" Caen France where to go June 4/5 Normandy" Topic

2 days in Caen France have car where to go June 4th & 5th Normandy. Hi My Wife and i are getting a car as all the tours are booked so where to go to see the WW2 WWII sights of Normandy. Need help. thanks Barry

Hmmm, you can swim in to do a little clearing of the beaches for mines (or sunbathers, more likely), and other obstacles, or try parachuting in behind them, at night to cause confusion in the enemy's rear.

Of course, I doubt the wife will go for either option, so perhaps someone else will have a better answer.

Still, worth considering to get at least a partial feel for the invasion.

Have a great trip!

My 2 cents:

Day 1: Drive over to Pegasus Bridge and see the British Airborne Museum. Then on to Merville Battery and see that. Then back to Sword Beach and either drive from there along the shore to Juno and Gold, or drive back towards Caen and see the German strongpoint at Hillman.

Day 2: Drive over to Omaha Beach and see the defenses there, then look at the US cemetary right above the bluffs. Look down at the beach and wonder how the heck the troops ever got up from the shore. Then drive over to Point du Hoc and wonder even more. If time, drive over to Saint Mere Eglise and see the US paratrooper museum.

In either case, get one of the good guide books (I used Major and Mrs. Holt's and that worked out well). Whatever you see you will LOVE it as the area is every WW2 buff's dreams. Don't worry about missing out on the tours. Doing it yourself is very doable. Have fun and take lots of pictures. Come home and think about what you want to see the NEXT time you go!

Make Bayeux your base.

Bad timing. If you'd been there the week before I'd have taken you round for beer! ;o)

I'd go with PzCdr's itinerary. If you've got time you could also add the revamped museum at La Madelline, on Utah Beach and the unspoiled bunker complex on the beach (just north of the General LeClerc memorial Sherman tank, which is just north of La Madelline).

The Grand Bunker Museum in Ouistreham is also excellent for getting the German viewpoint.

I wouldn't recommend the 'Centre Juno Beach' at Courseulles – it's highly overrated and almost devoid of actual artefacts. You can always read and look at computer screens for free at home – it's not what I want from a museum. I would however, stop for a free cider tasting at the roadside stall just as you pass the entrance to the Centre Juno Beach, heading for Gold Beach. Make sure you try Pommeau, which is one of the local tipples – a cross between cider and calvados.

The Battle of Normandy Museum in Bayeux is also one I'd avoid. It used to be great, but Georges Bernage withdrew his collection from the museum some years ago and it's a relatively empty shell compared to what it used to be (though still much better than the Centre Juno Beach). However, I would park there and walk to the Bayeux Commonwealth War Cemetery. There's also an excellent LeClerc supermarket just beyond the cemetery if you want to stock up on wine, cheese, etc.

If you're basing yourself in Bayeux, you MUST go to see the tapestry. It's often open late in the evening, which is handy. For reasonably-priced but good restaurants, I'd recommend Le Drakkar on the main street and one I've forgotten the name of, but it's on the little cobbled square in front of the cathedral – at your 10 o'clock if you stand with your back to the cathedral front door. There are also lots of expensive restaurants up by the cathedral, as well as a gaggle of cheap'n'cheerful ones on the main street.

I also second the Bayeux Tapestry – it's one of a kind.

Point du Hoc is also interesting.

In Caen if you look closely at some of the period buildings you can still see shell holes/battle damage.

I second de Ligne,

Bayeux is beautiful.

For the quick tour of Normandy.

1) Pegasus Bridge

2) Omaha & Point du Hoc

3) Ste. Mere Eglise

Driving in Normandy is pretty easy, but get a road map.

Oh, and make sure you buy a couple of 'Normandy Passes' – most of the attractions mentioned above are included in the scheme (the Grand Bunker is the only one I'm aware of that isn't). You can buy them at the museum ticket desks for 1 Euro each and you then get 10% off all museums and attractions involved in the scheme.

I'd also add that when you go to the Merville Battery, make sure you see the Son et Lumiere in Casemate No.1 – it's epic!

Is there still a museum at Arromanches? I remember going when I was a kid.

Good point. I think it's possibly a different museum, as I believe the current one only opened in 2004, but the Musee du Debarquement at Arromanches is superb – brilliant working models of the Mulberry components.

Hi.We have a hotel in Bayeux. I was wonding if there was a tiger tank in the area outside. Thanks for the advice. Barry

R Mark Davies wrote:

The Battle of Normandy Museum in Bayeux is also one I'd avoid.

I think you're being a bit hard on it there.

The new set up isn't a patch on the old (which was superb) but it's still better than most of the other museums in the area.

Derek,

If it was in an area with no other museums, I'd agree that it is ok as military museums go. However, the Memorial Pegasus, Musee du Debarquement, Grand Bunker, Merville Battery, US Airborne Museum and the revamped Utah Beach museum are all far better. There are also plenty of other things to see that are better than wasting an hour there.

Ooo! One more thing I'd add to the itinerary is the Longues-sur-Mer Battery at Arromanches. It's also free and open-access, so you can visit in the evening.

UW,

There is a Tiger tank in Normandy, but it's a good way from Bayeux – about 1 hour 15 minutes – at Vimoutiers. To get there, take the motorway to Caen, then follow the Peripherique Sud and take the motorway to Falaise. Get off the motorway at Falaise and take the road to Trun. At Trun, turn left at the crossroads in the middle of town to Vimoutiers. At Vimoutiers, turn right into the main square and continue through the town, heading SE towards Conde. The Tiger tank is about a quarter of a mile out of town, on the SE Conde road. It's open-access and free (it is literally parked at the side of the road).

PDF link

TMP link

Concur with the battery at Longues-sur-Mer. This is really neat AND easy to get to. Good call!

Mark R Davies wrote:

However, the Memorial Pegasus, Musee du Debarquement, Grand Bunker, Merville Battery, US Airborne Museum and the revamped Utah Beach museum are all far better.

I'd agree that all of those are better than the Battle of Normandy Museum (except for the Utah beach museum which I haven't visited but is on my list for next time).

But it's still better than most of the museums in the area, there's hundreds of the things and some of them are truly awful :-)

And if you're staying in Bayeux you've got to visit it, if only to see the Hetzer parked outside.

I remember reading somewhere that Georges Bernage was looking to find somewhere else to display his collection – is there any news on that front?

That's very true, there are some poxy little museums, as well as quite a few that might be good, but never seem to be open. The Falaise collection looks might it might be interesting, but it always seems to be shut and the building seems to be disintegrating!

The Hetzer's great, but it post-dates Normandy, so is a strange choice! :o)

As I said, the museum car park is the best place to park for the cemetery, which is very firmly on my must-visit list. You'll see the Hetzer, Sherman, Churchill Crocodile and M10 during the walk from the car park to the cemetery, so you don't really need to go into the museum for those.

Yes, I've read that but I've not heard if the Bernage collecion ever found a home.

Just to recap; my itinerary would be:

Day 1:

Memorial Pegasus & Pegasus Bridge

Merville Battery

Cafe Gondree at Pegasus Bridge (because they probably won't be open during your first pass)

The Grand Bunker (aka Atlantic Wall Museum), Riva Bella, Ouistreham

Sword Beach (Hermannville-sur-Mer)

Juno Beach (The Canada House at Bernieres-sur-Mer)

Gold Beach (The Green Howards' 'shed' at Ver-sur-Mer)

La Musee du Debarquement & cafe stop – Arromanches

Longues-sur-Mer Battery

Bayeux CWGC Cemetery (and museum if you feel like it and have enough time)

Bayeux Tapestry if there's time

Day 2:

Omaha Beach East (Colleville-sur-Mer Beach) – walk up to WN-62 strongpoint and 1st Division Memorial, as it will give you an excellent impression of what it was like to land and attack the bluffs. There are lots of bunkers and semi-preserved trenches. The first trench/MG position you pass when climbing the hill is where two 19 year-old German conscripts, with a single MG-42 and 20,000 rounds of ammunition caused shocking damage n 1st Division's landing.

Omaha Cemetery – you can either walk in from WN-62 or drive round.

Omaha Beach West – drive round to Les Moulins and drive along the beah to Vierville-sur-Mer. This was the scene made famous by Saving Private Ryan and General Cota's exhortation to the Rangers to 'Lead The Way!' The pier is a surviving piece of Mulberry 'A'.

Pointe du Hoc.

Ste Mere Eglise & the Airborne Museum. The car park on the square will be closed and filled with stalls if it's market day, so drive to the far end of the square (past the Airborne Museum) and park in the cattle market, which always has plenty of space.

Utah Beach – La Madelline & Utah Beach Museum.

Utah Beach – drive north from the museum and park at the Sherman tank (Division Leclerc Memorial). Walk to the beach and turn left onto the dunes. There are lots of bunkers still in situ here and the windblown dunes often expose German barbed wire, telephone cables and the like. But please watch out for adders and unexploded ordnance!

Well I'm off to Normandy. As it's just me and my dad this time, we're going to recce out some places I've not been to, so I'll let you know if anything interesting pops up.