[Normandy region]

Normandy Pastoral mix of sweeping coastlines, half-timbered towns, and intriguing cities, including bustling Rouen (Gothic architecture, Joan of Arc sites), the cozy port town of Honfleur, historic Bayeux (remarkable tapestry on the Battle of Hastings), stirring D-Day sites and museums, and the almost surreal island abbey of Mont St-Michel.

May 25–June 9 (likely):  D-Day Festival, across Normandy (2019)

June 6:  75th Anniversary of the Normandy D-Day Landing (Jour J) (2019)

Review this: https://www.smithsonianjourneys.org/tours/normandy-stay/itinerary/

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Calvados & Camembert – This coastal chunk of northern France is a pastoral land of butter & soft cheeses. Its exotic fruits: Camembert, cider, fiery calvados & super-fresh seafood.

Cliffs & Coves – Chalk-white cliff to dune-lined beach, rock spire to pebble cove, coastal path to tide-splashed island-abbey Mont St-Michel: few coastlines are as inspiring.

Bayeux: Only six miles from the D-Day beaches, Bayeux was the first city liberated after the landing and the closest city to the D-Day landing site not destroyed in the war. Even without its famous medieval tapestry and proximity to the D-Day beaches, Bayeux would be worth a visit for its enjoyable town center and awe-inspiring cathedral, beautifully illuminated at night. 900 year old embroidery – Battle of Hastings 1066 in museum just down street from cathedral. King Edward, Harold, William (soon to be) the conqueror. 6 miles from D-day beaches – makes great home base. Caen – museum there

D-Day beaches: The 54 miles of Atlantic coast north of Bayeux — stretching from Utah Beach in the west to Sword Beach in the east — are littered with WWII museums, monuments, cemeteries, and battle remains left in tribute to the courage of the British, Canadian, and American armies that successfully carried out the largest military operation in history: D-Day. It was on these serene beaches, at the crack of dawn on June 6, 1944, that the Allies finally gained a foothold in France; from this moment, Nazi Europe was destined to crumble.

Honfleur: Gazing at its cozy harbor lined with skinny, soaring houses, it’s easy to overlook the historic importance of this port. For more than a thousand years, sailors have enjoyed Honfleur’s ideal location, where the Seine River greets the English Channel, and 19th-century Impressionists were captivated by the town’s unusual light — also the result of its river-meets-sea setting. Honfleur escaped the bombs of World War II, and today offers a romantic port enclosed on three sides by sprawling outdoor cafés. Honfleur happily uses its past as a bar stool…and sits on it. Church of St Catherine – flip it & it would float! Artists on waterfront Eric Satie (spelling) musician, presented in whimsical way 1920s. Eat harborfront at creperie. savory=gallettes. Stick to autoroute even with tolls – good time

Mont St Michel: For more than a thousand years, the distant silhouette of this island abbey has sent pilgrims’ spirits soaring. Today, it does the same for tourists. Mont St-Michel, one of the top pilgrimage sites of Christendom through the ages, floats like a mirage on the horizon. Mud flat at low tide. Since 6th C. Bay from normandy to brittany.