The Ageless Inspiration of Normandy.
This is an eight-day sample itinerary. Remember that R. Crusoe can create a Normandy journey of any length to meet your exact specifications.
What is it about Normandy that has kept invaders coming since the 10th century?
First it was the Vikings, down from Scandinavia. Then the English grabbed hold during the Hundred Years’ War. The Protestants were next. The impressionists came, easels in tow. And 6 June 1944. The longest day, and the beginning of the end for Nazi domination.
But we’re not interested in invading—we’re here to slip in to see the region, experience it from the inside out, and leave it untouched. (Don’t these people deserve some peace?)
Arrive in Paris, then take a lovely drive—via Chartres, Vitré, and Fougères—to Normandy. Reach back to A.D. 708, when St. Michel instructed a bishop to build a chapel on a hunk of granite in the English Channel. (Build it and they will come.) Mont St. Michel cries out for exploration. And so we do.
Then walk in the footsteps of our troops: St. Lô, Ste.-Mère-l'Eglise, Pointe-du-Hoc. Omaha Beach, Utah Beach, Arromanches, Caen. Follow the D-Day Overlord Route. Pay a somber visit to the American cemetery where 9,386 of our boys (way too many, way too young) are buried.
In Bayeux with our guide, examine the Queen Mathilde tapestry, the Western world's original comic strip. Stitched by the women at home who wanted to chronicle William the Conqueror's victory over the English. Walk past it twice (it's enormous).
Caen, next, to visit the Museum for Peace. Learn about World War II from both the Allied and German perspectives. An eye-opener.
On to the Calvados countryside. Think apple brandy and sinfully creamy cheese (our favorite is Pont L’Eveque). Taste our way along the Cider Trail. See Normandy’s most charming village, built around an authentic covered market. Fall in love.
In Deauville, pretend you’re today’s James Bond. In charming Honfleur, catch up with the impressionists. In Rouen, see Monet’s cathedral in the flesh (and stone).
En route back to Paris, explore the ruins of Château-Gaillard, and hear the tale of how a toilet did in the duke. (No kidding). Tour Monet’s beloved Giverny and Vetheuil, a nearby artists’ colony. Pay homage to Van Gogh at his burial site in Auvers sur Oise.
Back to Paris, your history lesson complete.
More? While you’re in France, we strongly suggest that you do a bit of poking around in Paris before or after Normandy. See what the Parisian artists left behind when they headed out to the pays. Contact R. Crusoe & Son at 800-585-8555 for details about a bespoke tour of Paris and beyond.
To request a detailed itinerary for this journey (and others), click here.