Wander Wednesday: A Weekend in Normandy
On this week’s #wanderwednesday I’m sharing some of the places you need to visit in Normandy. Bonus, this trip is KID Friendly and was all done in one weekend. Read for tips and tricks on seeing Normandy over the weekend.
You can check out my google maps list with saved spots from our trip here.
Day One: Rouen & Juno Beach
The trip to Normandy from Ramstein Air Base is around 7 hours with good traffic. We decided to break up the trip by stopping in Rouen for a late lunch. We found the best little Fish & Chips place that had me dreaming of England. The cobbled streets of Rouen are full of adorable eateries.
Rouen’s Main Attractions
Joan of Arc: Rouen is where Joan of Arc was tried and burned in May of 1431. While we were in town we made sure to visit the Church that is known to be where Joan’s life tragically ended.
Old Market Square: The square marks the historic center of the city and is full of beautiful buildings, some dating back to the 1400’s!
Juno Beach Main Attraction
Landing Sites: Juno Beach is the site where the Canadian forces landed in the Second World War. You can learn more about the history here. The Juno Beach Centre was wonderfully done and very kid-friendly. Our Air BnB was closest to this beach which is why we decided to hit this one up first.
Day Two: Mont Saint-Michel & D-Day Sites
We packed A LOT of sites into our Day 2. We knew that this would most likely be the only time we were able to explore Normandy, so we didn’t want to miss a thing. Here’s the list of what we visited throughout the day.
Morning: Mont St Michel
Afternoon: Carentan | D-Day Experience Museum | Sainte-Mère-Église | Sainte-Marie-du-Mont
Evening: Utah Beach | Pointe Du Hoc
Morning: Mont Saint-Michel
Mont St. Michel was a bucket list item for our family and well worth the trip out to see it. Read more about the history here.
Tips & Tricks at Mont Saint-Michel
PARKING: We parked in the main parking area here at Mont St Michel. Be prepared if you have stubborn walkers, it’s about a 40 minute walk from the parking area to the island. Thee are buses that run, but they can get packed quickly especially in peak tourist times. In the photo above, we were about halfway there 😬
ARRIVAL: Get there early! We left very early in the morning to try to beat the crowds and are so glad that we did. It starts to get packed around lunchtime and makes it very hard to enjoy the tiny island. We parked around 9am and had plenty of time to walk there and enjoy before it became tourist city.
FOOD: We quickly learned that food is expensive and restaurants fill up fast. Book ahead or pack a picnic to bring with you to avoid hungry littles.
Afternoon: Carentan | D-Day Experience Museum | Sainte-Mère-Église | Sainte-Marie-du-Mont
Our plan of the day was to head back towards our air bnb hitting some of the smaller lesser known WWII spots ending with Pointe du Hoc, a major site of battle. After the crowds hit, we headed to Carentan. Carentan was one of the battle sites from WWII. There isn’t much there to see, but it’s a nice rest stop on the way to the D-Day Experience and has a beautiful statue in Memorium.
The D-Day Experience Museum is great for kids. It is full of interactive experiences and includes “Dead Man’s Corner” which played a major role in the June 1944 battle.
Sainte-Mère-Église is home to the church where John Steele, an 82nd Airborne paratrooper, was caught while trying to land in June 1944. The church leaves a dummy with a parachute on the steeple to commemorate him. It is also home to one of the many Airborne Museums located throughout Normandy.
Sainte-Marie-du-Mont was the site of accidental paratrooper landings and was liberated in 1944 as part of D-Day. We only drove through quickly as it was getting late, but it was a beautiful little village.
Evening: Utah Beach & Pointe du Hoc
Our last two stops for the day were Utah Beach and Pointe du Hoc.
Utah Beach
Utah Beach was one of the key landing zones on D-Day It has a wonderful museum and was very kid friendly. We enjoyed wandering the museum and the beach was practically empty.
Pointe du Hoc
After our visit to Utah Beach, we traveled 13km to Pointe du Hoc (which has been a bucket list item for me as well). It was one of the most awe-inspiring experiences I’ve ever had.
Unfortunately we arrived too late, and the museum was already closed. But to this day I have never experienced anything as profound as a coastal battle site at sunset with zero people around. The site was so well preserved and it was a hauntingly beautiful evening. I would highly recommend skipping the museum and soaking in the history at sunset instead.
Day Three: D-Day Sites & Normandy American Cemetery
Our last day in the Normandy region checked off the Omaha Beach area and the Normandy American Cemetery.
Omaha Beach
Omaha was our last landing site visit and was the only beach that you could tell was a battle site. While each of the beaches we visited had museums, I loved that Omaha had an actual memorial set on the beach.
Normandy American Cemetery
This cemetery is the final resting spot for over 9000 American soldiers lost in WWII. As a military family, this visit was especially subduing. While this is probably not a good spot for toddlers due to the noise restrictions, 4 and up can easily make it through. There are plenty of benches to stop and sit at while walking around.
We made sure to have a chat with our littles to make sure they knew why we were there and why they needed to be quiet while we walked around.
Lounges Sur Mer Battery
Our final stop on the vacation before making the long trek back to Ramstein was the Lounges Sur Mer Battery. This was a German stronghold during the war. The kids enjoyed seeing all of the equipment that was still in their natural positions.
Thanks for traveling along with me! If you have any questions about where we traveled, or have other tips about Normandy, leave a comment below! I’d love to share more tips on Instagram.
