Navigating Normandy isn’t as intimidating as Paris, and a lot of people will rent a car, say at the edge of the city, and it’s a much easier drive into Normandy. Likewise, you might take a train to your Norman locale and rent a car from there. The roads can feel a little small in town, but otherwise, we got the hang of it. Nevertheless, a car is not necessary for all of your sightseeing. Much can be done on foot, but honestly, accessing the D-Day beaches and sites and combining all of the information and personal detail of the tours that are offered makes joining the tour a much better option than driving to the sites on your own.
They say you always plan to go back, and I certainly will, so on this trip we booked just a one day tour of the D-Day Beaches and it was as awe inspiring as you might imagine, and of course made me want to know more. This is a difficult topic to write about because we are visiting places where people sacrificed so much, so it is important to respect the nature of that, but at the same time, we need to remember.
That being said, the detailed historical knowledge and personal background of our tour guide was so important to me that I can’t say enough about our experience. We started at Omaha Beach and the Longues-sur-Mer Battery which we had seen in Band of Brothers and really was helpful in appreciating some of what these men went through. Between the story telling of author Stephen Ambrose, filmmakers and details at the actual site, we can gain so much understanding.
The beauty of the American Cemetery is a lovely testament to the debt we owe, and it seems to me that spending time paying respect in a place like this is a privilege. The idea that we can freely travel where we choose because someone was willing to risk and lose everything is pretty overwhelming when you think about it, and walking these paths, reading these names, it’s an ironic reminder of achievements made and lost.
Pointe du Hoc is magnificent and its story is shocking, too. As we listened, I kept thinking, “How did they do that?!” The statue of the knife in the rock tells the story of how and what the men did here to survive and achieve their objective, in spite of the obstacles.
Saint Mere Eglise was welcoming and stunning both visually and historically. The church retains a replica of the parachute caught on the church during the D-Day jumps that people are familiar with from the film The Longest Day. We spent some time here at the museum and exploring the town
We finished our day with more specific and really quite interesting areas of our tour with one highlight at Marmion’s Farm where the Airborne famously captured the first Nazi flag. Here, as at the other stops the passage of time was especially clear. Each of these stops required a guide, as in many cases without someone to explain, I would not have known the significance of the place I was walking past. Marmion’s Farm in particular, though beautiful, has no marking whatsoeve
Marmion’s Farm
There are numerous options and companies, half and full day tours, small and large, as well as private groups. Obviously, you should choose according to your time frame and interests, but definitely go! We went with Overlord Tours and they were fantastic!