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Travel guide
Normandy
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: May to September
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Welcome
Normandy, in a few days
Two hours from Paris, Normandy strings together the white cliffs of Étretat, Honfleur's old harbour, Monet's garden at Giverny and the outline of Mont-Saint-Michel. Between them lies the Pays d'Auge, a country of hedgerows, stud farms and cider cellars. It is also a region of history, from the D-Day beaches to the Bayeux Tapestry.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · The cliffs of Étretat free · about 2 hWhite chalk arches that drew Monet and Courbet; walk up the Amont or Aval cliff for the view of the Manneporte and the Needle.
- Afternoon · Honfleur and the Vieux Bassin free · about 2 hTall, narrow slate-hung houses around the old harbour, and Sainte-Catherine, a church built entirely of wood by the town's shipwrights.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel Le Cheval Blanc€150 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Deauville and Les Planches free · half a dayThe boardwalk of striped parasols and Art Deco beach huts named after American film stars, with the casino and grand hotels behind.
- Afternoon · Bayeux and its tapestry · about 1 h 30Nearly 70 metres of embroidery, more than 900 years old, telling William's conquest of England in 1066 scene by scene.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Le Dauphin€130 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · The D-Day beaches free · a full dayFrom Omaha Beach to Arromanches, with the American cemetery at Colleville above the sand and the craters and bunkers of the Pointe du Hoc.
- Afternoon · Mont-Saint-Michel · half a dayClimb the Grande Rue to the abbey on its rock, then the cloister and refectory, above a bay of huge tides.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel d'Argouges€130 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Rouen and its cathedral free · half a dayThe cathedral Monet painted more than thirty times, with France's tallest spire, the Gros-Horloge clock and the square where Joan of Arc was burned.
- Afternoon · Monet's gardens at Giverny · about 2 hWhere Monet lived for 43 years: the flower garden before the pink house, then the water garden with the Japanese bridge and the water lilies.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Hôtel Churchill€120 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
Some links are partner links: we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Baguette: the daily bread, bought fresh from the boulangerie. Ask for a "tradition", made with nothing but flour, water, salt and yeast.
- Croissant and pain au chocolat: breakfast pastries, best in the morning while still warm.
- The cheese course: served after the main dish and before dessert, from Comté to Camembert.
- Steak frites: the bistro standard. Order it "saignant" for rare or "à point" for medium.
- Galettes and crêpes: savoury buckwheat pancakes from Brittany filled with ham, egg and cheese, then sweet ones for pudding.
- House wine: ordered by the carafe or the "pichet" at lunch, and often better value than a bottle.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Say "bonjour" when you walk into a shop, a bakery or a café, and "au revoir" as you leave. Skipping it comes across as rude.
- Lunch runs from about noon to 2pm and dinner starts around 7.30pm. In between, most restaurant kitchens are closed.
- Most shops close on Sunday, and many small towns shut on Monday too. Bakeries and markets open on Sunday morning.
- Do not pay for bottled water at the table: ask for "une carafe d'eau", tap water that is served free with a meal.
- Around the big Paris sights, walk past anyone with a petition or a friendship bracelet. They are there to distract you while someone else takes your wallet.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ French
| English | French |
|---|---|
| Hello | Bonjour |
| Thank you | Merci |
| Please | S'il vous plaît |
| Yes | Oui |
| No | Non |
| Excuse me | Excusez-moi |
| Goodbye | Au revoir |
| Do you speak English? | Parlez-vous anglais ? |
| I don't understand | Je ne comprends pas |
| How much is it? | Combien ça coûte ? |
| Where are the toilets? | Où sont les toilettes ? |
| The bill, please | L'addition, s'il vous plaît |
| Help! | Au secours ! |
| Cheers! | Santé ! |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyEuro (EUR, €)
BudgetAbout €105 a day, mid-range
Best seasonMay to September
PlugC/E · 230V
Tap waterSafe to drink
TippingService is included by law, round up
Emergency112
EntrySchengen area: an ID card or passport for EU citizens, 90 days visa-free for UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports.
HealthNo specific vaccination needed. Check that tetanus, diphtheria, polio and MMR are up to date.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/normandy
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.