Normandy vs. Paris

[stevenr597]

We are planning to cruise on the Silhouette (British Isles) during the month of July. One option is a tour of Paris, the second is the Normandy Beaches. Frankly we are torn between the two. Any thoughts?

[cadburysmom]

Without a doubt, Normandy Beaches over Paris. It's much closer so you will have more time there than Paris. Go to your roll call and see if you can join a private tour with wonderful companies such as Overlord or Bayeux Shuttle, etc...

 

Paris is too far a drive and requires more than that short period of time to enjoy. Save Paris for an overnight land trip. Besides, it's incredible at night and you would miss out on this.

[wendychloecruiser]

Normandy. Book a private tour. We used "Overlord" and the tour was incredible. I had no idea how emotionally moving it would be.

[AtleeH]

For me there would be no question. Normandy. 1) I'm a history buff and 2) I have a special reverence for those young boys that went ashore on D-Day and gave their lives for us.

 

We are planning to cruise on the Silhouette (British Isles) during the month of July. One option is a tour of Paris, the second is the Normandy Beaches. Frankly we are torn between the two. Any thoughts?

[AntjeG]

I would go to Etretat, Fecamp, Deauville etc. (the beach places) or take the approx. 1 hr. train ride to Rouen (beautiful city, capital of the province Haute-Normandie).

Paris is aprrox. 3 hrs. each way and I think this is too stressfull for a cruise port day. You spend most of your time on the transfer and miss out on so many attractive options closer to the port.

Plus (but this highly depends on your personal feelings re. this topic) the smaller places may feel safer right now (not just in France but in any tourist destination in the world). I don´t say Paris is less safe but there are people who feel less safe in big cities these days. (I am one of those.)

Edited January 12, 2016 by AntjeG

[az_tchr]

What are your interests? History a la architecture and art and museums then Paris. Easy to get to via the Chunnel train and fly home from Paris.

 

Interested in spending time in quaint villages and a WWII buff then Normandy.

 

Depends on your interests. Paris is further but probably a tiny bit easier to coordinate the travel. My DW would rather visit Champagne area of France for her true love. I would choose going to the French Alps. So many places and too little time.

[DrivesLikeMario]

There's no way you can get to Paris to do it justice. One half day just isn't enough.

 

Do Normandy with a private tour operator. You'll see so much more. Talk with others on your roll call so you can get a small 6-8 person group together to mitigate the costs.

[Oakton Girl]

Are you docking in Le Havre? If you are, then definitely go to Normandy vs. Paris. Not enough time to do Paris justice. But if you just want to say I visited Paris, then that is another story. Check out your roll call for private tours. Have fun!

[Chunky2219]

We did the wine cruise a few years ago and there was a two day port stop in Le Havre which allowed for an overnight in Paris. Even then, I'd pick the Normandy beaches over Paris. Like London, Paris is an over-priced rip-off whereas Normandy is a visit that can humble the soul and might make most people just a little more grateful to be alive.

 

But whatever you do, do something other than taking the shuttle into Le Havre. The place is, without doubt, one of the most utterly disappointing places I've ever got off a ship at.

 

 

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[suec12]

Go to Paris, the chunnel, before or after your cruise :) It is easy to book an open jaw plane ticket and if you spend 3 or 4 nights in Paris that would be soooo much better than an exhausting day trip with no time for any sights but drive bys.

[omeinv]

I've done both, and add my vote to the Normandy beaches as the better choice. We did Paris by taking the train each way from La Havre. It only worked because we'd been before, and knew how to use the Metro to get to exactly what we wanted. There actually is time to see things, but not "do" things. No Louvre or going up Eiffel tower, just quick looks.

 

Harris

Denver, CO

[Cafedumonde]

If you have done Paris, I would definitely do Normandy. If you haven't done Paris, I would still do Normandy. No question, Paris IS less safe.

[JHUNTGOLF]

We visited Normandy on our Infinity cruise in September 2013. Here's the excerpt I wrote about our D-Day Sites tour that day:

 

Day 2—September 19—Le Havre, France (D-Day Sites Tour)

 

Today is a tour of the D-Day Sites with Overlord Tours (http://www.overlordtour.com). This 8 person tour was arranged by Barry. Cost was 120 euros per person, or 240 euros per couple (about $319 using the 1.33 conversion factor as of 9/13/13). Participants were Barry & Cyndie, Phil & Naomi, Louie & Judy, and John & Pat. The eight of us were picked up at the dock just after 8am by Oliver from Overlord tours. We spent the day with Oliver. We started out driving to Normandy. Our first stop was down at the water’s edge at Omaha Beach. Oliver said that the Brits like to refer to this water as the English Channel, but the French just call it The Channel!! Oliver had a portfolio book of photos, maps, and diagrams that he used throughout the tour to describe the planning that went on not only to prepare for the June 6, 1944, D-Day attack, but also the things took place after D-Day. As he talked and we looked around, we just tried to imagine what the soldiers were thinking and feeling as they came ashore and the extremely difficult task they faced not just getting off the landing craft in heavy, full battlefield gear, but hitting the beach and trying to fight your way up the hill when the Germans had a high ground advantage. It had to be such a scary and terrifying feeling seeing your friends and buddies all around you being killed and severely wounded. We were standing on ground where America was taking a stand to free all of Europe. We were humbled by the experience. We then went to other parts of the D-Day beaches to get different perspectives of the challenges the Allied forces faced. Again it was devastating.

 

Next, we went to the American cemetery which is very close to the D-Day beaches. The cemetery is exquisitely maintained and manicured. It really reflects the tremendous respect and honor shown for the soldiers killed in battle. The tombstones were precisely lined up in rows with absolutely no deviation whatsoever even when you looked at them in diagonal rows. This was the ultimate in military precision. Viewing this cemetery was a very solemn experience. We were so glad that we were able to visit the cemetery and pay our respects to the fallen U.S. soldiers. There are more than 9,300 soldiers buried in the American Cemetery, with some tombstones marked as “Unknown.”

 

The remainder of our tour was spent visiting other important spots in the D-Day beaches area. For example, we went to Sainte Mere Eglise where a U.S. paratrooper from the 82nd Airborne Division had his parachute caught on the church steeple during the D-Day invasion. Church people were able to get him untangled and pulled him to safety. To this day, they still have a replica of the paratrooper hanging from the church steeple. We had lunch in a small café near the church. We also visited a small church that was used as a battlefield first aid station where two US medics brought in 80 injured soldiers, including German soldiers, and a small boy from the battlefield. When the Germans overran this location, they looked into the church and supposedly saw the two medics treating the boy and the German soldiers. The Germans then closed the church door and went on their way. The town was so appreciative of the heroic acts performed by these two medics and the American combat forces that they replaced the church’s stained glass windows with new windows honoring the U.S. soldiers and their combat units. It was a fitting tribute to these fighting units.

 

We ended the day back at the ship about 5:30 pm. We had a great tour with Oliver and would highly recommend using him for a tour from Overlord Tours.

 

John

[Maligator]

My wife and I have discussed this, as a northern Europe itinerary is on our short list. We decided there's no way to see even the highlights of Paris in one or two days. That will have to be a dedicated vacation. Also, I'm too much of a history wonk to ignore the importance of Normandy and would love to pay my respects at the Allied graveyards.

[4774Papa]

We are planning to cruise on the Silhouette (British Isles) during the month of July. One option is a tour of Paris, the second is the Normandy Beaches. Frankly we are torn between the two. Any thoughts?

 

The trip to Paris is way to long to have much time to see Paris.

We did the Normandy Beaches that included the Bayeux Tapestry. The Tapestry was wonderful. It is 900 years old and tells the story of the Norman Invasion of England (its colors are still vibrant).

[vtcruising]

We had that difficult choice when on a British Isles cruise a couple of years ago. We ended up flying into Paris and spent 2 1/2 amazing days with a Paris Pass. We took the train to London (the chunnel is an experience in itself) and stayed a couple of days before heading to the port.

 

We also went with Overlord Tours with 3 other couples on the ship (a private tour). I have to say that it was one of the most meaningful things I have ever done. The guide was superb and made the history come alive (the organizer of the tour gave us movies and reading to do if we wished to prepare). The guide called ahead to the American Cemetery to say that 2 of us had relatives there and the director had a special ceremony for our relatives when we arrived (my great uncle is there and another man in our group has a relative there as well). It was so moving and there was not a dry eye to be seen.

 

If I could only do one, it would be Normandy - we saw a lot in one day. I don't think you would see as much in Paris in a few hours. Though I enjoyed the Louvre and other usual touristy places in Paris, my favorite part of the stay was experiencing the local neighborhoods and eating great food and drinking delicious wines in local cafes.

[ghstudio]

Paris, like Florence, deserves much more than a drive by....That's the Louvre and the following famous paintings are in that building, if we had time to stop and see them....you get the idea.

 

There's much to see in Normandy...obviously lots of WWII sites including the beaches, standing in the german bunkers to see their view of the beaches, the American (and other) cemeteries....but if that's not of interest, consider Mt Ste Michell...and BTW, there is an american cemetery you could visit on that excursion (get a private guide...not the ship's tour).

 

Do Paris at some other point in your life...it's worth more than just part of a day.