A reader recently asked me: Our intention is to fly into Paris. We plan on renting a car to drive to Giverny, then to Normandy returning to Paris two days later and spending the rest of our vacation there. We definitely would get a rental, but would we drop it off at the airport or in Paris? Also, never having driven in Europe, is there a particular route that is better than another?

My response: Picking up a car at the airport in Paris and heading straight off to Normandy will work fine. It's expressway the whole route, first towards Paris on the A1, and then skirting to the north of the city before heading off on the A13 towards Rouen and Normandy. Figure about 2.5 hours for the drive, depending on where you go in Normandy.

The expressways in France are mostly toll roads -- you pick up a ticket as you enter the toll road, and pay when you exit (or as you approach major cities, where there is no toll). On this route it would not become toll road until after skirting Paris and heading north. You'll need cash to pay the tolls, as US credit cards often don't work.

Since you'll be freshly arrived from a transatlantic flight, and probably a bit tired, I think it would be best to head straight to Normandy and bypass Giverny. Do Giverny and Monet's Gardens on your way back from Normandy to Paris. The House and Gardens are open everyday from the 1st of April.

For Normandy I like to base myself in the town of Honfleur. It's a bit far from the D-Day beaches (60 to 90 minutes each way), but a really charming village, some good hotels and great restaurants. More convenient to the D-Day beaches is Bayeux, my second choice.

Keep in mind that there will be a surcharge for picking the car up at the airport, but this is fairly minimal, usually around Euro 20 or less. The cost should be included in what ever rate quote you get for the car rental (which I can do for you, if you'd like). There's no problem with either returning it to the airport (to avoid driving in traffic in Paris) or returning it in the city after dropping luggage at your hotel.

Chatueau de Boucéel
D308
50240 Vergoncey
Tel: 02-33-48-34-61
Fax: 02-33-48-16-26
Email: chateaudebouceel@wanadoo.fr
Web: www.chateaudebouceel.com
5 rooms. Singles: €125; Doubles: €145 to €185

If you’re planning to spend a night in the neighborhood of Le Mont St. Michel, I normally recommend that the thing to do is spend a night ON the island. During the day Le Mont St. Michel is overrun with day-tripping tourists, but after about 4:00pm they slowly disappear, leaving you as master of the island. Wandering the empty streets of this medieval hamlet can be a memorable, if slightly eerie experience, enhanced by torchlit tours of the abbey offered in summer time.

But let’s face it, of the hotels actually on the island, none rise above mediocre. If you really want a great experience, and don’t mind not being on the island, Chateau de Boucéel is the place to stay. Built in the 18th century and located about 12 miles inland from Mont St Michel, the chateau is still in the private ownership of the Count and Countess Régis de Roquefeuil-Cahuzacare. It’s not so much like staying in a hotel as staying with some very rich and cultured friends in the French countryside.

L’écailleur
1 rue de la République
14600 Honfleur
Tel: 02-31-89-93-34
Open: 12:00 to 14:00 & 19:00 to 21:00
Closed: Wednesdays and Thursdays
Average Price: €40 per person


L'Ecailleur (scaler, as in fish scaler) is one of my favorite stops in all of France. To start with, the location is marvelous. The restaurant occupies the ground floor of a small building on a corner of the Enclosure area, with views of the old harbor. The interior is smart and modern, with little to distract you from the view and the food.

I have always been greeted warmly and graciously at the door, even when they have had to inform me that -- malheureusement -- they are fully booked for the night. Make a reservation, so that doesn't happen to you. Once seated, you'll find a few items listed on their a la carte menu, but you're far better off considering one of their fixed price menus. At €27 to €39, a meal here is not cheap, but it's good value. The four-course meal includes an appetizer, main course, cheese plate and dessert.

Once you've ordered, and while you're enjoying the view, a little amuse-bouche will arrive. Literally a "mouth amusement", this will be a small and always interesting something to tickle your palate and keep you busy while your appetizer is being prepared. It won't be long, though, before your courses begin to arrive. The presentation is a work of art, and you may feel like it's just too pretty to eat. Fortunately they pay as much attention to the quality and flavor as they do to the visuals.

Mention the word Normandy to most Americans, and they instantly think of D-Day. This momentous struggle that took place more than 65 years ago has left an indelible mark on the region. Concrete bunkers, war memorials and cross-filled cemeteries litter the countryside.

Everybody in my group is eager to see Omaha Beach, but I leave that for last and allow the suspense to build. I start our day with a stop at the German Military Cemetery at La Cambe. Originally an American burial ground established in the first days of the invasion, it was a holding place for those killed in action from every side. War is a messy business, and somebody has to clean up afterwards. That's an aspect few have even considered. La Cambe became the German cemetery after the war, when the American bodies were relocated to the American Cemetery at Colleville.

Small black crosses huddle together in groups, while flat stones mark the grave sites, usually with two soldiers per grave. In all, more than 21,000 German soldiers found their final resting place here. The number of unknown soldiers makes clear just how hectic and disorganized the German retreat was, as they seldom had time to bury their dead. Open remains and hastily dug graves in the fields just inland from the beaches continue to be found to this day, the most recent in April 2009.

While Hollywood has done a good job of portraying the German soldier as a ruthless killer, the very personification of evil, the truth is often more difficult. Take Rifleman Walter Kus here. I don't know Walter's story, but I can read the dates of his birth and death (written European style -- DD.MM.YY). Born July 30, 1926. Died July 29, 1944.

As the Soviets pushed forward on the Eastern Front, grinding German soldiers into the snow and mud, Germany became increasingly desperate for new recruits. They stretched the age limits on both the high and low ends, pulling fathers out of homes and kids out of what little school was left. Many of the soldiers posted here, on the Atlantic Wall at Normandy, were raw recruits with little or no real military training. I can imagine that Walter Kus, on the day before his 18th birthday, would have rather been just about any where else.

From the German Cemetery at La Cambe we move just a few miles down the road to the Pointe du Hoc. This scarred piece of land, situated on a point of land between Utah Beach and Omaha Beach, has been left essentially as it looked after June 8, 1944. The terrain rolls and bucks with huge bomb craters. Several concrete bunkers are still intact.

A critical observation and defensive position for the Germans, the Pointe was subjected to heavy aerial bombing in the days before the invasion, yet intelligence suggested that the bunkers were too strong to have been completely destroyed. The guns of the Pointe du Hoc, sitting on a cliff hundreds of feet above the beach and capable of wreaking havoc on both Utah and Omaha, would need to taken by ground assault.

Capturing the Pointe, and taking out the German heavy artillery placed there, became the special mission of 225 American Rangers. Using medieval siege tactics -- rope, grappling hooks and ladders -- the Rangers assaulted the cliff under enemy fire just prior to the main landings. The 225 Rangers suffered 135 casualties before securing the cliff top. When the Pointe was finally captured, the Rangers discovered that the big guns had been moved inland several days earlier to protect them from the bombing.

A few miles down the road from Pointe du Hoc we come to a wide gully, where a modern paved road makes it easy for us to access a beach that 65 years ago was so difficult, a beach thousands of Americans fought and died to secure. After leaving the group a little time to walk and reflect on the beach, we head up for our last stop of the day, the American Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer.

Situated on a cliff overlooking Omaha Beach, the American Cemetery is located on the site of the temporary American St. Laurent Cemetery. Established by the U.S. First Army on June 8, 1944, this was the first American cemetery on European soil in World War II. After the war, this land was given by France to the US as sovereign territory.

Covering more than 170 acres, the cemetery contains the graves of 9,387 American military dead, most of whom lost their lives between June 6 and August 20, 1944. Inscribed on a wall are the names of 1,557 soldiers who were never found. While the sight of 10,000 crosses and stars of David is overwhelming, it’s important to realize that they represent less than 25% of those Americans who died here. Only those who’s families requested that their remains be buried at Omaha Beach are here, the rest were returned to the US for burial.

My tour group members return to the van wiping their eyes. Young and old, male and female, interested in military history or not, no one leaves Colleville unmoved. The ride home to the hotel is always quiet.

This afternoon I'm boarding a plane for London, getting ready for my next round of tours. Looking at the date on my tickets, I realized that today is another famous date in history: today is June 6, the 65th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Normandy. This video is a beautifully done look at the course of the invasion, with images that mix historic footage with modern looks at many of the memorials, museums and other sights of Normandy today. Once you click on the English version and are taken to the "movie theater," it takes a few minutes for the video to load and start playing, so if you just get a little black screen -- be patient, it'll start up eventually.