The island abbey on Mont St Michel is one of the top sights to see when visiting Normandy and Brittany in France. The abbey, ramparts, and old town are historical and cultural highlights but avoid the other tourist traps and restaurants. Mont Saint Michel is one of the most picturesque historical sights to see in France. Medieval Mont St Michel abbey famously perches on … [Read more...]
Transportation to Mont St Michel in Normandy
Public transportation to Mont St Michel in Normandy is increasingly a sensible alternative to driving, cycling, and day-trip bus tours. Bus and train combinations from Paris are sensible options for many travelers on day and weekend trips too. Getting to Mont St Michel with its magnificent medieval abbey on the border of Normandy and Brittany is easiest by car. Mont St … [Read more...]
See the White Chalk Cliffs and Arches at Etretat in Normandy
The white cliffs and three natural rock arches of Etretat are some of the best-known sights in Upper Normandy in France and a popular day-trip destination. Etretat is famous for its three natural arches and white chalk cliffs that tower high over the Atlantic Ocean. These natural wonders are freely accessible, as is the white pebble beach. Claude Monet and other Impressionists … [Read more...]
Transportation to Etretat in Normandy
Getting to the white chalk cliffs and natural arches of Étretat in Normandy is easy by car or by bus from Le Havre with good train connections to Paris. Flixbus has direct season buses from Paris to Etretat. Etretat with its white cliffs and three natural arches is hugely popular with day-trippers and holidaymakers. Étretat is easiest reached by car but public … [Read more...]
Visit Saint Ouen – a Huge Gothic Abbey Church in Rouen
The High Gothic Church of St Ouen in Rouen with marvelous stained-glass windows and a magnificent Cavaillé-Coll organ is even bigger than Rouen cathedral. The former Benedictine abbey (abbaye) church of St Ouen in Rouen, Normandy, is one of the jewels of Gothic architecture. Many bishoprics would be honored to have such a church as a cathedral but in Rouen, it plays a … [Read more...]
Visit the Bayeux Cathedral in Normandy
Notre Dame de Bayeux is an interesting Gothic cathedral with an 11th-century Norman-Romanesque core dating from the times of William the Conqueror. The Romanesque-Gothic cathedral of Bayeux is not the oldest, largest, or most impressive cathedral in France but it has a beautiful interior and a history that makes it well worth seeing. Most of the visible parts of the … [Read more...]
See the Bayeux Tapestry and Museum in Normandy
The Bayeux Tapestry is one of the greatest medieval artworks. It depicts the story of Harold, William the Conqueror, and the Norman conquest of England in 1066. One of the greatest artworks of the Middle Ages is the Bayeux Tapestry. This 70-m long embroidered cloth is a political statement par excellence. It tells the story of Harold, earl of Wessex and briefly king of … [Read more...]
Visit the German Battery at Longues-sur-Mer in Normandy
The Batterie allemande near Bayeux in Normandy is a well-preserved German coastal defense battery with four guns used on D-Day still in place. Longues-sur-Mer on the coast of Normandy near Arromanches and Bayeux has the only German coastal defense battery classified as an historic monument on the D-Day landing beaches. The British and French navies silenced the four … [Read more...]
Visit La Pointe du Hoc in Normandy
The capture of Pointe du Hoc by US Rangers was one of the most heroic acts on D-Day. The bomb-scarred terrain and battery are open to visitors. The cliff top German gun battery at Pointe du Hoc was one of the prime Allied targets at the start of D-Day on June 6, 1944. US Rangers heroically scaled the 100-foot-high coastal cliffs to capture the battery and hold the high … [Read more...]
Visit Rouen Cathedral – Gothic at its Best in Normandy
The magnificent Gothic Rouen Cathedral has the tallest church spire in France and a wealth of art, history, and architectural details. Rouen Cathedral (La cathédrale primatiale Notre-Dame de l'Assomption de Rouen) is one of the most impressive Gothic churches ever built. Construction dragged on for three centuries allowing all forms of the Gothic spectrum from early to … [Read more...]
Visit the Bayeux War Cemetery with British and Commonwealth Graves
The Bayeux Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery in the Normandy is the largest Second World War British military cemetery in France. The Bayeux War Cemetery, with the graves of nearly 5,000 soldiers, is the largest Second World War cemetery of British war casualties in France. The cemetery has the graves of nearly 4,000 British soldiers but also graves for … [Read more...]
Visit the Battle of Normandy Memorial Museum in Bayeux
The Musée Mémorial Bataille de Normandie in Bayeux is one of the best D-Day Landing / Operation Overlord museums to see in Normandy, France. The Battle of Normandy Memorial Museum (Musée Mémorial Bataille de Normandie) in Bayeux covers the invasion of France by the Allies in June 1944 from the D-Day Landings to the end of the Battle of Normandy. The museum has a large … [Read more...]