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D-Day Beaches

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paigey121
paigey121
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D-Day Beaches

  • August 24, 2007
  • Rated 5 of 5 by paigey121 from Los Altos, California
D-Day Beaches

Last year we toured the D-Day beaches by car. In preparation, I read "Band of Brothers" and searched this site for tips. I also bought "Top Ten Normandy, France" and a special map from the tourist office in Caen.

We stayed at a hotel in Caen, which was our jumping off point. There is a bus that drives the route, but we rented a car. The flexibility a car gives you was priceless. We started the day at Arromanches, which was a small town that would have been great to stay. The small nature of it would mean researching a place to stay from a guidebook or taking your chances on arrival. We also saw a campground nearby.

The route for Normandy D-Day beaches is clearly marked along the coastline. Also along the route there are Calvados makers, apple brandy made from the type of apples native to the region. So we stopped at a few places to taste and purchase.

Also on the route, we went to Omaha beach, the American cemetery, and ended in Utah beach. We had bought some wine, cheese, bread, and pate to toast the Americans who had fought for us. We toasted them on Utah beach, when the tide was way out.

Some of the things I will never forget include:
- Omaha beach was called bloody Omaha - the landscape itself meant the battle our troops begun started out at a disadvantage since they were on the low ground.
- Pieces of Mulberry harbors still in the water at Arromanches.
- The American cemetery.

The drive was very worthwhile and the cemetery was thought provoking to say the least. Reading beforehand gave me a better appreciation of what I was seeing when I was there.

Definitely do the drive in a rental - we never saw one of the buses. We took one day to do it. Also, check out a tourist office in town before you go. Start early to avoid the crowds.

There are so many places to go on the whole peninsula from Cherbourg to east of Caen for D-Day history. We stuck to the coast and the main American beaches. Charbourg was a giant harbor town. I am glad we stayed in Caen. It gave us somewhere to go out to eat/drink.

From journal France: Paris and Normandy

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