Last year we spent the month of May in Paris, crossing off nearly every must-see attraction in the city over the course of three weeks. This left us with only a few opportunities for trips outside of the city — we toured the gardens and palace at Versailles, spent a whirlwind day at Disneyland Paris, and enjoyed a long weekend in the Loire Valley.
Four weeks in one country seems like a long time, but we found ourselves unable to cross one of the biggest excursions off our French wishlist: a visit to Normandy.
That is, until this past weekend when we found ourselves heading to pick up our car in the south of the Netherlands, very close to the border with Belgium. The trip was very last minute, but I’m never one to pass up an opportunity for a road trip. So I quickly cobbled together a rough itinerary through northern France, stringing together all of the greatest hits of Normandy, and away we went!
The result was an especially memorable four-day trip that crossed off two items from my bucket list. I finally got to see the fairytale-inspiring Mont Saint-Michel in person and made the pilgrimage to Omaha Beach, one of the most important sites of WWII. We discovered several charming French towns along the way and indulged in the region’s most famous exports: Camembert cheese and apple cider.
Recommended Reading
Any regular readers know I’m a loyal Rick Steves fan, so you better believe I had the latest edition of his France travel guide at the top of my Christmas list last year.
This book is an impressive collection of guides that cover every region of France. We put it to the test with our impromptu road trip around Normandy, and as always, Rick did not lead us astray.
We followed self-guided tours of Rouen and the abbey of Mont-Saint Michel. The section on the historic D-Day sites and memorials was especially informative and a great resource for knowing which attractions are most worthwhile and which are better suited for longer visits. We also followed Rick’s recommended scenic drive from Rouen to Honfleur and really enjoyed some hidden gems along the way.
If you’re looking for a thorough resource for all things French, look no further!
Click here to purchase Rick Steves France travel guide.
Itinerary Overview
Our road trip started and ended in our home town of Amsterdam with most of the driving occurring on the first and fourth days. Once to France, the distances between each point were reasonable with our longest stretches of driving lasting only around two-hours. Below is an overview of the towns visited each day.
Day 1
A stroll around Lille
Day 2
Rouen, Jumièges Abbey, Honfleur
Day 3
Mont Saint-Michel, Bayeux
Day 4
D-Day Sites: American Cemetery & Memorial, Omaha Beach, Pointe Du Hoc
Day 1
A stroll around Lille
Our first day was spent mostly on the road. We departed Amsterdam around midday and first headed to pick up our car some distance south of Rotterdam. We had shipped our car over from the US and hadn’t been able to use it since moving nearly a year before, so we were very excited to celebrate the ocassion with a proper road trip.
Once reunited with our beloved car, we continued our trip further south, driving across Belgium and into northern France. We departed Rotterdam in the afternoon, but wanted to make as much progress toward our destination as possible.
To break up the driving, we decided to stop for dinner and a brief walk around town in Lille, a town just across the Belgian-French border. After parking our car and grabbing a bite to eat, we then spent a couple of hours wandering the streets. The first stop was at Lille’s impressive square, Place Charles de Gaulle.
From there we walked north toward Notre-Dame-de-la-Treille Cathedral at the north edge of the old town.
The church is an interesting combination of styles — the building is mostly Romanesque with the primary facade in a distinctly modern style. The church was built under the direction of several generations of architects over the span of more than 100 years, which explains the contrasting facades. The church is freestanding, surrounded by grass and trees with rows of colorful houses providing a cheerful backdrop at the back side of the church.
We started our walk back to the car just as the sun was starting to set, taking a different path back this time to see more of the city.
We decided to get a little more driving in before calling it quits, so we drove another hour or so to the town of Amiens, where we made a last-minute reservation at a budget hotel on the outskirts of town.
Where We Stayed: Hotel Ibis Amiens Centre Gare
Day 2
Rouen, Jumièges Abbey, Honfleur
We got an early start on the morning of our second day.
Our first major stop of the trip, the historic town of Rouen, was about 1 1/2 hours away. Once we arrived and secured a spot on the street near the old town, we headed for brunch at Prélude Café.
After brunch, we felt ready to do some real sightseeing. We decided to kick things off with a self-guided walking tour of Rouen’s historic old town.
The narrow streets of the historic city center are lined with half-timbered houses painted in a range of colorful pastels, a style of architecture characteristic of the region. The oldest of these buildings project out over the street on their upper floors, a strategy for increasing the floor area that was eventually prohibited by city planners.
When we visited, the streets were still decorated with flags and bunting from the region’s 75th-anniversary D-Day celebrations a few days prior.
The walking tour strung together many of Rouen’s most famous sights, including two historic churches, Normandy’s Parliament building, the well-known patisserie Auzou, and an impressive 14th-century astronomical clock called, appropriately, Gros Horlog (Big Clock in French).
At the center of town is the old market square, Place du Vieux Marché. The ruins of a 15th-church occupy the center of the square — lining this side of the square is the supposed oldest restaurant in France (and inspiration for a young Julia Child), Restaurant La Couronne.
A statue honoring the heroine and patron saint of France marks the spot where Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in 1431. In 1979 the Church of St Joan of Arc was built at this site, its distinctively modern design a surprising counterpoint to the traditional architecture of the surrounding buildings.
The main stop of the walking tour was another church, the Notre Dame Cathedral de Rouen.
Much like its more famous counterpart in Paris, the cathedral was constructed in the French Gothic style between the 12th and 14th centuries. The cathedral is impressive, a hint at the city’s lucrative past and its long stint as the second-largest city in France. The main entrance is perhaps the most striking part of the church; its ornate facade was even painted many times over by Claude Monet.
Inside you can find several life-size Gothic statues that were removed from the facade centuries ago for cleaning. They’ve been on display here ever since behind the cathedral’s altar.
Around 4:00pm, we made our way back to the car and hit the road once more. This time we were headed northwest, toward the coast. The route took us off the highway, following the winding course of the Seine as we made our way through scenic farmland dotted with beautiful abbeys and quaint villages.
About midway to our next destination, we made a pit stop at the Jumièges Abbey. We had some heavy rain on the drive, but the storm passed on just as we reached the entrance. We past through the gate and were greeted with a striking view of the brightly lit ruins with a dark cloudy sky as backdrop.
The Jumièges Abbey was founded in 654 as a Benedictine monastery. The building saw a number of additions and restorations over the years and also experienced periods of neglect. But it wasn’t until the French Revolution that building suffered the greatest damage, which resulted in the ruins that we see today.
Today the two twin towers of the main facade still stand. The interior is framed by freestanding walls, which once enclosed the nave, cloister, and library. Even in its ruinous state, the shell that remains is striking — maybe even more so than if the building were still intact.
After the abbey, we had another hour of scenic driving before finally crossing over the Seine via the monumental Pont de Normandie bridge.
Just across the bridge lay our next stop of the trip, the quaint fishing village of Honfleur. We parked in the main lot near the harbor and headed into the old town.
The town of Honfleur is situated at the point where the Seine reaches the English Channel. Sailboats and fishing boats of all sizes were docked along the charming harbor, called Vieux Bassin. The boats were decorated for the D-Day anniversary, with colorful flags and bunting stretching from mast to bow.
There were numerous restaurants with waterside seating lining the harbor, but we decided to head inland a bit to explore. A block off the harbor we found a spot at one of the town’s many “de la Mer” restaurants, Restaurant Le Corsaire, the perfect place to sample the region’s Mussels à la Normande.
After dinner and just before sunset, we took a stroll around town.
We stopped by the primary sight in town, Saint Catherine’s Catholic Church, which as it turns out, is the largest wooden church in France. We then wandered aimlessly through the narrow streets of the historic quarter, admiring the old half-timbered houses and crumbling brick buildings.
Honfleur has long been a haven for artists, including many famous impressionist painters (Gustave Courbet, Eugène Boudin, and Claude Monet included). Getting to walk around town as the sun set behind the harbor, it’s easy to see why!
We wound up back at the harbor shortly before dark and made our way to the car. Luckily we didn’t have much driving left, as our hotel was in a nearby town just a 15-minute drive along the route to the next day’s destination.
Where We Stayed: Le Close Deauville Saint Gatien
Day 3
Mont Saint-Michel, Bayeux
We got an early start on our third day of the trip with two hours of driving ahead of us to reach our furthest destination of the trip, Mont Saint-Michel.
We stopped by a bakery on the way to pick up some fresh bread, cheese, and cider for lunch. We were visiting during low tide, which meant the mudflats would be exposed — the perfect place for a picnic with a view!
Traveler Tip: Mont Saint-Michel is an island just a short distance from the coast. Depending on the time of day, you may find the island surrounded by water or mudflats. Check the tide schedule before your visit if you have a strong preference for one or the other. There’s a nice bridge connecting the mainland to the island, so it’s accessible regardless of the tides (aside from a couple of days a year).
The cool thing about visiting during low tide is that you can actually walk out onto the mudflats for a unique view of Mont Saint-Michel. Just be sure to bring a towel and walk carefully!
The walk from the carpark to the island took around 30 minutes, including lots of stops for photos along the way. At the end of the bridge, we turned right and headed off the island and onto the mudflats.
We walked around a bit to admire the island and abbey from below, dodging as best we could the muddy patches. We found a nice (relatively dry) spot away from the crowds, got out our towel, and settled in for a picnic.
After our picnic and a short walk around the mudflats, we headed back to the main gate to start our exploration of the island.
We first followed the crowds down the main (and only) street on the island, a busy stretch of tourist shops and restaurants selling overpriced omelets. We then checked our guide book and quickly realized that we could avoid the crowds by heading the opposite direction — definitely the path less traveled and the easiest way to reach the abbey.
After a fairly quick but steep trek uphill, we finally reached the entrance to the abbey. We found our place at the back of the ticket line and before long we were inside the grand and sprawling abbey.
We followed our travel guide’s self-guided tour through the sprawling abbey, which led us from one impressive space to the next. The abbey includes a church, chapel, crypt, dining hall, and cloister.
About Mont Saint-Michel
It’s said that during the 8th century, the archangel Michael instructed appeared to a bishop and instructed him to build a monastery on the island. Since then, many determined pilgrims have trudged across the treacherous mudflats at low tide to reach the abbey. Mont-Saint Michel’s strategic location also helped it to survive many attacks during the various wars over the years — the quickly rising tides would catch would-be assailants off guard.
By the time of the French Revolution, few monks lived at the abbey. It was eventually closed down and used as a prison for a short time. In 1863 the prison closed and the site was finally declared a historic monument in 1874 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. Today, around 50 people live on the island but more than 3 million people visit every year.
Two or so hours later, our visit ended (in the gift shop, of course) and we started back toward the entrance. We took another route downhill, stopping by the ramparts on our way down for another view of the landscape and mudflats surrounding the island.
By this time, some guided tours of the mudflats were just heading out, so we watched from afar as several groups of tourists ventured out into the mud with bare feet and rolled up pants.
We decided to forego the shuttle due to a very long line and instead made the reverse walk back to the parking area on the other side of the bridge.
We were soon back to the car and on our way back east. We had 1 1/2 hours of driving to reach our hotel. That night we were staying in Bayeux, the only town that survived the D-Day invasions and a popular home base for many travelers visiting the area.
Exhausted from a full day, we grabbed dinner at the WWII-themed restaurant next to our hotel and headed to bed.
Where We Stayed: Hotel Reine Mathilde
Day 4
D-Day Sites: American Cemetery & Memorial, Omaha Beach, Pointe Du Hoc
We initially thought we’d do both Mont Saint-Michel and the D-Day beaches in one day, but each of these sites warrants at least a day to fully appreciate. Unfortunately, we only had a free morning on our last day of the trip as the second half of the day was reserved for the long drive back with around 6 hours of driving needed to reach Amsterdam.
There are countless historical sites, museums, and memorials to visit in the area, so given our limited time, we decided to focus on the American sites around Omaha and Utah beach.
Our first stop of the day was at the American Cemetery and Memorial, which is located near the American D-Day landing sites. We were visiting on the tail end of the anniversary festivities, so the memorial and visitors center were still in the process of cleaning up after the event.
We spent about 1 1/2 hours in the museum, which is focused on the American contribution to the D-Day operations and the thousands of Americans that lost their lives that day.
After working our way through the various exhibitions, we exited at the back side of the building and walked a short distance to the American Cemetery.
The cemetery is composed of 9,238 stark white crosses and 151 stars of David organized into rows, each inscribed with the name of the American serviceman buried there. The pristine lawn is positioned on a bluff that overlooks Omaha beach and the grey waters of the English Channel beyond.
After the American Cemetery, we drove west toward Omaha Beach and the Omaha Beach Memorial monument.
Here we found a D-Day veteran (in uniform and sporting a number of medals) giving an interview to a cameraman while a crowd of onlookers stood by. On the beach were a few other veterans in town for the anniversary and a row of WWII-era Jeeps. We watched on as one of the veterans climbed into the passenger side of one of the cars and took off down the beach.
We next headed further west along the coast to Pointe Du Hoc. This bluff was heavily fortified by the Germans, a strategic point along a steep cliff between Omaha and Utah beach.
This area was heavily bombed by the Allies in the days leading up to the D-Day landing — huge craters left by the bombs dot the landscape, covered in grass but still very visible. Many of the concrete bunkers (or “pillboxes”) built by the Germans are still intact, providing an interesting look inside one of the many fortifications built by the Germans along the so-called “Atlantic Wall” that stretched from Norway to Spain.
It was here that a group of US Army Rangers scaled the steep cliff to attack the German stronghold. This approach was so unexpected that the German army had actually turned their weapons inward and away from the coast, assuming an attack could only come inland.
In the end, the Rangers successfully scaled the cliffs and captured Pointe du Hoc.
Having visited just three of the most well-known D-Day sites in the region, we still felt that we had only scratched the surface. However, we had a long drive ahead of us, so we resigned to save the rest for another time.
After a quick lunch near the beach, we started our long drive back to Amsterdam.
