A year after spending two days in Normandy with my fiancé, my family traveled to Paris prior to our wedding in the Loire Valley. It was my family’s first time in France and, being history buffs like me, they wanted to see the D-Day sites in Normandy. Since we were short on time, we took a Normandy D-Day Day Trip from Paris. It was incredible, but I learned a few things worth passing on.
First — and I and I can’t stress this enough — take a guided tour. While the train to Bayeux is only 2.5 hours from Paris, taking a guided tour is the only way you’ll see everything you want in one day. Here’s the tour I took, which I recommend. (However, if you have more than a day, I highly recommend visiting Normandy for a few days!)
The tour we took started at the Longues-sur-Mer battery, then Point-du-Hoc, Omaha Beach, then the Overlord Museum and ended at the American Cemetery. We also stopped for lunch and had a short cider tasting at Ferme de la Sapiniere. More on all the places below.
5 Tips for Taking a Normandy D-Day Day Trip from Paris
Be Prepared for a Long Day
Taking a Normandy D-Day day trip from Paris takes about 12-15 hours. The tours start around 7 am and include a 3 hour drive each way. (It is 163 miles away!)
In order to get to the tour on time, we left our hotel at 6 am. Thankfully our hotel packed us breakfast to go. Quick tip: if you booked breakfast with your hotel but you’re leaving before it’s served, ask them the night before to pack you breakfast to go.
Since it’s a long day, bring a water bottle, some snacks for the drive, and don’t forget a jacket. The weather in Normandy is always iffy and storms can blow in at a moment’s notice. Don’t forget, the D-Day landings were originally scheduled for June 5th but were postponed a day because of bad weather.
After three hours of driving through Normandy, we arrived at the Longues-sur-Mer battery, the only Germany battery in Normandy with its original guns. They overlook the cliff, positioned as part of Germany’s Atlantic Wall fortification. While they were bombed on D-Day, they are more intact than those at Point-du-Hoc, which we saw next. Positioned right on the cliff overlooking the English Chanel, the battery is still surrounded by dozens of craters left from bombs.
Book a Small Group or Private Tour
There are dozens of options for Normandy D-Day day trips from Paris, so make sure you check the size of the group. They can range from a small group (like 12 people) to huge groups (like 40-50!). You want either private (just you and your friends) or small group. Why?
The size of your group determines more than you think. A smaller group means a smaller shuttle versus a large bus, which makes the drive a bit faster. It’s also easier for the guide to wrangle a group of 12 versus tracking down 40 people who’ve wandered off. It also makes it easier to ask the guide questions and to hear them when they tell stories.
Our tour was limited to only 8 people. Once we had seen the D-Day landing beaches from a distance at the Germany batteries, it was time experience them up close. We walked along Omaha Beach, one of the five landing beaches on D-Day, and the one with the most casualties. Being with our small group made the beach feel so peaceful and serene — such a contrast from D-Day.
Know You Can’t See It All
“D-Day” may refer to only one day, but Operation Overlord (the code name for the Battle of Normandy) took more than two months. That means in addition to the 5 beaches and 27 military cemeteries in Normandy, there are dozens of historic places, monuments, memorials, and museums. In fact, there are more than 19 museums dedicated to World War II in Normandy alone! (Fun fact: many of them, like the enormous Overlord Museum, are private collections of artifacts people personally collected over the years!)
There are also so many little places with incredible stories, like the church in Angoville-Au-Plain, where two American medics saved the lives of 80 men from both sides of the war. Or the church in Sainte-Mère-Église where American Airborne soldier John Steele‘s parachute was caught. Or the memorial to Major Richard Winters (made famous in Band of Brothers) in Sainte-Marie-du-Mont.
There’s no way to see it all in just one day. In fact, I’ve taken two D-Day tours, one from Bayeux in Normandy (where we stayed for two days) and the other a day trip from Paris. Both were all-day tours that went to different places and I still didn’t see it all!
After a delicious lunch of fish and chips next to Omaha Beach, our tour continued at the Overlord Museum. We saw tanks and vehicles, uniforms, artifacts, and more from both sides of the war. It was fascinating.
Enjoy the Drive
This is one of those “if you can’t beat them, join them” tips because you have no other choice. Since you’ll be driving for 6+ hours in one day, you might as well enjoy the scenery of farms and rolling hills, and try catching a glimpse of monasteries and chateaus. And see if you can spot the Meridian Line, which crosses France through the Normandy region. (There’s a small sign near the edge of the road.)
After the museum, we stopped at Ferme de la Sapiniere for a cider and Calvados tasting. Calvados is a brandy made only in the Normandy region. Then our final stop on our D-Day Day trip from Paris was the Normandy American Cemetery. It’s a beautiful, yet overwhelming place. And we arrived perfectly in time to witness the flags being lowered for the evening while Taps played over a loudspeaker. It was incredibly moving to see.
Book Dinner Reservations in Paris in Advance
This one may sound crazy, but stay with me here. After 14+ hours of emotional history, including 6 cumulative hours of driving, two things will be certain. One: you will be hungry. And two: your ability to make decisions is going to be slim to none.
So do your future self a favor and make dinner reservations in advance, preferably somewhere near your hotel. Opt for cozy comfort food, like French onion soup or beef bourguignon. And definitely order the whole bottle of wine, making sure to raise a toast to all the soldiers who fought in Operation Overlord (and beyond).
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Experiencing the D-Day sites is so incredible, don’t let being short on time stop you. It’s definitely worth taking a D-Day Day Trip from Paris, just make sure you plan ahead!
Related :: Why Normandy Deserve More than a Day Trip, Why Fall is the Best Time to Visit Paris, Tips for a Day Trip to Champagne from Paris
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