Travel Guides Crafted by Experienced Archaeologists & Historians

Normandy
Art, History & Archaeology Sites & Museums

This northwestern region of France attracts many visitors to see the memorials and monuments of the D-Day Beaches of World War 2, not far from the city of Caen. Further back in time, Rouen was one of the largest and richest cities of Medieval Europe. Also a city where Joan of Arc is thought to have been burned at the stake. Where Monet painted his famous cathedral series. The Seine River Valley is know too for the many beautiful abbeys and monasteries. Normandy was heavily attacked by the Vikings from the 9th century onwards. Normandy has been the site of many conflicts, including the Normandy Campaigns in the early years of the 1200s, the Hundred Years War from 1337, and the 16th century Wars of Religion. Each of these has had a visible impact on the built environment, and what it is that tourists come to see.

Reasons to Visit Normandy

Impressionism,

Castles, Forts & Abbeys,

D-Day Beaches,
… and Cheese, Cider & Calvados.

Find Places to Visit in Normandy

Five Popular Attractions in Normandy

Bayeaux Tapestry

Bayeux Tapestry

City and castle Hohensalzburg at sunset - Salzburg Austria

D-Day Beaches

Mont Saint Michele at dusk France

Mont Saint Michel

Monets House Summer

Monet’s House & Garden

Rouen Cathedral Front Portal Detail

Rouen Cathedral

Explore Normandy more deeply

Historic Cities in Normandy

Bayeux

Caen

Dieppe

Le Havre

Rouen

What to See in Normandy

Castles & Fortresses

Normandy has a number of great fortresses and castles to visit. From the fortified town and abbey on Mont Saint Michel to the castle forts associated with such important historical figures as Richard the Lionheart and William the Conqueror. At the northern end of Normandy is Château d’Eu, a royal residence from the 16th century and later King Louis-Philippe’s summer residence. As English and French rulers fought over Normandy for centuries, so the fortresses and castles developed, in appearance and function.

Monasteries & Abbeys

Normandy is where you will find the world’s most well known and frequently visited medieval abbey, namely Mont Saint Michel. Scattered around this vast northern region of France, however, are many other equally spectacular monasteries and abbeys. Given the age of some of these religious sites it is perhaps not surprising that some, like those at Savigny and Saint-Evroult, are now in ruins. So evocative is the ruined Benedictine Jumiéges Abbey that it has frequently been described as France’s most beautiful ruins.

World War II Sites & Memorials

Museums & Art Galleries