Things to do in Upper Normandy

Omaha Beach:

You won't be disappointed by the rugged terrain and windswept sand of Omaha Beach, 16 km (10 mi) northwest of Bayeux. Here you'll find the Monument du Débarquement (Monument to the Normandy Landings) and nearby, in Vierville-sur-Mer, the U.S. National Guard Monument.

In Colleville-sur-Mer is the hilltop American Cemetery and Memorial, designed by the landscape architect Markley Stevenson. It is a moving tribute to the fallen, with its Wall of the Missing (in the form of a semicircular colonnade), drumlike chapel, and avenues of holly oaks trimmed to resemble open parachutes.

The crisply mowed lawns are studded with 9,386 marble tombstones; this is where Stephen Spielberg's fictional hero Captain John Miller was supposed to have been buried in Saving Private Ryan. You can look out to sea across the landing beach from a platform on the north side of the cemetery.

Mont-St-Michel:

In July and August, evening concerts are held here during the Heures Musicales (Musical Hours), and you can a make an eerie lamplight visit (EUR8) during the Songes de Nuit (any night Monday through Saturday, between mid-July and the end of September). The island village, with its steep, narrow streets, is best visited out of season, from September to June.