On Day 3 in France, we visited numerous WWII sites across the Normandy region. Yes, we are talking about actual battlefields, real war sites, and places where immense destruction and massive loss of life happened.
Remember the movie “Saving Private Ryan?” There’s a scene depicting the D-Day Omaha Beach. Go watch it and you’ll know how brutal and tragic 6 Jun 1944 was.
You could also watch the more recent movie “Pressure” that showed a quick scene of how brutal the battle was at Omaha Beach. I watched it onboard my flight to Liaoning, China – highly recommended especially for war and history lover.
Before we move on, read what we did on Day 1 and Day 2 in France for a better story flow. You can also view the 14-day trip summary HERE.
Without any further ado, let’s kickstart our Day 3 in France.
5 places we visited in Normandy, France
Due to the morning rain, we idled in the hotel for a while, enjoying the 2-day old French Choco Croissant as breakfast. I’d bought it in Paris and was surprised that it still tasted good – not hardened and not too sweet.
Read this post to see which Paris bakery I bought it from – highly recommended by the way.
When the rain stopped, we checked out of our hotel in Caen and drove off. The first destination was pure logistical – to pump petrol which cost €40. Then we kickstarted our free and easy D-Day tour in the following order.
1. Longues-sur-Mer battery
Among the D-Day sites I’ve visited, Longues-sur-Mer battery was my favourite. You get to enter real casemates, view original guns, and witness the bomb damage.
There’s also a vast green field where you see underground mortar, dug trenches, high corn plantation that towered over your head.
The trail leading towards the cliff and water offered a beautiful panoramic view.
It’s a strange and intense feeling to imagine how the war unfolded here on D-Day, and yet see the contrast of how beautiful and peaceful the place is today.
2. Bunker-hopping
There were numerous bunkers overlooking the beaches, labelled by numbers, e.g. WN60, WN62, WN65.
The first we visited was Bunker WN62 that overlooked the Omaha Beach and had one of the heaviest casualties.
You can walk through zig zag trenches, enter underground shelter, and see war “bullet” markings on the internal walls.
The Monument Big Red One was nearby. It serves as a tribute to the US 1st Infantry Division who assaulted the bunker complex at 6.30am on D-Day June 6, 1944.
627 soldier names were inscribed on the monument. So, we know how bad the battle was.
We then drove to Bunker WN65. Defended by about 20 German Soldiers, the bunker was neutralised by the American forces at around 11.30am on D-Day.
3. Lunch in Normandy
We had our lunch at Restaurant Brasserie Bar La Crémaillère. It was crowded and seemed to serve group tours as people came in batches.
Different from our experience at other restaurants, no drinking water and baguette was served. So I asked for water and the staff delivered a bottle of Evian water, adding €9 to the bill. This, once again, was a few times more expensive than my glass of wine.
TIP: In France, ask for tap water or “une carafe d’eau” (pronounced oon-kah-rahf-doh)”. If you just say water, you might get a surprise on your bill.
Let me show you my lunch order – Omelette with ham, cheese and mushroom paired with red wine. It was not bad. Hard to go wrong with an Omelette, right?
4. Omaha Beach (UNESCO World Heritage)
After lunch, we continued our D-Day Normandy tour, at Omaha Beach. It was beautiful and felt tranquil – hard to imagine so many perished here.
We sat along one of the many ocean-facing benches, and enjoyed the beautiful view.
But seeing how wide, long and exposed Omaha Beach is, we could imagine how difficult it must have been for the soldiers to find cover from the attacks coming from atop the cliffs.
On 6 June 1944, 2,400 casualties were recorded here. This beach, along with several other D-Day beaches here is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
5. The Pointe du Hoc (Cliff)
This was high on my must-go list as I’d watched a movie on it, when the US forces did something rather impossible.
They abseiled a 35-metre cliff on D-Day and managed to neutralise the German forces there.
Here, we saw huge bomb craters, now covered with greens. It makes an interesting landscape you won’t see elsewhere.
6. More places to explore in Normandy, France
Due to time constraint, we gave the following shortlisted places a miss. But you could check them out if you are keen.
- American Cemetery (near Omaha Beach)
- Overload Museum (near Omaha Beach)
- Museum of the Battle of Normandy (in Bayeux)
- D-Day Experience (in Utah)
Drove off to Pontorson: A base to visit Mont-Saint-Michel
After 2 hours’ drive, we reached Pontorson commune and checked into Hotel Auberge De La Baie.
The original plan was to walk the beautiful Meandres (green large field) and catch the sunset, but there was some issues during hotel check-in (no one was manning the counter due to “an emergency”). By the time we managed to check-in, it was too late.
After resting a bit, we drove off to the “city centre” for dinner and to grab some groceries.
Dinner at Pontorson
We’d wanted to visit a Crepe restaurant, but were told that the restaurant was fully booked. By the way, the restaurant closed early, at 8.30pm.
McDonald’s was our only option as it closed later, at midnight. I ordered a chicken wrap and was happy that choosing the salad as side required no top-up (unlike in Singapore). Also, the salad came with “wild rocket” instead of lettuce, something quite “atas” in the context of Singapore.
The Minute Maid as beverage option was good too – sour and tasted like fresh orange juice. All for €11 and it made a decent dinner.
We then drove back to our hotel and called it a day.
What’s next?
On Day 4, we would visit Mont-Saint-Michel, the iconic abbey said to have inspired many fairy tales. Stay tuned and don’t forget to subscribe so you’ll be notified when it’s published.
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