Normandy France Travel Guide: Caen's Charm, WWII Tours, Local Flavors

[@TiffyShow]

It was so much fun doing these guides and giving tips! More coming soon. Have you been to Normandy? Anything I missed? Thanks for watching! 🍹💁🏽‍♀️

[@Pakal77]

Lived there 18years. You missed the "Memorial" at Caen. About one day to visit entirely. The Pegasus bridge too (with his museum), took by British paratroopers and where they liberate the first house in France at Bénouville. Bayeux is effectivly a lovely town, but almost nothing to learn about WWII cause was took the day after the D-Day and so was preserved from destructions. The cathedral of course, but specially the tapissry showing how Williams the conqueror (Guillaume le conquérant in French) conquered England ! There is so much to visit there ! Sorry for my English.

[@yrden99]

Hi from Caen's southern rural outer area ! Glad to see foreigners appreciate our region !

[@Pakal77]

Cormelles le Royal, ou Fleury/Orne ? 😉

[@TiffyShow]

I loved it! Thanks for having me!

[@antondukagjini2069]

O Normandie, pritem se unë po vijë ❤🙏🙏🙏🇦🇱

[@razzmatazz0077]

Hi, Txs for the lovely info. I am going there on 19/07/24 to pay my tributes and respect to those fallen heroes, who never returned home .

[@francoislambert4739]

I was born in Caen and I live near. You are really welcome in Normandy.

[@TiffyShow]

Thank you so much!

[@TommyFlanagan666]

Very informative. We are planning on staying in Caen next summer

[@oliveryellop1333]

This should have more views ! Currently planning a trip to Normandy and this has been very helpful :)

[@TiffyShow]

Thank you so much for watching! Have a wonderful trip! 😊

[@ianmckenzie7255]

Thank you for the tribute to my town (Caen) ! It's nice to see it being presented in such a fun light. Just one correction: there are two "Abbayes" in Caen, on opposite ends of the town center. The one you showed at 3m11s. is the "Abbaye aux Hommes" (the Mens' Abbey) which was a functioning Abbey for monks until the French Revolution, after which point it served as a boys' school under the various regimes until the 1950s when it became the town hall which it is to this day. Guillaume le conquérant is buried in the church attached (Eglise St. Etienne) to the Abbaye aux Hommes. His wife, Mathilde, is buried in the Women's Abbey ("Abbaye aux Dames") on the opposite side of town--equally beautiful with a 'versailles' like garden behind it. I'm glad you enjoyed your stay and hope you come back! -- Ian, the American Caennais

[@TiffyShow]

Thank you so much for the correction! Very helpful!

[@c_est_caen_qu_on_arrive]

Nice summary ! I'm from Caen and all you said is pretty accurate !

[@TiffyShow]

Thank you for watching! That compliment means a lot since you're from there!

[@GabrielVelez]

Do you mind mentioning when you visited Normandy? Planning to go to Paris in November and I'm trying to get an idea on what packing should be like

[@inespimenta2203]

Hi Tiffy! Can you leave the link for the tour you were on? There are a lot of options available so it would be nice to book one that you recommend :)

[@TiffyShow]

We used Viator if you search "Utah & Omaha Beaches D-Day Group Tour from Bayeux" it should come up. www.viator.com/tours/Bayeux/Full-Day-Small-Group-Tour-of-American-D-Day-Beaches-from-Bayeux/d909-7237P1?medium=social-share-copy

[@dollimelaine]

thank you!....i go to Normandy in 10 days and will stay for 2 months.

[@TiffyShow]

That’s amazing! Have so much fun! Thanks for watching 😊

[@prinzbach]

Geat video! > Go and explore this beautiful city! It's worth it!

[@TiffyShow]

Thank you so much for watching!

[@askratavil]

Several corrections and added details, if I may : - 3:05 You are showing the Abbaye aux Hommes (Abbey of Men). What's left of William the Conqueror is indeed buried in the church (church St Etienne) and the rest of the abbey now serves as the city hall of Caen. Paired with this abbey, on the opposite side of city center, is the Abbaye aux Dames (Abbey of Ladies), built at the same time in the late 11th century. There you can find the grave of William's wife, Queen Mathilda, while the rest of the abbey is currently the site of the local government. - 4:38 L'Accolade restaurant is located in a cute neighborhood called "le Vaugueux" where you can find a lot of good restaurants, just southeast from the castle. - 5:28 Honestly "Magic Beau Gosse" is just a döner kebab with a slight twist. It's more akin to that taco truck you stop by at 2 in the morning on your way home coming from the bar where you had a bit too many shots, than it is to real food. - 7:53 The American Cemetery is located in the town of Colleville, on Omaha Beach, not in Pointe du Hoc, which is located 8 miles west from the Cemetery. - 8:39 Why keeping this bonus spot a secret ? Location name is Angoville-au-Plain and what happened there is a testimony that even in the darkest times, the best of the human nature can still shine. For those intrigued, check the story of Robert E. Wright and Kenneth J. Moore. Overall, the standard US D-Day full day tour offered by most companies will include : Omaha Beach / American Cemetery / Pointe du Hoc / Utah Beach / Sainte Mère Eglise (with or without the Airborne Museum) as the main highlights. You can also find tours that will include Longues sur Mer as well as the artificial harbor of Arromanches. Most tour guides may add one or two additional stops, usually depending on how fast the group walks or how disciplined it is (forget it if there are children scattering everywhere as soon as the guide is done talking). The usual bonus stops are : Brécourt Manor (episode 2 of Band of Brothers) / La Fière (the bridge battle that inspired the battle scene in Saving Private Ryan) / Angoville-au-Plain / German Cemetery of La Cambe. If you wish to visit all five beaches, you will need two full days, booking a Anglo-Canadian tour alongside a US tour, which will usually include Pegasus Bridge (British and Canadian paratroopers) / Ouistreham and Colleville-Montgomery (Sword Beach) / Bernières-sur-Mer and Courseulles-sur-Mer (Juno Beach and Canadian museum) / Ver-sur-Mer (Gold Beach and British Memorial) / Arromanches / Longues-sur-Mer / one of these two British cemeteries : Ranville or Bayeux. If you think you can do all five beaches on your own within a single day, please keep in mind that if you stay in Bayeux or Caen, it will be 150 mi just to drive to each stop, mostly on two lane roads with a speed limit of 50 mph or in towns along the coast with a speed limit of 20 mph. Also, I know you could not cover everything, but here are some things one can visit in Normandy in a one and a half hour long drive (one way) radius around Caen : Mont Saint Michel / Bayeux tapestry / Falaise castle / Honfleur / Pays d'Auge / Deauville / Cherbourg.

[@TiffyShow]

Thank you for this list. Very helpful!

[@francoisbenard8233]

Caen and Bayeux have to be seen yes, don't forget Le Mémorial museum in Caen. Lots to see on the whole coast regarding DDay landings Try the north east area Deauville ( Aka Paris 21st arrondissement) to Honfleur and inland known as Pays D'Auge. You can also do bungee jumping at viaduc de la Souleuvre, plenty of very decent golf courses if you're into that. And if you have time push to south west Normandy and visit le Mont Saint Michel.

[@JimVeNard]

Question? We are 60 and are interested in the 8 hour tour. However, what is the bathroom situation? Are there many opportunities are very limited? Thx

[@askratavil]

All main stops will have either a visitor center or a museum with bathrooms available, or just public bathrooms, all of this options being free. The longest you will be without access to bathrooms is during the 40 minutes drive between Pointe du Hoc and Utah Beach, but even there, if there is an emergency, the tour guide may find a solution along the highway.

[@andreagasparini8217]

super useful video, thanks! could you tell me the name of the tourist agency that organizes the tour?

[@TiffyShow]

We used Viator the exact name of the tour is "Utah & Omaha Beaches D-Day Group Tour from Bayeux" if you search that it should come up!

[@TiffyShow]

Here is the link: www.viator.com/tours/Bayeux/Full-Day-Small-Group-Tour-of-American-D-Day-Beaches-from-Bayeux/d909-7237P1?medium=social-share-copy

[@andreagasparini8217]

@@TiffyShow thank you ! grazie mille

[@TatianaKarakelian-QueenofClubs]

Thank you so much for this lovely video! Would you please share with us the contact number or the website page to book the guide with Chloe? Do you know when is the best time to visit normandy ? is the transportation from: to bayeux in included? additionally, while touring in bayeux, where we can eat ?

[@TiffyShow]

Thank you so much for watching! You can search this exact title in Viator "Utah & Omaha Beaches D-Day Group Tour from Bayeux" Here is the link to the tour we booked: www.viator.com/tours/Bayeux/Full-Day-Small-Group-Tour-of-American-D-Day-Beaches-from-Bayeux/d909-7237P1?medium=social-share-copy

[@marthae9338]

It is actually more rebuilt than well preserved. It was very badly bombed during WWII.

[@TiffyShow]

Thanks for watching!

[@Pakal77]

Caen was erased, but Bayeux stood intact.

[@SegaSaturn4Life]

Was any of the places you visited haunted or felt haunted?

[@TiffyShow]

On our tour the only eerie place, for me, was the bunkers because you could actually walk all around them and go underground in the tunnel that connects some of them.

[@yrden99]

I live in Normandy and we have some eerie places Indeed. Some are known for weird stuff happening there but nothing really attested as supernatural tbh.

[@chrisdel2564]

Normandy the viking land

[@belindamohar]

BS