Hello, we have a friend from Normandy that lives here in Seattle, he is a chef at a culinary school here locally.
He has invited us to his 50th birthday party near his childhood home in Normandy! This will be in September of 2010. We have said a hearty absolutely we will come but know NOTHING about this area.
We were thinking since we had to cancel our trip to Paris, (which we would have been leaving today! Waaah!:-( )that we would fly into Paris stay a week and then get to Normandy for another week or so. My husband brought home a little piece of paper that he wrote some names of place on. I am assuming these are areas or places to stay that will be close to where is home is.
They are: Jullouville le pins St.Jean le Thomas Manche
Is anybody familiar with this region? How would we get there from Paris, would we train or fly? I am assuming we would want to pick up a car there near the airport or train station.
Any info would be appreciated. We are very excited about this!
Posts: 1720 | Location: Seattle, WA for now... | Registered: 02 May 2005
You can take either a train or rent a car to get from Paris to Normandy. This recent thread has some options on picking up a car. There may be other options based upon where you stay.
I'd also check over the results of this search. It is on doing Normandy as a day trip and it may be helpful in your initial planning.
Sounds like a wonderful opportunity and a great way to make up for missing the trip this year (in addition to the Yucatan).
The bigger town near this place is Granville. Manche is the name of the département, which includes Cherbourg and Avranches. It's a beautiful area, but the weather is often rainy.
Jullouville is only 25 or 30 miles from the famous Mont Saint-Michel.
Thank you ckenb, the birthday party we are attending I believe is in St. Jean le Thomas..which is not far I don't think at least it doesn't look very far on the map. I think the family home is in Julloville.
We are not sure where to stay...I have been looking up vacation rentals in those areas and there are not very many.
Perhaps we should just stay in a B and B while we are there and then take off in the car somewhere?
Maybe Honfleur? Or Bayeaux? We will have three weeks so am wondering where to go next? Of course we always spend more time in Paris before Normandy and then head back to the city but it seems a shame to not do some more driving around.
Any ideas we are wide open!!!
Posts: 1720 | Location: Seattle, WA for now... | Registered: 02 May 2005
The area north of Granville is called Le Cotentin. It's a peninsula and sort of an untamed part of Normandy, full of châteaux and old churches. A lot of the coast is rocky. Places to see are Lessay for the church, the château at Crosville-sur-Douve, the fishing village of Barfleur, the town of St-Vaast-la-Hougue for oysters, the cathedral in Coutances, and towns including Portbail, Barneville-Carteret, St-Sauveur-le-Vicomte, Briquebec, and on and on. It's a great area for seafood.
To Ken's excellent list, I'd add Villedieu les Poêles: the home of copper cooking pots. A bit touristy, but very picturesque. And yes, the cathedral at Coutances and the abbey at Lessay are well worth the visit.
If the rocky coast and seafood of the Cotentin pique your interest, then why not head west and get still rockier and wilder in Brittany? Stop off at Mont Saint Michel on the way, of course; then once you're past Dinard, the coastline is wonderfully jagged , and the seafood spectacularly fresh.
I remember a lovely holiday in a gîte not far from Jullouville: we thoroughly enjoyed exploring the area. Not much point in recommending it: I've long since lost any details, and can date it from the fact that our son Nicholas always had an after lunch nap, giving Philippa and me some precious time to ourselves. He was 2 at the time; he's now 24...
Jonathan
Posts: 3399 | Location: Stroud, UK | Registered: 18 November 2001
Fabulous, thanks! Our friend told us he had bought a whole set of copper pots last time he was back for a very reasonable price...
It sounds like a lovely area and heading west sounds like an idea...the seafood!
This has now turned into a wedding celebration as well as a 50th birthday party. They were married here but his family wants a ceremony there as well, fun!
How exciting that you are going to Normandy. The destinations you mention are actually very near to where my husband and I have stayed recently so I can give you some suggestions based on our own experiences here.
Not sure if you have already been to Mont St Michel or Bayeux (the amazing Bayeux tapestry) but these are some of the more well known places you could visit while you're here.
Further afield you could try the pretty seaside town of Honfleur; you can also go on a cider and cheese trip (route du cidre/fromage) and visit some very pretty towns on the way - these are east of Caen.
You're also near Brittany - we went on a daytrip to Dinan which we loved - a medieval town with cafes and shops - enjoyed cider and mussels for lunch!
Or, you could simply base yourself in a vacation rental and 'travel slow' - experience the lovely and peaceful countryside without needing to visit the well known 'attractions'.
Not sure if you've sorted out your accommodation.... we stayed in a B&B in a little town called Dragey - here is the website of the b&b - www.mt-st-michel.nethttp://www.mt-st-michel.net/ - I believe they have gites as well.
I've just done a little hunting around for other places to stay in the area - this one is west of Caen and run by an english couple:
As far as getting there is concerned - from our personal experience we prefer taking the train from Paris and going to a smaller town or city and picking up a hire car from there. Having a car in Normandy is the best way to get around without a doubt.
Hope these ideas are helpful to you...good luck and have fun in Normandy!
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Kim,
