Normandy

The Normandy region of France is located at the northern tip of the country. Often remembered for the site of the D-Day landings, it is also an area of wonderful, largely agricultural, beauty.

One of the highlights of my visit has to be our visit to Mont-St-Michel…simply amazing and worth the trip.

Each of the beaches where the D-Day landings have memorials and, in many cases, you can still see the evidence of the landings almost 100 years ago.

There are several museums here as well that are also worth a visit.

Bayeux is the home of a famous cathedral as well as the “Bayeux Tapestry”, a tapestry 70 meters long that “depicts the events leading up to the Norman conquest of England concerning William, Duke of Normandy, and Harold, Earl of Wessex, later King of England, and culminating in the Battle of Hastings” (Wikipedia). It is exhibited in the Musée de la Tapisserie de Bayeux which charges a small admission but is certainly worth a visit with an extensive introduction to the tapestry before the main event itself where you are moved along a moving sidewalk past the great cloth at a pace that allows you to examine every detail as it slides by. English audio guides are available and are certainly recommended.

There are not many large towns and outside of these often it is best to find a farmhouse to stay at, here are some pictures from the one we stayed at (Harold's Place, just outside of Saint-Lo):

A number of English ex-pats have set up these types of accommodation so language might not be an issue…though finding them might be with the numerous small back roads and villages a good map or Sat-Nav is a must.

For further information, please see:

• Normandy - Wikipedia page
• Official Normandy Tourist Board Website