Overview

The quintessential image of Normandy is of a lush, pastoral region of apple orchards and contented cows, cider and cheese - but the region also spans the windswept beaches of the Cotentin and the wooded banks of the Seine valley.

Normandy gets its name from the Viking Norsemen who sailed up the river Seine in the 9th century. As the pillagers turned into settlers, they made their capital at Rouen - today a cultured cathedral city that commands the east of the region. Here the Seine meanders seaward past the ancient abbeys at Jumièges and St-Wandrille to a coast that became an open-air studio for Impressionist painters during the mid and late 19th century.

Memory of the D-Day landings of 1944 still linger along the Côte de Nacre and the Cotentin peninsula and here there are some sites that will truly evoke deep reflection.

Below you will find a sample day in an itinerary designed to take in the major sites of Normandy and all its fascinating history.

Typical Day Itinerary

Morning

• Breakfast on the sunny terrace of our Château
  

Late Morning

• The American Landings Sector Tour
  During this tour you will see some of the most important Second World War sites of the area narrated by a specialist Tour Guide. During this tour you will get the chance to see (amongst others) the following:
  Omaha Beach
  The American Military Cemetery at Colleville
  The German Military Cemetery at La Cambe
  

Lunch

• Lunch at "La Mere Poulard" on Mont St. Michel
  For Lunch we take a private plane to Mont St Michel. In the air you will be able to better understand Omaha beach and the other sites seen on the morning visit.
  

  The Restaurant: Annette Poulard's cooking was inspired by the richness and diversity of Mont Saint Michel Bay, between Brittany and Normandy, between land and sea, between tradition and creation.

  Salt meadow lamb, farmhouse chicken, inshore fish and seafood, vegetables from the polders, cream, Calvados - Annette revelled in the vast selection of local produce which she lovingly converted into delicious, unforgettable dishes.
  Annette Poulard's successors today bring the same enthusiasm and talent to La Mère Poulard's restaurant which is an integral part of Mont Saint Michel's heritage.
  

Afternoon

• Free time to explore Mont St. Michel and its assorted little towns including St. Malo
  Mont St. Michel is a small quasi-island, separated by approximately one kilometer of waves from the mainland at high tide. It is about one kilometer in diameter and about 80 meters high, jutting defiantly above the ocean. At low tide, however, it is separated from the mainland by approximately one kilometer of sand. Before a causeway was built in 1879, the only approach to the Mont was by foot over this land bridge.
• Fly back to the mainland

Evening

• Dinner at "Le Pommier" in Bayeux
  This is the right place to enjoy fine Norman meals, either with fish / seafood or meat (le "Cochon de Bayeux" is the local meat) It is one of the few establishments labelled "Normandie Qualité Tourisme"

Overnight

• La Cheneviere
  La Chenevière is an 18th century château situated between Omaha Beach, where the American forces landed on D Day 1944, and the historic town of Bayeux famous for its tapestry depicting the Conquest of England by William the Conqueror in 1066. The château stands elegantly in its own parkland of mature trees, embracing the graceful mannerisms of a bygone era and the warmth of an English country house. There are only twenty rooms each with a garden view and all individually decorated in a harmony of floral designs. The luxurious facilities will appeal to the most fastidious traveler. Relaxed indulgence is assured. The dining room with its picture windows overlooking the park has a certain grandeur but on a more intimate scale.