Diane -

Thanks for your trip report - I was so happy to see it because it almost exactly matches what I am considering for our family trip. It had just occurred to me that we could stop at Giverny on our way from CDG to Bayeux. How long a stop did you make there to see Monet's house? Did you also go through the gardens?

We are scheduled to take the same Overlord tour.

The bike ride you took sounds like a fun way to spend the last day in Bayeux. We will be heading to Tours later that day. How long did it take your group to cover the bike route?

Did you feel that 3 days was enough time to spend in Bayeux?

Connie

We will be in Bayeux in early November . . . I doubt the weather will be as nice as you experienced, but I wonder if the bike rentals are available on a Sunday, as this would be our only day open for a ride. Would you have that information?

Hi Connie,

Three days in Bayeux was certainly enough for us to see the major sites that one goes to Bayeux to see (I neglected to mention that we did see the Tapestry as well, after we finished our bike ride). However, it is such a beautiful area, and if we had another day or two I certainly could have filled it up! We did not make it to Mont St. Michele, and I also would have gone to Le Havre if we had more time.

As for Giverny, we spent about an hour and a half there (I had been there once before quite some years ago). Most of that time we spent in the gardens - the house is charming, but doesn't take more than 1/2 hour at most to go through. It's maybe 6 rooms -that's it. To give you some idea, we picked up our rental car around 9:30am or so, went to Giverny (got lost a little), stopped for a quick lunch, and arrived in Bayeux around 3pm.

As for the bike rentals, I don't have the name of the company handy, but it is right across from the official Bayeux visitor information center in the center of town. I believe if you email the town's official tourist department, they could probably hook you up. The whole ride took us about 3 hours, at a leisurely pace. One note: they do require a rather hefty deposit on your credit card for each bike. They are very good, quality bikes. HOwever, we were a little put off when we returned the bikes and the owner (his wife, I believe, actually) spun EVERY tire, checked every brake, etc. etc. before signing us off. They didn't do this BEFORE we rented the bikes, which troubled me a bit, since I certainly didn't want to get stuck paying for a slightly bent wheel that may have already been that way when we got the bike!

If you have any more questions, I'd be happy to help!

Diane

Diane -

Thanks for that feedback about how long to spend in Bayeux.

I had decided to cut back to 2 nights there and add a night to our next stop, Tours, but between finding out they could add one night to our Tours hotel, and that we could cancel that last night in Bayeux, the Tours room became unavailable. ARGH! Luckily we were able to get the Bayeux night back just before they gave it to someone else.

So, it looks like we will have time for that bike ride for sure!! I'll have them spin the tires before we leave!

Anything else you recommend seeing in Bayeux? We'll have our 14 and 16 year olds with us.

Connie

Don't miss the tapestry and follow the trail around the town. It's marked by brass plaques in the ground. It leads from one place of interest to another.

Other options for a d day tour is a private guide or audio guide.

Visit cider and calvados producers in the area.

Near by - Caen with it's chateau and abbeys.

Diane;

You stated in your original post that you would review the place you stayed in a later post.

Has this happened? and if so , Where?