Best of Normandy

Containing so many of France's most iconic sights that it is hard to list them all in one place, Normandy is what many French people imagine when they think of quintessential France: fertile rolling countryside of dairy farms and orchards which yield fine cider, charming centuries-old half-timbered villages and towns and a coastline of long sandy beaches and dramatic chalky cliffs. But there is so much more to its distinguished heritage.

Visit vital historic sights like Rouen Cathedral, its trio of towers respectively representing early Gothic, Flamboyant Gothic and Renaissance, Bayeux, home to the stunning 230-foot (70-meter) 11th-century Bayeux Tapestry and Mont Saint-Michel, a hilly tidal island beautifully crowned by an abbey with its origins in the 8th century. Normandy's beauty became famous enough to attract some of the world's best painters: see the likes of Giverny, the home and major inspiration of Monet, and the Côte Fleurie coast to which many impressionist painters once flocked for the striking light. But the region's history is poignant as well as pretty, as you can discover on a visit to the Normandy Landings beaches where the allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France took place in 1944.  

Exploring the bucolic hinterland is also important. Here, discover delightful villages like Beuvron-en-Auge and sample the region's nationally outstanding cheeses (like camembert), cider and other products on one of the excellent local food tours.