Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
5/5
Paris and Normandy: the D-Day Beaches and Mont-Saint-Michel
8 days from Paris: Giverny and Rouen, Honfleur and Juno Beach, two nights in Bayeux with a full day on the D-Day beaches, a night on Mont-Saint-Michel and the TGV back to Paris.
8 days · Round trip from Paris · up to 12 guests
Mont-Saint-Michel from the Couesnon river Photo: Diliff, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mont_St_Michel_3,_Brittany,_France_-_July_2011.jpg)
The facts
At a glance
- Length
- 8 days, 7 nights
- Start and end
- Round trip from Paris
- Group size
- 7 to 12 guests
- Activity level
Moderate
Easy to moderate. Expect 8 to 12 km on foot on the Paris and D-Day days, on cobbles, sand and the cratered, uneven clifftop at Pointe du Hoc, and a few hundred steps up the Grande Rue and through the abbey at Mont-Saint-Michel. The longest drive is about three hours, broken by stops, and every long walk has a shorter option or a place to sit it out.
- Meals included
- 7 breakfasts, 6 lunches, 2 dinners
- Room of your own
- + CAD 1,195 (estimated price)
- Season
- April to October
Highlights
Why this trip
- Monet's garden at Giverny on the first timed entry of the morning, before the crowds from Paris
- A full day on the D-Day beaches with a specialist guide: Arromanches, Pointe du Hoc, Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery at the flag-lowering
- The Juno Beach Centre, the museum of the Canadians who landed on 6 June 1944
- A night on Mont-Saint-Michel: the ramparts after the day visitors leave, and the abbey at opening the next morning
- Sainte-Chapelle's stained glass at opening, then the Impressionists at the Musée d'Orsay with your guide
- Rouen's old town and the cathedral Monet painted, then the old harbour at Honfleur
- Utah Beach and Sainte-Mère-Église on the road to the Mont
- The TGV back to Paris instead of a four-hour drive, and a last evening in the city
What makes this trip different
Free time is part of the plan
Free time and choices are marked on the days they fall.
Solo without the penalty
A room of your own is + CAD 1,195 (estimated price).
Day by day
Itinerary
Tap any stop on the map to open that dayClick any stop on the map to open that day
Arrive in Paris
Paris Charles de Gaulle or Orly airport to your hotel in central Paris
- Welcome dinner
- Stay in Paris
- Drive about 1 h
Fly into Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) or Orly (ORY), and a driver meets you in the arrivals hall for the transfer into the city, about 45 minutes to an hour depending on traffic.
Afternoon
Rooms are usually ready from mid-afternoon; if you land early, leave your bags at the hotel and walk down to the river. We choose a central hotel with the Seine, a metro station and cafés a short walk away, because on this trip Paris is something you walk, not something you watch through a coach window. At about 6 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a short briefing: how the week is paced, what to pack in a small overnight bag for Mont-Saint-Michel, and how the long D-Day day works.
Evening
Then we walk together to a neighbourhood bistro for a welcome dinner with a glass of French wine.
Included
- Pick-up at Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) or Orly (ORY)
- Welcome briefing with your guide
- Welcome dinner at a Paris bistro
Optional experiences
- An easy after-dinner walk along the Seine with your guide to see the bridges lit up
Free time: Free until the evening briefing
Activity: Plan to land by about 3 pm to reach the briefing; the latest arrival time is confirmed with your final itinerary.
Sainte-Chapelle at opening and the Impressionists
Île de la Cité to the Left Bank, then the Musée d'Orsay
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Paris
We start on the Île de la Cité, the island where Paris began, with timed entry to Sainte-Chapelle at opening, around 9 am, before the queue builds.
Morning
Its upper chapel is walled with 13th-century stained glass, fifteen tall windows that tell the Bible story, and the morning sun comes through the east end. A few minutes' walk away is Notre-Dame, reopened in December 2024 after the 2019 fire, its cleaned stone pale and bright inside.
Afternoon
We cross the Pont Neuf, the oldest standing bridge in the city, and walk the Left Bank lanes to a sit-down bistro lunch. In the afternoon your guide takes you through the Musée d'Orsay, a former railway station, concentrating on the Impressionists: Monet's paintings of Rouen Cathedral and of his water garden at Giverny, both of which you see for real tomorrow.
Evening
The evening is yours, for a Seine cruise, Montmartre or a long dinner.
Included
- Sainte-Chapelle at opening with your guide
- Notre-Dame de Paris
- Walk across the Pont Neuf and through the Left Bank
- Sit-down lunch in a Paris bistro
- Musée d'Orsay with your guide, focused on the Impressionists
Optional experiences
- Evening cruise on the Seine
- Eiffel Tower summit (timed tickets booked ahead)
Easier option: Skip the afternoon at the Orsay and rest at the hotel; the museum is a short taxi ride from most central hotels.
Free time: Evening free
Activity: About 8 km on foot with metro hops. The Musée d'Orsay closes on Mondays, so on a Monday departure we visit the Musée de l'Orangerie and Monet's Water Lilies instead (the Orangerie closes on Tuesdays, when the Orsay is open).
Monet's garden at Giverny, then Rouen
Paris to Giverny, then Rouen
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Rouen
- Drive about 2.5 h
We leave Paris at about 8 am to reach Giverny, an hour and a quarter west along the Seine, for the 9:30 opening. Monet lived here from 1883 until his death in 1926 and spent those years making the garden he painted. Our timed tickets put us in the first entry, so you walk the Clos Normand flower beds and the water garden, with its green Japanese bridge and lily pond, before the day's crowds build. Inside the pink house are his yellow dining room and his collection of Japanese prints.
Afternoon
After lunch in the village we drive about an hour on to Rouen, stopping first on the Côte Sainte-Catherine, the hill above the city, for the view down the Seine to the cathedral spire. Your guide then walks you through the old centre: the cathedral front Monet painted more than thirty times, the Gros-Horloge clock and the Place du Vieux-Marché, where Joan of Arc was burned in 1431.
Included
- Monet's house and gardens at Giverny, first timed entry
- Sit-down lunch in Giverny
- The view over Rouen from the Côte Sainte-Catherine
- Walk through Rouen's old town with your guide: the cathedral, the Gros-Horloge and the Place du Vieux-Marché
Easier option: Skip the Rouen old-town walk and wait for the group at a café on the cathedral square; the hotel is a short walk away.
More active option: Climb the Côte Sainte-Catherine on foot from the river (about 30 minutes, steep) while the van drives up to meet you at the viewpoint.
Free time: Evening free in Rouen
Activity: Giverny is open from about 1 April to 1 November, which sets this trip's season. Paths are gravel and can be crowded by the lily pond. About 6 to 8 km on foot over the day.
Honfleur and Juno Beach, on to Bayeux
Rouen to Honfleur, then Juno Beach at Courseulles-sur-Mer and Bayeux
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Bayeux
- Drive about 3 h
Morning
A morning drive of about an hour and ten minutes down the Seine valley brings us to Honfleur, the harbour town at the river's mouth. Walk around the Vieux Bassin, the old harbour lined with tall, narrow slate-hung houses, and into Sainte-Catherine, a church built of timber by the town's shipwrights after the Hundred Years' War, with its bell tower standing apart across the square. There is a Canadian thread here: Samuel de Champlain sailed from Honfleur in 1608 on the voyage that founded Quebec.
Afternoon
After a sit-down lunch by the harbour we drive about an hour and ten minutes west to Courseulles-sur-Mer and the Juno Beach Centre, the museum of the Canadians who came ashore here on 6 June 1944, about 14,000 of them on the first day. From there it is twenty minutes to Bayeux, our base for two nights, a town that came through 1944 almost undamaged.
Evening
The evening is free for a walk past the cathedral and dinner in the old streets.
Included
- Honfleur with your guide: the Vieux Bassin and the wooden church of Sainte-Catherine
- Sit-down lunch in Honfleur
- The Juno Beach Centre at Courseulles-sur-Mer and the beach in front of it
Easier option: Sit out the Honfleur walk at a café on the Vieux Bassin, and see the Juno Beach Centre without walking the beach.
More active option: Walk the Honfleur quays out to the jetty at the river mouth before lunch, and the Juno beach front east to the Maison des Canadiens at Bernières-sur-Mer (about 3 km).
Free time: Evening free in Bayeux
Activity: About 5 to 8 km on foot, on cobbles in Honfleur and sand at Juno.
A full day on the D-Day beaches
Bayeux to Arromanches, Longues-sur-Mer and Pointe du Hoc, then Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Bayeux
- Drive about 2 h
Afternoon
This is the day other trips give an afternoon. We give it from 9 am until the cemetery closes in the late afternoon, with a specialist local D-Day guide alongside your See Sight Tours guide, and a group small enough to hear every word on the sand. We start at Arromanches, where the concrete caissons of the Mulberry harbour, towed across the Channel to land supplies after D-Day, still sit in the bay; see them from the clifftop and in the D-Day Museum on the seafront. Heading west we stop at the Longues-sur-Mer battery, where the German guns are still in their casemates. At Pointe du Hoc you walk among the bomb craters on the clifftop the US Rangers climbed on 6 June. After a sit-down lunch on the coast we go down onto Omaha Beach, to the Les Braves sculpture, and end at the Normandy American Cemetery above the beach, where more than 9,000 Americans lie, in time for the flag-lowering late in the afternoon.
Included
- A specialist local D-Day guide for the full day
- Arromanches: the Mulberry harbour from the cliff and the D-Day Museum
- The Longues-sur-Mer battery
- Pointe du Hoc
- Sit-down lunch on the coast
- Omaha Beach and the Les Braves sculpture
- The Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial, with the flag-lowering ceremony
Easier option: Stay on the paved paths at Pointe du Hoc and the cemetery and skip the walk on the sand at Omaha; the van is parked close by at every stop.
More active option: Walk the length of Omaha Beach from the Vierville exit to the Les Braves sculpture, about 3 km on firm sand at low tide.
Free time: Evening free in Bayeux
Activity: About 6 to 10 km on foot, on sand, grass and the cratered, uneven ground at Pointe du Hoc. Bring a windproof layer; the clifftops are exposed.
Utah Beach, Sainte-Mère-Église and a night on the Mont
Bayeux to Utah Beach and Sainte-Mère-Église, then Mont-Saint-Michel
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Mont-Saint-Michel
- Drive about 3 h
Morning
A slower morning in Bayeux. The cathedral, consecrated in 1077, and the Bayeux War Cemetery, the largest Commonwealth cemetery of the Second World War in France, are both a short walk from the centre. Mid-morning we drive about an hour west, some 60 km, to Utah Beach, the westernmost landing beach, where the museum stands on the dunes the US 4th Infantry Division crossed on 6 June. A few minutes inland is Sainte-Mère-Église, where American paratroopers came down in the dark before dawn; a figure hangs from the church tower in memory of the one whose parachute caught there.
Afternoon
After lunch it is about an hour and three quarters south to Mont-Saint-Michel. We arrive late in the afternoon, cross by the shuttle and the footbridge with an overnight bag, and check in on the island or right beside it. As the day visitors leave, the lanes go quiet.
Evening
Walk the ramparts at dusk, watching the tide if it is coming in, then sit down to dinner together and see the abbey floodlit.
Included
- Bayeux Cathedral and the Bayeux War Cemetery
- The Utah Beach Museum
- Sainte-Mère-Église and its church
- Sit-down lunch on the way
- The shuttle across to Mont-Saint-Michel
- Dinner on or beside the island
Optional experiences
- A walk across the bay sands with a licensed bay guide, where the tide times on your date allow (never cross the bay without one)
Easier option: Skip the walk to the war cemetery and take a slow breakfast in Bayeux; at the Mont, ride the shuttle and stay in the lower village for the evening.
More active option: Walk out along Utah Beach from the museum, then the full circuit of the Mont's ramparts at dusk.
Free time: Early morning free in Bayeux; evening on the island
Activity: The Grande Rue on the island is steep and cobbled, and hotels there have narrow stairs. Bring a small bag for the night.
The abbey at opening, the TGV to Paris
Mont-Saint-Michel to Rennes, then the TGV to Paris Montparnasse
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Paris
- Drive about 1 h
We climb to the abbey at opening (9 or 9:30 am depending on the month), ahead of the first shuttles of day visitors. Your guide takes you through the abbey church on the summit, the cloister that hangs over the bay, and the Merveille, the 13th-century Gothic monastery buildings stacked up the north face of the rock. Mont-Saint-Michel and its bay have been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1979. Then it is back down the Grande Rue and across to the van.
Afternoon
Rather than a four-hour drive back to Paris, we go about an hour to Rennes, have a sit-down lunch near the station, and take the TGV, about an hour and a half to Paris Montparnasse. A van meets us at the station for the short ride to the hotel.
Evening
The late afternoon is free for anything you missed on day 2, and in the evening we sit down together for a farewell dinner.
Included
- The abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel at opening with your guide
- Sit-down lunch in Rennes
- TGV from Rennes to Paris Montparnasse
- Transfer from the station to your hotel
- Farewell dinner in Paris
Optional experiences
- A late-night Seine cruise after dinner
Easier option: Skip the climb to the abbey and spend the morning on the ramparts and in the lower village.
More active option: Walk the full circuit of the ramparts before breakfast, while the island is still empty.
Free time: Late afternoon free in Paris
Activity: A few hundred steps up through the village and the abbey; the descent is by the gardens and the Grande Rue.
Depart Paris
Your hotel in central Paris to Charles de Gaulle or Orly airport
- Breakfast
- Drive about 1 h
Morning
The trip ends after breakfast. A driver takes you from the hotel to Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) or Orly (ORY) at a time set by your flight, about 45 minutes to an hour by road; allow more in the weekday morning rush.
Evening
Your guide checks everyone's transfer time at the farewell dinner, so there is nothing to arrange on the day. If your flight leaves in the evening, the hotel can hold your bags while you spend a last few hours in the city: the Marais, the Luxembourg Garden, or the Orangerie (closed Tuesdays) if you have not yet seen Monet's Water Lilies. Many guests add a night or two before or after the trip. Ask us when you book and we will add extra nights at the same hotel, or quote a day at Versailles or a few nights among the Loire châteaux.
Included
- Drop-off at Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) or Orly (ORY)
Easier option: With a late flight, leave your bags at the hotel and keep the day gentle: a café breakfast and the Tuileries garden nearby, back in time for your transfer.
Free time: Free until your transfer
Activity: Any flight time works; for an international flight, plan to leave the hotel about three and a half hours before departure.
- Paris2 nights
- Rouen1 night
- Bayeux2 nights
- Mont-Saint-Michel1 night
- Paris1 night
- Overnight stop
- Day trip
- By boat or train
Wildlife and weather: Normandy weather changes fast in any month, so bring a rain layer even in July. April and May bring Giverny's tulips and irises; summer brings the longest evenings on the Mont and the biggest crowds; September and October are quieter and cooler. The week around 6 June brings commemorations, closed roads and full hotels on the beaches, and we plan departures around it.
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Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- Travellers who want proper time on the D-Day beaches, not one afternoon
- Canadians and Americans following a family or national story through Juno, Omaha and Utah
- A night on Mont-Saint-Michel when the crowds have gone
- Impressionist art lovers: the Orsay, Giverny and Rouen in three days
- A small group with free evenings to eat where you like
Not for you if you want
- Step-free access: Mont-Saint-Michel is steep cobbles and steps, and Pointe du Hoc is cratered ground
- Travellers who want a full week in Paris; the city gets two full days and an evening
- Winter travel: Giverny is closed from November to March
- A Loire châteaux tour; the Loire is an add-on quote, not part of the route
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
7 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- Paris2 nights
- Rouen1 night
- Bayeux2 nights
- Mont-Saint-Michel1 night
- Paris1 night
One price
What's in the price
Included
Accommodation
- 7 nights: 3 in central Paris (2 at the start, 1 at the end), 1 in Rouen's old town, 2 in Bayeux within walking distance of the centre, 1 on Mont-Saint-Michel or right beside it at the shuttle stop
- Central hotels of at least a good 3-star standard, named when we confirm your dates
- Rooms shared, or your own for a supplement
Transport
- Pick-up and drop-off at Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) or Orly (ORY)
- A private air-conditioned minivan and driver for the group from Paris to Mont-Saint-Michel and Rennes
- The shuttle across to Mont-Saint-Michel
- TGV from Rennes to Paris Montparnasse, standard class
- Transfer from Montparnasse to your hotel
Your guide
- A See Sight Tours guide with the group for the whole trip
- A specialist local D-Day guide for the full day on the beaches
- Local guides where sites require them
Activities
- Paris: Sainte-Chapelle, Notre-Dame and the Musée d'Orsay
- Giverny: Monet's house and gardens
- Rouen: the Côte Sainte-Catherine viewpoint and a guided walk of the old town
- Honfleur: the Vieux Bassin and Sainte-Catherine church
- Courseulles-sur-Mer: the Juno Beach Centre
- Arromanches: the D-Day Museum and the Mulberry harbour
- The Longues-sur-Mer battery, Pointe du Hoc and Omaha Beach
- Colleville-sur-Mer: the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial
- Bayeux: the cathedral and the Bayeux War Cemetery
- The Utah Beach Museum and Sainte-Mère-Église
- Mont-Saint-Michel: a night on or beside the island and the abbey with your guide
Meals
- Breakfast daily (7)
- Sit-down lunches on days 2 to 7 (6)
- 3 dinners: a welcome dinner in Paris, dinner at Mont-Saint-Michel and a farewell dinner in Paris
Not included
- International flights to and from Paris
- Travel insurance
- Visas or travel authorisations, such as ETIAS when it applies
- Dinners in Paris, Rouen and Bayeux other than those listed
- Drinks, except wine with the welcome and farewell dinners
- Tips
- Optional activities: Seine cruises, the Eiffel Tower and the guided bay walk at Mont-Saint-Michel
- Personal expenses
Extras
- Room of your own
- CAD 1,195 (estimated price)
When you can go
Dates and prices
Pick your start date when you request to book. We check that date and confirm it in your quote.
Prefer to travel without a group or guide? Ask us about arranging hotels, transport and city tours for you to travel independently.
Before you book
Booking terms
Nothing is charged now. Full terms and the cancellation schedule come with your quote, before you accept.
Business addresses
See Sight Tours Trips (USA): 3172 N Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89108, United StatesSee Sight Tours Trips (Canada): 5305 50 Avenue, #1091, Red Deer, AB T4N 4B6, Canada+1-888-961-6584Guest reviews
What guests say
Reviews from guests on our day tours.
Jane
October 06, 2026
5/5
Susan
October 06, 2026
5/5
Tom L
October 05, 2026
5/5
MandL83
October 05, 2026
5/5
Darren O
October 05, 2026
5/5
Good to know
Questions
Prices in these answers apply from Jan 1, 2027. Black Friday offer: 15% off the small-group price for requests received by Dec 1, 2026. From CAD 5,860 per person. Dec 2 to Dec 31: from CAD 6,345. From Jan 1, 2027: from CAD 6,895.
What does the price include?
Seven nights in central hotels, one on or beside Mont-Saint-Michel, breakfast daily, six sit-down lunches, three dinners, airport transfers both ways, a private minivan and driver, the TGV from Rennes to Paris, your See Sight Tours guide, a specialist D-Day guide for a full day, and every visit in the day plan, from Sainte-Chapelle to Giverny, Juno Beach and the abbey.
How big is the group?
The small-group trip runs with 7 to 12 guests in one minivan. That is small enough to hear the D-Day guide on an open beach, to fit around one table at lunch, and to get through timed entries at Giverny and Sainte-Chapelle quickly, where much larger coach groups wait.
Who leads the trip?
A See Sight Tours guide travels with the group from the welcome dinner to the last evening. On the D-Day day a specialist local battlefield guide joins for the full day, and local guides join where a site requires them. We name your guide when we confirm your dates.
How much time do we get at the D-Day beaches?
A full day, from about 9 am until the American Cemetery closes in the late afternoon, with a specialist guide: Arromanches, the Longues-sur-Mer battery, Pointe du Hoc, Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery at the flag-lowering. Juno Beach is on the day before and Utah Beach and Sainte-Mère-Église the day after, so the landings take up most of three days.
Do you visit Juno Beach and the Canadian sites?
Yes. On day 4 we spend the afternoon at the Juno Beach Centre at Courseulles-sur-Mer, the museum of the Canadians who landed on 6 June 1944, and on the beach in front of it. In Honfleur that morning you also see the harbour Champlain sailed from in 1608 to found Quebec.
Why stay the night on Mont-Saint-Michel?
Because the island is a different place once the day visitors leave. Most trips visit from Bayeux, two hours each way, in the middle of the day. We arrive late afternoon, walk the ramparts at dusk, eat on or beside the island, and climb to the abbey at opening the next morning (9 or 9:30 am depending on the month), before the shuttles fill.
How fit do I need to be?
Easy to moderate. The Paris and D-Day days mean 8 to 12 km on foot, on cobbles, sand and uneven clifftop ground, and the abbey is a few hundred steps up. Most days start between 8 and 9 am; day 3 leaves Paris at about 8 am. Every long walk has an easier option, such as paved paths on the beaches.
I am travelling solo. What is the single supplement?
A room of your own is from CAD 1,195 more, shown before you book and never added at checkout. Solo travellers join the same small group, eat at the same table and get the same room standard. If you would like to share, ask us and we will try to match you with another guest.
When is the best time to go?
April to October, when Monet's garden at Giverny is open. April and May bring tulips and irises, summer the longest evenings on the Mont and the biggest crowds, and September and October quieter, cooler days. We plan departures around the week of 6 June, when commemorations close roads and fill hotels.
Can we travel privately or on our own dates?
Yes. Besides the small group, the trip comes as a private trip for your party only, on a date you choose, with your own guide and vehicle. If you would rather travel independently on your own dates, ask us from the dates section and we can quote the same hotels, train and D-Day guide for you.
Do I need a visa for France?
Canadian and US passport holders do not need a visa for a stay of up to 90 days. The EU now records fingerprints and a photo at the border. The ETIAS travel authorisation is not yet in force and has no confirmed start date; we tell you if it applies to your dates when you book.
How much does it cost and how do I book?
The small group starts from CAD 6,895 per person sharing a room, with taxes, and the private trip from CAD 12,410. Pick your start date and request to book; we confirm your trip within 24 hours. No payment is taken until we have confirmed.
See Sight Tours has been providing travel services across North America since 2006. Operating in 20 cities across Canada and the USA, the company specializes in small group tours that offer personalized, high-quality experiences for travelers.
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