Car and motorcycle tours in France
Coastal Normandy 4 Night Tour - Bed & BreakfastYour itinerary The following pages contain general information about your car or motorcycle tour and the locations where you will stay. The order in which they appear may not be the order your hotels have been confirmed for you - for your individual itinerary please refer to your holiday documentation.
Gijón
OviedoLa Coruña
Lugo
PontevedraOurense
Braga
Vila Real
Porto
Aveiro
Leira
Lisbon
Evora
Beja
Faro
Almodôvar
Sétubal
Santarem
Portalegre
Coimbra
Castelo Branco
Viseu
Guarda
BragançaVianna doCastelo
León
Burgos
Soria
Zamora
Palencia
Valladolid
Madrid
Segovia
Salamanca
Cáceres
Merida
Sevilla
Cordoba
Sorbas
Marbella
Gibraltar (GB)
Malaga
Avila
Santiago deCompostela
SantanderBilbao
Vitoria
Logroño
Pamplona
Huesca
Girona
Lleida
Tarragona
Barcelona
Zaragoza
Teruel
PalmaCuenca
Toledo
Albacete
Murcia
Torrevieja
Alicante
Valencia
Cartagena
Ciudad Real
Guadalajara
Donostia -San Sebastion
Mâcon
La Rochelle
Biarritz
NiortGuêret
St EtienneClermont Ferrand
RoanneLyon
Annecy
Chambéry
Grenoble
Briançon
Privas
Monaco
Marseille
Avignon
DigneMende
Montélimar
Bourg en Bresse
Aurillac
Le Puy
Limoges
Tulle
AgenCahors
MontaubanAlbi
Alés
Gap
Nice
Cannes
St Tropez
Toulon
Lodéve
Carcassonne
Montpellier
Nîmes
Narbonne
PerpignanFoix
Auch
Tarbes
Toulouse
Rodez
Pau
Mont de MarsanHagetmau
Périgueux
Bordeaux
Saintes
Angoulême
Roscoff
Quimper
St Malo
Cherbourg
Caen
Villerville
Etretat
ArromanchesBar le Duc
Troyes
Chaumont
Charleville Méziéres
Metz
Nancy
Epinal
Vesoul
Lons leSaunier
Belfort
Basançon
Colmar
Strasbourg
Dijon
Chalon sur Saône
Le Havre
Bayeux
Honfleur
Franche Comté
Alsace Lorraine
ChampagneArdenne
Western LoireBrittany
Normandy
Poitou CharentesLimousin
Aquitaine
Midi Pyrénées
Languedoc Roussillon
Auvergne
Rhône Alps
Provence Côted’Azur
Plymouth
Cork
PoolePortsmouth
Trouville
Maps and route planning To help plan your trip we provide an excellent map of France. It's also useful to go to travel websites such as Google maps, viamichelin.com* or www.theaa.co.uk.
*Motorway tolls, where applicable, are indicated on this site.
Hotel directions With your travel documents is an information sheet for each hotel which has been booked for you giving directions together with some further details.
Arrival Unless stated, you will be expected to arrive at each of the hotels pre-booked for you by 6pm each day. This should allow you time to have a fairly leisurely drive between hotel stops but if you find you will be arriving later than this please ring the hotel so that your room is held for you.
This tour is on a bed and breakfast basis.
The itinerary gives you the opportunity to visit many of Normandy’s most famous sights, including the picturesque harbour at Honfleur, Bayeux and its very famous ancient tapestry, and the D-Day Landing Beaches. It also takes you through some of the fertile Norman countryside, known for its wonderful cheeses, cider and dairy produce which feature prominently in the local cuisine.
Here we give some ideas of places you may like to see in the vicinity of each of your overnight stops
Etretat
The main attraction in Etretat has to be the famous cliffs and incredible scenery of the Alabaster Coast which has inspired so many works of art. This can be appreciated at all times of year and at different times of day when the intense colours and changing light gives the chalky cliff face a special appeal. Monet painted here on many occasions from different sides of the cliffs and in various atmospheric conditions. Take the time to
walk along the beach below or along the cliffs (the coastal GR21 marked walking route is recommended) to fully take in the magnificent natural beauty of this place. There's also an exceptional clifftop golf course here, 150 feet above the sea. Fécamp - (17k) a short drive along the coast, is a lively resort in summer with watersports and a marina. This is also where you'll find the strikingly beautiful Palais Bénédictine which produces a plant-based liqueur of the same name. A complimentary
Etretat
sample of Benedictine is given at the end of your visit to the palace and there's also a museum, religious art exhibition and gallery of modern art. Another treasure in Fécamp is the restored Abbé de la Trinité church which dates back to the time of William the Conqueror - it is well worth visiting to see the huge interior with its impressive stone arches and stained glass windows that have survived many wars through the centuries.
VillervilleMidway between Trouville and Honfleur, this seaside village makes a perfect base to discover some of the lovely places along this part of the Côte Fleurie. Trouville (5k), Deauville (7k), Villers sur Mer (14k) and Cabourg (25k) are upmarket resorts (in particular Deauville which has a very expensive image with high end shopping and luxury hotels) all with beautiful sandy beaches and elegant seafront promenades. Honfleur - (10k) this picturesque, enchanting town has inspired many artists with its old harbour surrounded by tall narrow houses. There is plenty to visit including gardens, museums and art galleries, the largest wooden church in France, as well as pavement restaurants and cafés where you can sit and take in the surroundings. Pont l’Evêque - (18k) known since the 13th century for its cheese.Pont Audemer - (33k) is a pretty town on the river Risle. Although it was quite badly damaged in 1944 the town still has some very attractive half timbered houses dating from the 17thC and some lovely waterside views. Le Havre - (34k) the city has undergone a regeneration in recent years and has a number of interesting landmarks, museums and galleries such as the Maison Témoin Perret and Musée des Beaux Arts André Malraux which has a wonderful collection of Impressionist and modern art.
Palais Bénédictine, Fécamp
Honfleur
Trouville
CaenThis large commercial centre and river port is also a university city with lots of cultural interest. The city centre was almost entirely destroyed during two months of bombing in 1944 but has been attractively rebuilt to blend in with the architecture of the surviving castle ramparts, churches and 2 abbeys, the Abbaye aux Hommes (resting place of William the Conqueror) and the Abbaye aux Dames. Amongst the many things to see is the Musée des Beaux Arts (fine arts) and the Normandy Museum, a folklore museum depicting many aspects of Norman life. Also the Mémorial museum is highly recommended, with audio-visual shows of life during the Occupation. The city has a busy market and excellent shops and restaurants, arguably the best shopping centre in Normandy.Ouistreham (16k) - you may like to see the Café Gondrée, the first building to be liberated in 1944, and nearby Pegasus Bridge. Port en Bessin is a lively little seaside resort with an attractive fishing harbour, known for its scallops and early morning fish auctions.Cambremer, Beuvron en Auge and Bonnebosq - these three villages all offer cider tasting and visits to see how the local speciality is produced (each is a 30-40 minute drive from Caen).
Approximate driving distances and times to/from ports
Etretat
Caen (Ouistreham) - 80 miles/128k. 1 hr 30
Cherbourg - 147 miles/237k. 2 hrs 45
Le Havre - 17 miles/28k. 40 mins
St Malo - 177 miles/284k. 2 hrs 15
Roscoff - 283 miles/455k. 4 hrs 55
Arromanches
Caen (Ouistreham) - 20 miles/33k. 40 mins
Cherbourg - 64 miles/103k. 1hr 20
Le Havre - 81 miles/131k. 1hr 40
St Malo - 106 miles/171k. 2 hrs 15
Roscoff - 213 miles/343k. 3hrs 55
ArromanchesToday this is a small lively holiday resort with a backdrop of white cliffs but is is best known for its vital role during the events of June 1944 and the Allied invasion. Athough it was not used as one of the landing beaches reminders of its history are much in evidence with the remains of the artificial Mulberry Harbour and museums to visit including the Musée du Débarquement and the evocative Arromanches Cinema 360°. D-Day Landing Beaches - following the coastal road from Ouistreham in the direction of Luc sur Mer you will see many signs for the beaches used for the Normandy Landings in June 1944 - Sword, Juno, Gold, Arromanches and Omaha (Utah is further west along the coast). There are also museums and memorials well signposted along the way. Courseulles sur Mer - (9k) is a popular seaside resort with a fishing harbour and marina and a very long beach of pale sand. Bayeux - (10k) as well as housing the famous tapestry this is a beautiful city with the huge 900 year old cathedral of Notre Dame. It was the first French town to be liberated by the Allied troops and here too is a museum about the Battle of Normandy and military events prior to and after the Landings. The British War Cemetery makes a sobering yet worthwhile visit - it is the largest British WW2 cemetery in France. If you plan to visit the tapestry during your stay it is advisable to set aside a few hours to see this remarkable piece of history. Balleroy - (27k) a village known for its 17thC castle and museum with formal gardens and parkland where hot air ballooning often takes place.
Arromanches
St Etienne church, Caen
Café Gondrée