53302PNO
Dinard, St Malo, D-Day Beaches, Bayeux, Paris
Routes
Opening days/times, entrance fees, etc. listed on Yellow Pages.
Colleville-sur-mer/ St Laurent visit of Normandy American Cemetery
Arromanches visit 360° cinema
Bayeux Visit Tapestry
- You should have vouchers for entrances in Arromanches and Bayeux
- The best lunch facilities are in Arromanches (allow 30mins – 1 hour for snack-grab/lunch). Bayeux also has a few cafes.
The Pointe du Hoc. Allow 45mins
Although time is often very tight when visiting the D-Day beaches, a visit to the Pointe du Hoc is always a highlight. THIS IS the point the American troops initially claimed. There is a stone monument commemorating this moment. It is a site overlooking Omaha cliffs which has been left untouched as a memorial to the soldiers who fought here and suffered some of the worst D-Day losses.
Be strict about timings – it is easy to get behind schedule on this day. It is free to visit and there are free toilets. No shop.
Set down in the bus park and lead to free toilets down a path to the right of set down. New information office with plans to hand out to the group. Map/plan shows circular route which starts by the info office and takes you counter clockwise around 40 minutes back to bus.
Pointe du Hoc Bus Parking:
Groups make their own way around a one way system on the fields on paths. There are viewing platforms, bunkers, remains of tank emplacements etc. all of which they may explore.
The views to sea and Utah beach beyond are spectacular and give a good idea of the 100-foot high cliffs that the American soldiers had to scale before their battle began.
American Cemetery overlooking Omaha Beach
Set down in the bus park. Take the path which leads towards the visitor’s centre – large grey building. Needs an extra 30 minutes – security lines can also be lengthy. Ask group to leave bags on bus. Point out the free toilets (smaller building to the left).
American Cemetery Bus Parking & Beach Access
If you have time for the Visitor Centre, the entrance to the cemetery can only be accessed from exiting the exhibition. You enter upstairs through a security check into a room where leaflets are available in English with a map of the cemetery. If not visiting the VC, it is still worth distributing these to those going directly to the cemetery.
Downstairs is an exhibition room with several different displays (some interactive) focusing on the American soldiers who fought in the D-Day landings. There is also a 150-seat cinema which shows a 15-minute film every 30 minutes (no need to reserve). The title and theme of the film is “Letters”.
After visiting the visitor centre (keep an eye on the time), the group leaves through the small hall of remembrance on the bottom level and there is a path that leads to the left directly into the cemetery. They will see an orientation plaque which looks out to sea.
The path down to the beach has been closed. The bus driver can stop along Omaha beach between Cemetery and Point du Hoc for sand if the group wants to collect samples. In nice weather, this is a good picnic spot – remember, no food or drink permitted at Cemetery.
Tell them to look out for the memorial and chapel which are located within the cemetery. If some need to find a relative buried here, they can use computers in the visitors’ center to find the exact location.
There are chimes every hour, and a short ceremony for the lowering of the American flag at sundown. There are several paths which lead back to the bus park.
If time is limited, the group can access the cemetery directly without passing through the visitor centre by taking a path to the left of the toilets. It leads over to a small building and two gates which are the old entrance to the cemetery.
Time allowing, some drivers will take the group along the sea front from Omaha memorial past German Atlantic Wall remains, and the sight where the first mass grave existed for American casualties.
Arromanches – allow ca. 40 minutes for cinema visit
If visiting 360° cinema, remember to call in advance and book visit. Your Voucher may have a reserved time – this is amendable.
If you have a scheduled visit in Arromanches (rather than just a lunch stop), you take the group to the 360º cinema (film and sound of original footage plus recent filming. 20 mins).
There is also a Musée du Débarquement (guided visit 1hr15) in the village which is a bit long winded for student groups but which they could visit over lunch time if interested (they pay). Their film concentrates specifically on the Arromanches harbour construction.
Since there is also a visitors’ centre at the American Cemetery some groups may like to spend more time there.
Cinema; do the visit before going down to Arromanches. Lead group into the cinema and pay entrances. There are free toilets before the film at the back of the small exhibition. Try to use toilets after as this could cause missing the beginning of the film. The film lasts 20 mins and afterwards you exit through a very good shop (books, videos etc.) and toilets.
You can take the path down to the town on foot from the cinema if the weather is good. Leave from the Gift shop and take the path which you see down to the left.
Arrange to contact your bus driver if there is any doubt about whole group walking down to the village i.e. if it is raining. If this is the case because of
weather or group agility he should wait to bring part or all of the group down to the village and drop them at the Arromanches Musée.
If some of the group have ridden the bus, meet them at the bus parking lot by the Debarquement Museum. Arrange same place for pick up with driver. In case of big crowds and many buses, you want to call your driver only when your whole group is ready to be picked up so he can be there in 5 minutes.
Arromanches 360 Bus parking & Pick Up at Debarquement Museum:
There are several good places for lunch and ice cream along the main street, a great boulangerie just past the end on the left, a few snack places around the main square, and the possibility to go down on to the beach right by the main square/flags. Speciality foods to look out for are Moules and Galette (savoury) Crepes.
Public toilets are in the row of shops opposite the bus stop. Also an ATM by the toilets at the post office.
Arromanches is a good place to pick up balls/boules for petanque on the beach in Dinard, and Bayeaux Tapestry souvenirs if not going there.
Bayeux Tapestry Museum
Set down in the coach park (see map). Lead the group down the path, past the free, public toilets. There are more to the left of the ticket office in the building that houses the Tapestry). Turn right onto rue de Nesmond, then first left. The Tapestry complex is on your right hand side.
Bayeux Tapestry Museum Bus Parking:
Lead the group into the grounds. Rendezvous here for 10 minutes prior to departure to lead the group back to the bus. The shop exit is over to your right.
Exchange voucher for tickets and direct them straight to the Tapestry.
To get to the Tapestry, go past the ticket office, ignoring the steps on your left, and straight through the door in front of you. Pick up the headphones and continue into a small, dark room to see the Tapestry. Get the group to enter 4 by 4. Staff may assist with this and let them in group by group. Headsets switch on automatically as they go in. This way each small group can see the tapestry panels at the same pace as the commentary. Should take the whole group around 30 mins to complete.
After the tapestry there is an exhibition upstairs and film on the making of it. Well worth it particularly for adults. Not as interesting for students.
Access to the gift shop is from the Tapestry. The shop exit is beyond the tills.
After the visit if you have free time to explore, they could head towards the
Cathedral. City spared WW2 bomb damage. Some small gift stores and cafes were used by the GIs during the war.