Normandy route

Wack61

Member
Messages
8,764
I'm thinking of having a week in normandy at the end of august , I'm already getting " it's not going to be all battlefields is it" so I need to dress it up a bit,
Found a post on facebook that suggests a route which looks interesting

With just a week it would be northern France for me.. Portsmouth Le Havre .. along the D day landings and Normandy and drop down to the Loire Valley and along west coast to La Rochelle, then back up via the Lemans Museum and up to Pegasus Bridge, then Caen to Portsmouth home.

Ferry seems to be £350 return , I think £120 in fuel to portsmouth and back so I've got around £1500 for fuel , food and 7 nights accommodation

I know a number of you love france so is that budget realistic for 7 nights , any accommodation recommendations/ routes or things to avoid would be appreciated

I'd prefer nice B&Bs to a hotel
 

Hurricane52

Member
Messages
1,211
We’re doing something very similar at the end of August too, but with kids and four doors.

Don’t miss the car museum at Loheac - crammed full of eclectic machines.
 

zagatoes30

Member
Messages
20,758
There are some great non-battlefields sites around Normandy it isn't difficult to balance the books
 

JonW

Member
Messages
3,259
There’s a fantastic route from Le Mans to Pegasus Bridge.... all D roads through the National Park (Normandie-Maine), going through Sille-le Guillaume, Pre-en-Pail, Domfront, skirt around Flers, and then stop for lunch at Vire, before heading up to Caen, Pegasus Bridge... We did this route this year in a convoy of a Porsche, an Aston, and my Gransport, and with the sunny weather and the open roads it was as close to being a Top Gear presenter as I’ll ever get...

Restaurant recommendation in Vire would be Au Vrai Normand....
 

linescanner

Member
Messages
299
We are doing this in a couple of weeks. We are doing Shuttle to Calais, then Caen for overnight. Pegasus Bridge (Ex AAC Pilot so a must), Beaches then Bayeux. Then off to Mont ST Michel to overnight Saint Malo. Then we are down to Fougères, across to Le Mans and then to Rouen for final overnight, then home for tea and medals. Looks a nice trip. Looking forward to it.
 

Wanderer

Member
Messages
5,791
I'm off next weds, Eurotunnel, drive to Vexin for AirBNB, wedding in Dampmesnil, then a few days pottering about. Got most of my French kit, still need headlamp bulbs and triangle, messed it up on amazon. Got my toll tagger. Car in for pre-trip once over on Monday, then off we go!
 

linescanner

Member
Messages
299
I'm off next weds, Eurotunnel, drive to Vexin for AirBNB, wedding in Dampmesnil, then a few days pottering about. Got most of my French kit, still need headlamp bulbs and triangle, messed it up on amazon. Got my toll tagger. Car in for pre-trip once over on Monday, then off we go!
Is the tagger easy to get?
 

conaero

Forum Owner
Messages
34,593
I would recommend the fastcat Pompey-Cherbourg.

It’s 3hrs and you have extra stuff to do. The beaches on that coast is stunning, Bayeux, st Michaels mount.

Go to Bernay, that’s a lovely place.

If you can get down as far as Saumer, that’s defo worth a visit.
 
Last edited:

Felonious Crud

Administrator
Staff member
Messages
21,012
If you land at Cherbourg then staying in Arromanches is an easy decision. There’s a good hotel (I’ll update shortly with the name) and plenty of places to eat, plus the Mulberry Harbour and a good museum. There’s plenty of easy mooching to be done and some nice bars to quench your thirst.

edit: Hôtel Les Villas d'Arromanches
1 Rue du Lt Colonel Job, 14117 Arromanches-les-Bains, France
+33 2 31 21 38 97

Seems more expensive than last time I stayed, but that could just be the dates.
 
Last edited:

Wack61

Member
Messages
8,764
If you land at Cherbourg then staying in Arromanches is an easy decision. There’s a good hotel (I’ll update shortly with the name) and plenty of places to eat, plus the Mulberry Harbour and a good museum. There’s plenty of easy mooching to be done and some nice bars to quench your thirst.

edit: Hôtel Les Villas d'Arromanches
1 Rue du Lt Colonel Job, 14117 Arromanches-les-Bains, France
+33 2 31 21 38 97

Seems more expensive than last time I stayed, but that could just be the dates.


Thanks to Matt for the fast boat suggestion, booked portsmouth to cherbourg for £360 on the fast boat, just got to decide where to stay now , I think we'll just rent a house for 8 days and travel though the hotel does look nice but it's £1200 for the 8 days
 
Last edited:

[TM]

New Member
Messages
14
Couple of thoughts to add to the mix -

- Deauville is the bling seaside resort but does have some lovely 1920s and 1930s buildings. It gets pretty busy in the summer though.
-Cabourg is a smaller and more relaxed sister further down the road - with a huge beach but quite tight parking (even when we stayed at the fancy hotel there!)
  • Near Cherbourg, the town of Briquebec Ian worth a look in briefly for non-WW2 entertainment - we stayed in an old castle hotel there. We booked it via Brittany Ferries which actually made the overall cost less than just booking the ferry alone
  • The fishing port of Barfleur is very pretty if you’re down that way - lots of good little restaurants and some nice back roads leading to it
  • Falaise castle is stunning and worth chalking up on the Norman not Nazi history slate

Hope that helps - have a fab trip!
 

Wack61

Member
Messages
8,764
Thanks for that info , I'm airbnb blinded at the minute , must've looked at 50 , some fail on no off street parking or just a car park, others because they have plenty of pictures of the sights but few of the property, I find one that looks great then it's down a dirt track miles from civilisation
 

linescanner

Member
Messages
299
Tag here also, thanks for the pointers. We too are staying at Arromanches for 1 night, then a Chateau near Fougeres, the a trip up to Giverny to grab a bit of culture at Monet's house and garden. Looking forward to the waft in the GC (if I ever get it back from Graypaul)

Standby for the inevitable "look at me I'm on hols" pics. Apologies in advance :)
 

linescanner

Member
Messages
299
If you land at Cherbourg then staying in Arromanches is an easy decision. There’s a good hotel (I’ll update shortly with the name) and plenty of places to eat, plus the Mulberry Harbour and a good museum. There’s plenty of easy mooching to be done and some nice bars to quench your thirst.

edit: Hôtel Les Villas d'Arromanches
1 Rue du Lt Colonel Job, 14117 Arromanches-les-Bains, France
+33 2 31 21 38 97

Seems more expensive than last time I stayed, but that could just be the dates.
Felonious Crud, what a great place to stay. Just arrived in the GC. Mrs Linescanner is very happy.

Great waft across Northern France today, fuel to noise ratio high but smiles all round. Picked up a huge rock scuff on front, but hey, can't keep it in garage.

Beaches tomorrow, having done Pegasus Bridge memorial today.

Supper time.
 

linescanner

Member
Messages
299
Felonious Crud, what a great place to stay. Just arrived in the GC. Mrs Linescanner is very happy.

Great waft across Northern France today, fuel to noise ratio high but smiles all round. Picked up a huge rock scuff on front, but hey, can't keep it in garage.

Beaches tomorrow, having done Pegasus Bridge memorial today.

Supper time.
58220