Normandy is a province of
France, located along the
English Channel northwest of
Paris. It is the ancestral home to the
Normans, the last people to successfully invade
England. Today, the region is home to over 3.2 million residents. It includes long stretches of beach, dramatic limestone cliffs, rolling verdant farmland, and the mouth of the Seine River. Normandy encompasses quaint Tudor-style villages and picturesque ports, such as
Honfleur. The Norman influence is still present in the area churches, abbeys, and castles as well as its language, culture, and cuisine. Famous residents of Normandy have included writers
Guy de Maupassant and
Andre Maurois, painters
Fernard Leger and
Nicolas Poussin, and fashion designer
Christian Dior.
Bayeux
Bayeux is a small medieval town just inland from the English Channel. It is best known for its fantastic Bayeux tapestry, which depicts in great detail the Battle of Hastings and the Norman conquest of Britain by William the Conqueror in 1066. The tapestry is 230 feet long by 20 inches wide and delicately embroidered with scenes from the battles accompanied by annotations in Latin. There is some doubt as to the tapestry’s origins. Many scholars believe it was created by Queen Matilda, William the Conqueror’s wife, and her ladies. It is thought to date from the late 11th century. Today, the tapestry is housed in a museum in the town center and is Normandy’s top attraction.
The Port at Honfleur, Normandy
World War II Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial
The American Cemetery at Omaha Beach
sits high on a cliff along Omaha Beach on the Norman coast, about 170 miles from Paris. It commemorates the American servicemen who died during the
Allied invasion of Normandy on June 8, 1944 and the ensuing operations. The cemetery – a field of simple white crosses – was established on that first day of the invasion in 1944. It was the first American cemetery on European soil in World War II. The cemetery contains the graves of 9387 American servicemen. Another 1557 are commemorated on the walls of the memorial. They are the American missing, whose remains were never located.
Mont St. Michel
Mont St. Michel
is a majestic granite promontory in the English Channel about three quarters of a mile from the Normandy shore. It is a tidal island, attached to the coast by a natural land bridge at low tide and surrounded by water during high tide. Mont St. Michel is home to an 8th century monastery that was dedicated to
St. Michael after
Bishop St. Aubert was visited by the archangel. An 11th century church adjoins the abbey. Today, visitors can take a causeway to the island – a wise decision since the tide in this area rises without warning at over two feet per second.
Visiting Normandy
Normandy is easily reached from Paris. It is about a two to three hour trip by car or a two-hour train trip from Paris’ St. Lazare station to Caen. A car is useful to get around Normandy. Norman cuisine is some of the best in France. The rolling fields are home to numerous dairy farms and the province is known for its cream dishes and cheeses, such as Camembert, Boursin, and Pont l’Eveque. Apples are another regional specialty and are used in cooking, baking, as in the local favorite apple tarte, and in the ubiquitous cider and apple brandy, the best of which is called Calvados. Seafood, particularly oysters and mussels, is also plentiful and delicious.
