Normandy Beach tours

[lyonhibs]

I have always been intensely interested in WWII, the big battles, the politics and behind the scene machinations. However, I reserve a particularly avid interest in the D-Day landings, and as such have always wanted to visit the Normandy beaches and surrounding area/military graveyards to pay my respects. As I am currently in the North (ish) of France, I'll probably never have a better chance to do so. I was wondering if anyone has been to the Normandy Beaches before, and if so what are they like?? Given as I don't drive, I reckon the only feasible way to do them properly would be to go on some sort of - reasonably priced - mini-bus tour or something of the like.

Has anyone got any recommendations for this kind of thing from personal experience, and if so, what are they??

Cheers in advance.

GGTTH

[Hibs Class]

I went on a D-Day tour in 2007, an organised 4 day tour that set off from London, so as our travel / itinerary was organised for us in advance I cannot comment on local tours. The Normandy beaches was a very long front, though, I would guess at c.50 miles from end to end. Places that I found especially interesting / moving included:

- Pegasus Bridge, where the British commandos first landed by glider. It is near Caen and slightly inland from Sword beach. Also inland from Sword beach is the Merville battery, where the paras dropped in to nullify it in the early hours of D-Day, as it could shell Sword beach. It is still largely intact and has a museum feel to it.
- Ranville Commonwealth cemetery - fairly near Pegasus. The WWII cemeteries aren't on the same scale as WWI. Ranville has c. 2500 burials, including the first British D-Day casualty from Pegasus
- Sword beach itself. It was one of the two beaches landed on by the British. Very flat, (like Portobello), and unlike some of the other beaches along the coast.
- next beach along was Juno, which I didn't go onto, then Gold, at one end of which is Arromanches. That is where the Allies built the Mulberry Harbours, of which there are still some remains as well as a good museum overlooking the beach.
- Bayeaux is the other CWGC cemetery I visited - it has c.4500 Commonwealth war dead. The same town as has the tapestry.
- Furthest west are the two beaches the Americans landed on. First is Omaha (which I think is the one featured in Saving Private Ryan). It was a far steeper beach and gave a real feel for the challenge the Americans faced that day. Overlooking the beach is the US cemetery at St Laurent, which contains around 9,300 burials and is very moving. It was also featured at the start of SPR
- Last beach was Utah, which wasn't especially worth a visit unless in the area. Inland from Utah, though, is the town of St Mere Eglise, which had a pretty good museum.

Hope that helps