Day 1: Honfleur to Bayeux
We traveled from Honfleur to Bayeux via an express bus to Caen then a short train trip. It was easy to get tickets with the Trainline app and the local bus app. There were lots of tourists on this bus, with lots of luggage. It took us about two hours to get to Bayeux.
After meeting our host and dropping off our bags, we walked over to where we meet our tour tomorrow morning so we’re not trying to figure that out first thing in the morning. We had no dinner plans and decided to just get snacks from the supermarket. We got French sausage which was hard to cut, but tasty, some nice bread, Neufchatel cheese, and taramasalata. Also some Calvados and a couple of different kinds of cider. We opened one and it foamed all over. That was a surprise. For dessert we tried some cookies we got in Honfleur. Those were really tasty.
Day 2: Overlordtour of D-Day Sites
Today was our Overlordtour of Omaha and Utah beaches, plus places in between. Very interesting and informative. We got to see a good amount of the countryside too.
For dinner we had galettes and crepes at a restaurant along the river, with a water wheel outside.
Day 3: Bayeux Cathedral and River Walk
We walked over to the Bayeux Tapestry museum only to learn that it was unexpectedly closed for technical reasons so we missed that. Wish we’d known earlier; we could have ducked in yesterday after our tour or on the day we arrived. C’est la vie!
These horse figures at a town roundabout are based on the tapestry. Somehow we missed them while we were walking from the train station, but we noticed them driving back from our tour yesterday.
We went inside the Bayeux cathedral, which was interesting and quiet. We really like what they did with the modern stained glass and prisms in the tower.
With the tapestry museum closed, we went for a walk along the Aure river instead. It was a pleasant walk, starting from near the tourist information office and heading north. We had reservations for dinner but since we had food leftover we canceled our reservation and bought more bread so we could eat a meal in. We got beignets for breakfast. Not like New Orleans beignets. More like filled doughnuts.
Essentials
Lodging
There was some confusion about arrival time at our Airbnb, but our host was there to let us in and show us around. Our attic suite was the ideal French garret. Spacious and clean with a view of the cathedral. It was nice having more of a proper fridge too. This is easily the fanciest house we’ve stayed in.
Dining
Bayeux has a number of restaurants but there weren’t many places open on Sunday and Monday (this was true throughout France). We had Savoyarde and Bessinoise galettes (savory buckwheat crepes) and crepes with caramel apple, almonds, and whipped cream at Le Moulin de Galette. The food was good and swift. Service was a little confused but friendly. Tasty local draft cider too. Other than that we bought snacks at the local supermarket.
Transportation
We arrived and left by train. Bayeux itself is very walkable. Getting around to D-Day sights looked nearly impossible using public transportation. Having a car would make getting around easier, but we’re happy we took the tour. Navigating didn’t look that easy, and some of the sites would have been meaningless with commentary. Or more knowledge than we had going in.