Normandy Trip Oct 2025

A friend and I are planning a tour of the Normandy Beaches area this coming October. We will probably have five days in the area given we are driving down via the Tunnel. A brief outline is 1-2 days in the area of the British beaches and the same with the American beaches. Then a day looking at Hill 112 area and the battles around Caen. Although I know a bit about the Campaign I am far from an expert and there is no particular Regimental association for either of us.

So we are looking for ideas of places to visit and things/sites/museums we shouldn't miss? Does the time split make sense?

Our plan is to stay in smaller, family-run hotels in smaller towns, rather than a Mercure in Caen. We plan to move every day or two rather than stay in one and drive from it every day. Does anyone have any recommendations?

Have looked through the threads here so apologies if this is an oft-asked question!

Thanks S89

 

I would thoroughly recommend the Airborne Museum in Sainte-Mère-Église - Accueil - English | Airborne. I went some years ago and its a great museum.

If you have the transport a trip up to Pointe du Hoc would also be worth doing, its amazing to see the craters and remains still up there, gives an idea of the amount of Firepower raining down on that point on 6 June:


If you're interested in the British airborne operations the memorial and museum at Pegasus bridge is also excellent - Musée Mémorial Pegasus - RANVILLE : Normandy Tourism, France - Make sure you watch 'The longest day' before you go!

I haven't been personally but I also believe the D-Day Landing Museum at Arromanches is worth a visit, with lots of info about the Mulberry harbours etc.

If you would like to visit any cemeteries, the Normandy American Cemetery is very poignant.

Enjoy your trip!

 

Skoyen89

I concur with TomP.1994 , if you get chance, a visit to Pegasus Bridge is well worth it.

In 2005, I was lucky enough to have a 7 day RAF 'Force Development' visit to Normandy.

Whilst I've had a militaria interest since I was 13, this visit was before my WW2 interest really kicked in. I have very few memories and zero photos of my trip....Pegasus Bridge and Omaha Beach being my only real memories.

Enjoy your trip, and get plenty of photos

 

I concur re Pegasus Bridge and Pointe du Hoc and would add that a trip to the Merville Battery site is worthwhile.

The museum in Bayeux is worth a visit -

Bayeux, the gateway to the D-Day beaches - Memorial Museum of the Battle of Normandy

Bayeux British cemetery is on the opposite side of the ring road - originally built by RE so vehicles didn’t have to use the narrow medieval streets of Bayeux.

If you haven’t seen the Bayeux Tapestry before it is well worth a visit as is a trip to the Norman cathedral.


Steve

 

The Canadian Memorial and museum at Courseulles (Juno Beach) should not be missed. Stay in Arromanches, it is nicely central for the British and American beaches.

 

I rather like the "Underwater Wrecks" museum. It's really "real"

Musée des épaves sous-marines du débarquement. DE Wrecks Reviews - Google Search

 

Thanks for the many suggestions. Where did people stay on their trips?

Regards
Sk89

 

Hotel Normandie in Arromanches is right by the Musee du Debarquement. A little tired, but decent value, and very central.

 

Many many years ago; Hôtel du Phare, Ouistreham (off the Ro-Ro and you're there!).

Was exceptionally cheap and cheerful, location made Pegasus, Horsa, Merville but a short step, and driving further afield Hill 112 and Villers-Bocage can be visited as a "day out".

Kind regards, always remember, never forget,

Jim.

P.S. 112 Memorial as was way back when (n.b. The Churchill, not the USSR lump!)

Public Tanks

 

Before you go I suggest you do some light reading to give you some context. A friend of mine who is interested but not deeply knowledgeable borrowed from me Overlord Coastline The Major D Day Locations by Stephen Chicken, and The Penguin Atlas of D Day The Normandy Campaign, John Man. He's just returned them and told me that he really thought they helped him with a deeper understanding of what went on at the places he chose to visit.

Do go to a war cemetery. It is for me always a moving experience to look out across a vista of crosses receding into the distance.

 

Thanks Osborne2 for the advice. I have a pretty good idea of the chronology, campaign etc but I have been to battlefields before where it is hard to see that anything happened there. Equally I am aware there are a number of 'visitor attractions' in Normandy and I was looking to get a steer on which are 'must visit's. i will include a few cemeteries - I find sometimes the smaller ones are more evocative than the huge ones. If we have time there is one east of Caen that has the casualties from Hill 112 and Epsom which I would find interesting.

Regards
Sk89

 

Many years ago we stayed in Arromanches at the Hotel de la Marine ... evocative location as we got a cancellation and the corner room overlooking sea and place for the night of 5/6 June
That was a fluke

No idea of how it is now

Other visits we used Chambre d'Hotes

Enjoy the planning and the trip

Robin

 

We had a recent trip to Normandy having in the past visited the area passing through on the way to holidays further south and stopping overnight in Calvados in returning for the overnight ferry.

Our itinerary was over five days, starting and finishing at Ouistreham using the overnight Portsmouth/Caen ferry for both journeys.

A good preparation is to read Stephen Ambrose works, D Day, Pegasus Bridge and Band of Brothers (based on the true account of Easy Company,506th Regiment,101st Airbourne Division and very open on relationships between officers and ORs.) The three-book collection is available on Amazon for £35.99.

Ambrose covers the Omaha and Utah invasion beaches well in his D Day work. The taking of Pegasus Bridge, a vital British operation in the planning for victory in Normandy is comprehensive detailed.

For the visitor the Battlefield Guide Normandy Landing Beaches by Major & Mrs Holt is an excellent reference companion which includes a Battle Map. All the information required for making up an itinerary is here.

Normandy Tourism has a first class website covering the battlefield beaches and beyond as below.

D-Day & the Battle of Normandy - Normandy Tourism, France

 

I/we visited the area recently 16-21st June, we stayed in Arromanche at the hotel De Normandie. Managed to cram in loads of places in the short time we were there. Day 1:- Merville Bty, Pegasus Bridge and museum, Ranville, Sword & Juno Beach. Day 2:- Gold Beach, Allied Memorial at Ver-sur-Mer, Crepon, Hill 112 and the area of Op Goodwood. Day 3:- Disembarkation Museum Arromanche, US Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer, Omaha Beach, Point de Hoc, Port-en-Bessin and the Gun Battery at Longue-sur-Mer. Day 4:- Utah Beach and museum, St Mere Eglise and museum. We then drove up to Cherbourg to get the ferry back to Poole!

 

A moving, grim and happy article by James Holland on his walking through Normandy just following the route of the Sherwood Rangers Yeomanry (SRY): In the Footsteps of Heroes & Gentle Men

 

We stayed at the Hotel du Phare (the Lighthouse Hotel) in Ouistreham in May last year for a short trip to the invasion area. It's basic but clean, and only a couple of hundred yards from the ferry terminal. Ouistreham itself is also well off for places to eat and drink. If you stay at the Phare and want to get to Pegasus Bridge, one tip is to avoid the main road to Benouville and instead go across the canal near the hotel and along the narrow road called La Route de La Pointe de Siege, which runs parallel to the Caen Canal and River Orne. It comes out near the Memorial Pegasus Museum between Pegasus and Horsa bridges.

 

I went here back in 2019 and definitley worth a visit - Falaise Pocket: The Memorial - Montormel Memorial

Regards

Bruneval

 

If you are familiar with the what3words website/app, then I compiled a short guide in PDF format listing a few places to visit. It`s a couple of years old but still relevant I believe. I`ve attached it to this post....

 

Thanks Slick. Very useful. I'm not a fan of What Three Words but I know the geography of the battlefield and will find the places suggested. Again, Thanks.

 

Hi
Pointe du Hoc is now very restricted (paths only - all fenced off) and potentially quite crowded. I would do some checking in advance. The reality of the action is somewhat different to the movie, in that there was not that much opposition to the actual break-in (climb). A couple of Brits got medals for their actions there - they were driving the DUKWs with the ladders.
American Cemetery at Omaha - get there early, due to heavy car park and early closing.
Pegasus Museum is very good - some good videos on Youtube to look at before you go, featuring those who were there (including Geoff Barkway, pilot of Glider 93).
Personally not that struck by Merville - others may disagree.
Dog Green at Omaha is a must.
Very little to see at Brecourt Manor.
I was there a year ago - I'd just got a couple of books on EPSOM so we followed that (including the Gavrus bridges and Hill 112). Really interesting, and very much off the usual tourist trail.
Port-en-Bessin is a pretty little fishing village that is well worth a visit. Scene of a sharp action by 47 RM Cdo on D+1, and the filming location for the scene with the French Commandos in "The Longest Day" (actual action was at Ouistreham).
Worth watching the James Holland / Al Murray "Walking the Ground" videos before you go (although James was wrong when he said that there was only 1 88 at Omaha - the other one was under the National Guard memorial, right behind him!!). I'd echo the comment above about the Sherwood Rangers.
Finally, you should DEFINITELY NOT treat Ambrose as a totally reliable source - story teller, OK; reliable historian, No.
I stayed at the Premier Classe hotel on Bayeux ring road. Handy for the town centre and 10 mins walk from the CWGC Cemetery.
Enjoy!