Getting to the white chalk cliffs and natural arches of Étretat in Normandy is easy by car or by bus from Le Havre with public transportation from Paris by train and bus taking less than three hours. Flixbus has direct seasonal buses from Paris to Etretat. Etretat with its white cliffs and three natural arches … Read more
Top tips when visiting Le Mont St Michel: buy tickets online, visit early morning or late afternoon, and travel light
Getting to Mont St Michel is possible on public transportation but driving and day-trip tours from Paris are easier.
A large German war cemetery near Mont St Michel — the ossuary at Huisnes-sur-mer — has the graves of 12,000 German soldiers who died during the Battle of Normandy in the Second World War. The German Ossuary at Huisnes-sur-Mer near the hugely popular UNESCO World Cultural Heritage listed site of Mont St Michel in Normandy, … Read more
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 in Normandie, France. These natural wonders are freely accessible, as … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more