Normandy, france
Indice
Don’t hesitate any longer! The region is well known for its coastline with huge limestone cliffs, but the truth is that the interior is even more surprising than the coast. Cities full of history, natural landscapes to disconnect.
On your trip to Normandy you can not miss a stop in the capital, Rouen. This city full of history, heritage and culture will delight any visitor. Its cobbled streets and beautiful wooden houses give it an incomparable charm.
To go from rue Saint Romain to rue Saint Nicolas you can cross the rue des Chanoines, the narrowest street in the city. Other must-see places in the capital of Normandy are the Old Market and the Gros-Horloge, a large astronomical clock of the fourteenth century installed in a spectacular architectural complex. Oh, and of course, the cathedral!
The next stage of our trip to Normandy by car took us to Giverny. This town was home to Claude Monet and impressionism. In fact, at the Monet Foundation you can visit his house and spectacular gardens.
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The northern coast of France is really special. Stunning cliffs, endless beaches steeped in history, Gothic cities, abbeys, picturesque fishing villages… It is worth every corner, but here are the three places that we have liked the most and that for us are a must.
The Caen Memorial is a museum and memorial located in the town of Caen, one of the places of reference to learn about the Battle of Normandy and within the itinerary of the landing beaches.
The entrance cost us 19,80€ and the audio guide 3€. You can buy tickets online on their website and check the updated schedules and prices. We recommend booking a minimum of 3 hours, it is quite large and very interesting.
The beaches are not only interesting for the natural beauty of the landscape. You can still see remains of military structures, bunkers, batteries… It is possible to access them for free but you have to be careful because of the ruinous state in which the buildings are.
University of Caen
We advise you to stay away from the highways and refuel in one of the nearby towns. To do this, it is very good to use the Fuel Flash app. There you can select the country, turn on the location and it will sort the nearest gas stations by price.
All motels have free parking. But many hotels, especially if they are centrally located, you have to pay a surcharge to access the parking. Either that or you look on the street, although most parking lots are usually paid.
As a curious visit, and as long as you do not mind visiting cemeteries, I recommend you to visit two of them: the American cemetery and the German cemetery. It is a very strong contrast. One looks like something out of the movies, with surveillance, fenced areas to avoid approaching the graves and full of people. The other was almost empty, unguarded, “being able to walk” over the graves… guess which one is which.
If you do the sum, you will see that we left about 1700 € in a 14 day trip. That’s 850 € per person, taking into account all the variables we mentioned before: car from Barcelona, dog, 14 days…
Étretat
What we can do is use our imagination. And, for that, the travel agency PANGEA The Travel Store has created its third author’s trip with history to the shores of Normandy, exactly the same place where on June 6, 1944 the Allied landing against the Germans took place, which was the beginning of the end of the Nazi army and the Second World War.
Interesting, what will this trip bring? Anyone who is considering going or not is probably because they have seen or studied something about it. When you study history, or watch documentaries or movies, in the end it’s like a fiction that happens inside your head, but you can’t touch or experience it. The sensation of arriving at the iconic places where it all happened cannot be explained with words, because it turns everything that your imagination has been creating in your head into a reality. The most special thing is that, once you have been there in person, every time you go back to see or study something about this event, you will do it from a different point of view.