[coconutmama]

Originally Posted by wikolia

has anyone from The Villages been over to Normandy?...suggestions please for what you really loved about this trip?...Merci!....

We did a 3 night stay in Bayeux & did full day tours through Viator in 2022. One full day for the beaches of Normandy, the American cemetery, the Airborne Museum and the town of Saint-Mere Eglise. The cemetery tour was in time for Taps. Very moving even though the music was recorded. Highly recommend. The bravery and sacrifice so many made was something we should all appreciate

The second day we did Mont St Michel. Made it walking all the way to the top. Fabulous trip

Don’t forget to stop in Bayeux to see the Bayeux Tapestry

[Singerlady]

We planned our own tour. Took the train from Paris to Bayeux . Stayed in a B& B. Took a tour with Gold Beach tours. Supposedly a lot of tour guides want to work with this company. It was top notch and our guide, David! Was super! We’d go back in a heartbeat.

[Taltarzac725]

How do they treat Americans with a very thick cheesehead accent? My French is not all that good. Took a few years of it in the late 1970s at the University of Nevada, Reno but could not make head nor tails of what the French speakers have been saying in various locations since. These people need subtitles .

[jerryss]

We are going at the end of a Greenland cruise on aug 22.

We’re booked with this group. viator.com

Staying in bayeux. Going to mont st michel the next day, then to Monets Giverney on the way to Paris and back to the villages

[lawgolfer]

Originally Posted by wikolia

has anyone from The Villages been over to Normandy?...suggestions please for what you really loved about this trip?...Merci!....

Very moving trip. The cemeteries are beautiful. You'll come away with a recognition of the sacrifices that were made by our country. I found it interesting that, while many of today's Europeans seem to have no appreciation of our sacrifices, those in the Normandy area are different. There is a genuine affection for Americans which is more than simply wanting our tourist dollars.

Do your best, if physically able, to walk the beaches. First, buy a book with a collection of photographs and try to find locations where you can compare the current scene with those taken in June, 1944. Do the same at the other locations on the guided tours.

Have lunch at one of the cafes in Arromanches and look at the remains of the Mulberry caissons that made up the harbor on Gold Beach. These were one of the great engineering feats of the war. The docks were broken up in a storm and scattered around the bay. However, they have been left where they came to rest.

[Taltarzac725]

Mulberry harbours - Wikipedia

For your information.

[wikolia]

Originally Posted by lawgolfer

Very moving trip. The cemeteries are beautiful. You'll come away with a recognition of the sacrifices that were made by our country. I found it interesting that, while many of today's Europeans seem to have no appreciation of our sacrifices, those in the Normandy area are different. There is a genuine affection for Americans which is more than simply wanting our tourist dollars.

Do your best, if physically able, to walk the beaches. First, buy a book with a collection of photographs and try to find locations where you can compare the current scene with those taken in June, 1944. Do the same at the other locations on the guided tours.

Have lunch at one of the cafes in Arromanches and look at the remains of the Mulberry caissons that made up the harbor on Gold Beach. These were one of the great engineering feats of the war. The docks were broken up in a storm and scattered around the bay. However, they have been left where they came to rest.

Gold Beach...this would be where my Father landed...so I thank you for this info...would love to see it all but this would be my main focus....

[bmcgowan13]

Originally Posted by npwalters

We did it as a part of a cruise. We spent a little over 7 hours there. It is a very pretty area that still remembers WW2 and the US part in it. They are friendly to Americans which is not always the case in France.

We were there in August of 2024. It was a very emotional trip; I have family buried in the American cemetery. About 2-3 miles from the coast I was struck by how many private homes are *still* flying (full sized) US, Canadian and Great Britain flags. All flying from flag poles on the front of the homes.

Very moving experience. The French (at least along the coast) are still extremely grateful for the sacrifices made by these countries.

Well worth the effort to get there...

[wikolia]

Originally Posted by coconutmama

We did a 3 night stay in Bayeux & did full day tours through Viator in 2022. One full day for the beaches of Normandy, the American cemetery, the Airborne Museum and the town of Saint-Mere Eglise. The cemetery tour was in time for Taps. Very moving even though the music was recorded. Highly recommend. The bravery and sacrifice so many made was something we should all appreciate

The second day we did Mont St Michel. Made it walking all the way to the top. Fabulous trip

Don’t forget to stop in Bayeux to see the Bayeux Tapestry

side note:...the Tapestry will be at the British Museum in Sept. I was going anyway to see Catherine of Aragon's gold necklace....(wow)....