an interest in military history.

Just imagine the outrage if the same type of ignorant 'humor' was voiced with regards to the fall of Bataan and the surrender of Corregidor.
 

Robin Reeve

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Which is why it pisses me off to no end when I see people cutting down the French with their little surrender monkey jokes.
Indeed.
Even evoking 1940, the casuality toll of the French was equivalent to WW1's.
And no need to ask where the Americans were fighting the Axis - not speaking of the Germans - before December 7, 1941...
 
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