As you may know from our earlier visit to Auschwitz this year, World War II history is very important to me. When Kevin and I were in Paris this summer, we wanted to take some time to visit Normandy. I wanted to walk on the beaches — I wanted to hear the stories of bravery and courage that took place on those beaches — I wanted to see the historic locations where the outcome of WWII was transformed on D-Day.
We Took A Day Trip From Paris To The Beaches Of Normandy
We had a great experience with our day trip to the Loire Valley with Blue Fox Travel, and I’m so glad we chose them for our Normandy Day Trip as well. Blue Fox tours are always small group, no more than 8 people, so it feels like a private tour. This made our visit to Normandy especially meaningful.
Here is a link to the exact tour we took.
On Our Normandy Day Trip Tour We Visited:
- Omaha Beach
- Pointe du Hoc
- American Cemetery
- German Bunkers
- Operation Overload Museum
Our first stop was Omaha Beach. This is where the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan took place, if you’ve seen the movie. The beach was overlooked by cliffs which made attacking the area very difficult. They were heavily guarded with giant, concrete German bunkers, like the one pictured below.
Thousands of American soldiers lost their lives here.
Our next stop was Pointe du Hoc.
The landscape around Pointe du Hoc is littered with massive bomb craters left from the battle.
The soldiers landed on the beach below Point du Hoc, but then had to scale the 100-ft cliffs which were fortified by more concrete German bunkers and gun pits.
Another view of the cliffs.
It’s unimaginable what the soliders had to go through.
You can still see some of the barbed wire guarding the top of the cliffs.
After Pointe du Hoc, we had the opportunity to visit the Operation Overlord Museum. The museum retraces the planning and events which led to the D-Day landings, and everything in the museum is original artifacts that were actually used in the war, no recreations.
Our final stop of the day was the American Cemetery at Omaha Beach.
It’s located at the top of Omaha Beach, you can look down at the cliffs the soldiers had to scale below. Earlier in the day we were standing on that beach.
There were 326,547 Allied troops who landed on the beaches of Normandy.
Our guide told us many stories of the heros who fought there.
Nearly 10,000 American soldiers are interred at the cemetery.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you so much for reading. Until next time…
My husband and I took a trip to Normandy last May. We loved seeing the beaches and touring the battlefields and small towns where these battles were fought. One thing we particularly enjoyed were seeing the German, American and British cemeteries. Each one had its own mood…..the American was solemn and elegant; the German was cold and barren; the British cemetery was right outside of Bayeux and was so warm and charming. Each British gravestone had a personal message by the deceased’s family that made it so heartwarming to read. We were also charmed by Bayeux and its cathedral. What a lovely town. I would encourage any American to make this trip and be thankful for the sacrifices made for us to be a free nation.
This was so touching. Especially the grave of the unknown soldier. And those cliffs! How did anyone survive?
Thank you, Amanda, for sharing these beautiful photos. You were truly standing on hallowed ground. So many soldiers died there for our country. What a privilege for you to get to visit there and see that special place in history. While it’s very sad to think about the battle there, those are very beautiful photos. My father was a veteran of WWII (Navy) and luckily he survived.
Moving, and just beautiful! Thanks for the wonderful post.
I rarely comment on anything so from the bottom of my heart Thank You for sharing. I could only imagine the emotions one would feel having to step foot and eyes upon that land. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed your travel adventures, especially the WWll pics.
Thank you for posting the pictures, that area is on my bucket list. I love following your travel and adventures! I’m an airline retiree and fly free for life. You go to some amazing places and I enjoy seeing your pictures and tips.
Hi Amanda,
I’ve been loving these posts, thank you! Could you tell me if there was much of a language barrier in Paris??
Very moving. Thanks for sharing, I’m humbled. And today it is peaceful and beautiful there, yet haunting.
Your pictures are gorgeous!
thank you! I hope to visit there one day and appreciate your over view and lovely pictures. So heart wrenching though too!