Help With Trip to Normandy Beaches

[alphie5002]

I am going to France in March to participate in a Study Abroad opportunity through my University. It is a short trip but it will allow me to spend one full day around the invasion beaches. I have never been there before and the amount of things to see and do in the area is overwhelming. I don't want to waste anytime so I thought that I would ask what are the must see things while I am there. I know that I would like to see the beaches , bunkers, etc. I apologize if I have listed this in the wrong section, if so please move it to the appropriate category.

[Johan Willaert]

If you can, work with http://www.battlebus.fr

 

You will NOT regret it... You will see so much more...

 

They have a great one day tour, called American Highlights... Takes you to all significant US related places...

[gpw_42]

With only one day, the only thing I'd say is a MUST see is the Normany American Cemetary, located above Omaha Beach. The rest will be driven by your interests: airborne or leg? Infantry or Armor? Battlefields or museums or monuments? US, Commonwealth or German? At some point, you'll have to decide if you want to "drive by" lots of places, or do 1-3 places more "in-depth." You'll get lots of opinions, but you've got to be able to live with it.

 

Johan's suggestion sure sounds interesting, too...

 

Do a search on the Forum - there's at least one other thread like this out there.

 

Good luck - this will be a real highlight for you.

 

Steve

[General Apathy]

If you can, work with http://www.battlebus.fr

 

You will NOT regret it... You will see so much more...

 

They have a great one day tour, called American Highlights... Takes you to all significant US related places...

 

Hi Alphie, I live in Normandy near St Mere Eglise and I have a knowledge of the distances between things to see. So I would suggest you take on board Johan's suggestion for Battlebus, English run company with English tour guides so no language problems or translations to attempt.

 

From the far tip of Utah beach to the far tip of Omaha beach with Pont du Hoc in between and a large estuary it is about 30 to 40 kilometres of beach front. Two museums at Utah beach, two museums at Omaha, two at St Marie du Mont, one at Carentan, monuments here there and everywhere, bunkers need someone to guide you to these

 

Then add to that you need to dip inland six kilometres from Utah beach if you want to see St Mere Eglise ( paratrooper John Steele on the church spire) also one of the largest museums in Normandy ( 2 - 3 hours here ) two large building one with C-47, one with Waco glider and ALL the clothing and equipment you would want to see.

 

Again perhaps you would want to also see, St Marie du Mont ( band of Brothers monument outskirts of the town plus two small museums ) Carentan, both of these towns like St Mere Eglise are some six kilometres inland from the beaches.

 

If you are only here for one day then you have to see the American cemetery above Omaha beach ( 2 hours here easily ) you will be taken aback, as these are the graves of the men that made Normandy world known in 1944. :thumbsup:

 

With a max of 8 to 9 hours good daylight around the date your coming then I can say you will not see everything, even with guidance. :think:

 

Even if you had your own vehicle, you would not know direct and best routes from place to place, or what to see and what to miss dur to time constrictions.

 

You will enjoy your time here though whatever you achieve, but don't leave dissapointed that you didn't see everything in one day.

 

Cheers Lewis

[alphie5002]

If you can, work with http://www.battlebus.fr

 

You will NOT regret it... You will see so much more...

 

They have a great one day tour, called American Highlights... Takes you to all significant US related places...

 

 

I checked out the website and sent them an email. I think that this is my best option. I really appreciate the advice Johan and Steve.

[alphie5002]

Hi Alphie, I live in Normandy near St Mere Eglise and I have a knowledge of the distances between things to see. So I would suggest you take on board Johan's suggestion for Battlebus, English run company with English tour guides so no language problems or translations to attempt.

 

From the far tip of Utah beach to the far tip of Omaha beach with Pont du Hoc in between and a large estuary it is about 30 to 40 kilometres of beach front. Two museums at Utah beach, two museums at Omaha, two at St Marie du Mont, one at Carentan, monuments here there and everywhere, bunkers need someone to guide you to these

 

Then add to that you need to dip inland six kilometres from Utah beach if you want to see St Mere Eglise ( paratrooper John Steele on the church spire) also one of the largest museums in Normandy ( 2 - 3 hours here ) two large building one with C-47, one with Waco glider and ALL the clothing and equipment you would want to see.

 

Again perhaps you would want to also see, St Marie du Mont ( band of Brothers monument outskirts of the town plus two small museums ) Carentan, both of these towns like St Mere Eglise are some six kilometres inland from the beaches.

 

If you are only here for one day then you have to see the American cemetery above Omaha beach ( 2 hours here easily ) you will be taken aback, as these are the graves of the men that made Normandy world known in 1944. :thumbsup:

 

With a max of 8 to 9 hours good daylight around the date your coming then I can say you will not see everything, even with guidance. :think:

 

Even if you had your own vehicle, you would not know direct and best routes from place to place, or what to see and what to miss dur to time constrictions.

 

You will enjoy your time here though whatever you achieve, but don't leave dissapointed that you didn't see everything in one day.

 

Cheers Lewis

 

 

Lewis,

 

I really appreciate your insight. You are a great asset to this forum. If I had more time in St Mere Eglise I would buy you a beer.

 

Thanks,

 

 

Jonathan

[HolyHappiness]

I personally loved Pointe du Hoc more than anything there. I really got that "feeling" out there with all the craters and bunkers still in place. That spot brought me closest to imagining what it was like to have been there.

[General Apathy]

I personally loved Pointe du Hoc more than anything there. I really got that "feeling" out there with all the craters and bunkers still in place. That spot brought me closest to imagining what it was like to have been there.

 

 

Hi, I am not trying to detract from your visit, things are as you see them at the time that you are there, it's a bit like your grandfather trying to tell you what war was like, you can't picture it as you weren't there, so the comments below are my way of telling you what it was like when I first went there.

 

Wish I could put my hands on my photographs of how ' wild and untamed ' it was thirty years ago just as it had been left at war's end, you would have got the ' feeling ' then as we did. :think:

 

I don't recall when they civilised it with laid out car parks, toilets, pathways, safety rails and stairways to the bunker tops, flowers, bushes and tree bark, but the magic faded somewhat from when it was open and just wild abandoned battleground.

 

Cheers Lewis

[General Apathy]

 

Lewis,

 

I really appreciate your insight. You are a great asset to this forum. If I had more time in St Mere Eglise I would buy you a beer.

 

Thanks,

Jonathan

 

Hi Jonathan, I can only tell you of the things I have seen, I have been visiting this area for thirty years and lived here the last two, and there's still much I have not seen, and much that I wish was still the same as I first saw over the years. :think:

 

Attached poscard of Utah beach in 1974, the square oblong building in the centre is the original German bunker that the museum was built around. The whole scene is totally different now, the bunker has dissappeared to inside a massive modern glass fronted building, it holds a lot more than it did in 1974 when this photo was taken. All the sand in the photo has long ago been covered in tarmac and brick blockwork

 

Thanks for the offer of the beer, a very kind offer but you will have better things to see in one day than sit and drink beer with me, but maybe on your next visit. :thumbsup:

 

Cheers Lewis

[hbtcoveralls]

Johnathan,

Ken's right Battlebus is the best bet. I was first there in '99 and again in 2006 and the change is really noticable, becoming more "touristy" all the time. It's really not surprising when you realize just how many people make the pilgrimage there each year. In '06 we met an entire bus load of American high school students at the cemetary and many seemed to have no real idea why they had to leave Paris to bus all the way out there. We asked if they'd seen SPR and the light came on. Clint and I laughed our head off about that one.

Word of advice, ignore the "relics" that find their way to alot of the shops in the area. When I was there all the souvenier shops had GI trinkets and helmets and other things for sale (along with the ubiquitous crickets). I remember one shop that had several "original" helmets for sale all rusty and muddy looked like they came right out of the hedgerow. Except they were West German. LOL. If you're in St Marie Du Mont, however I remember that the "boutique du holdy" was a nifty shop worth a visit for a militaria collector.

I'd also splurge and get a copy of After the Battle's D-Day then and Now (Vol 2) and read it closely as it will really help you appreciate what you've seen there.

Tom Bowers