Cornelius Amann
October 06, 2026
5/5
Paris and Normandy for three generations: the D-Day Beaches and Mont-Saint-Michel
8 days from Paris for grandparents, parents and children 6 and up: the Eiffel Tower and Giverny, three nights in Bayeux for the D-Day beaches, a night by Mont-Saint-Michel and a beach afternoon in Saint-Malo.
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
Easy
Easy, at a family pace. Expect about 4 to 7 km on foot most days, on Paris pavements, gravel garden paths, sand and cobbles, with the van parked close by at every Normandy stop. The steepest part is the climb through the village and abbey at Mont-Saint-Michel, a few hundred steps, which anyone can skip for the ramparts and lower village. The longest drive is day 3, about 3 hours 50 in three legs of no more than an hour and a half. Every day has a written easy option, and the touring days in Normandy end by mid-afternoon.
- Meals included
- 7 breakfasts, 6 lunches, 1 dinner
- Room of your own
- + CAD 1,195 (estimated price)
- Season
- April to October
Highlights
Why this trip
- The Eiffel Tower by lift on the first slot of the morning, then the river by Batobus to Notre-Dame
- Toy sailboats on the pond in the Luxembourg Garden, and an early welcome dinner so the children are in bed on time
- Monet's garden at Giverny on the 9:30 first entry, and an ice cream on Honfleur's old harbour
- The Juno Beach Centre, where Canadian families find the story of the 14,000 who landed on 6 June 1944
- The 360-degree cinema on the cliff at Arromanches, then sand and the Mulberry harbour at low tide
- Pointe du Hoc's craters and Omaha Beach with a guide who talks to every age
- The aircraft and glider at the Airborne Museum in Sainte-Mère-Église
- Mont-Saint-Michel floodlit at dusk, the abbey at opening, then a beach afternoon in Saint-Malo
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
- Early welcome dinner
- Stay in Paris
- Drive about 1 h
Fly into Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) or Orly (ORY), and a driver meets your family 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 the bags at the hotel and let the children stretch their legs by the Seine, a short walk away. We ask the hotel for family rooms or connecting rooms for each party, so grandparents can be next door rather than down the corridor.
Evening
At about 6 pm your See Sight Tours guide meets everyone in the lobby for a short briefing: how the week is paced, what goes in the small bag for the Mont night and how the D-Day days work for children. Then we walk to a neighbourhood bistro for an early welcome dinner at about 6:30 pm, with a children's menu, so the youngest are in bed in good time after the flight.
Included
- Pick-up at Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) or Orly (ORY)
- Welcome briefing with your guide
- Early welcome dinner at a Paris bistro
Easier option: Rest at the hotel until the briefing; the dinner is a short walk or taxi away.
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.
The Eiffel Tower, the river and the Luxembourg Garden
The Eiffel Tower, the Batobus to Notre-Dame, then the Luxembourg Garden
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Paris
- By boat
Morning
We start at the Eiffel Tower on the first lift slot of the morning, before the queues build, and ride up to the second floor, where the whole city is laid out below and children can pick out Notre-Dame and the Sacré-Cœur. Back on the ground we board the Batobus, the hop-on river boat, at the foot of the tower and sit down for the ride along the Seine, past the Musée d'Orsay and the Louvre, to the stop for Notre-Dame. The cathedral reopened in December 2024 after the 2019 fire; inside, the cleaned stone is pale and bright.
Afternoon
Lunch is at a sit-down bistro nearby. In the afternoon we walk or take a short taxi ride to the Luxembourg Garden, where children push wooden sailboats across the Grand Bassin with a stick, as Parisian children have for a century, and there are chairs in the shade for everyone else.
Evening
The late afternoon and evening are free.
Included
- The Eiffel Tower by lift to the second floor, first slot of the morning
- Batobus river boat day pass, from the Eiffel Tower to Notre-Dame
- Notre-Dame de Paris
- Sit-down lunch in a Paris bistro
- The Luxembourg Garden with sailboat hire on the Grand Bassin
Optional experiences
- The Eiffel Tower summit (extra cost, timed tickets booked ahead on request)
- The puppet theatre in the Luxembourg Garden, on the days it plays
- An evening Seine cruise
Easier option: Stay on the Batobus for a full loop of the river and rejoin the group at the Luxembourg Garden by taxi, or rest at the hotel after lunch.
More active option: Walk from Notre-Dame across the Île de la Cité and through the Latin Quarter to the Luxembourg Garden, about 2 km.
Free time: Late afternoon and evening free
Activity: About 4 to 6 km on foot, with plenty of sitting on the boat. The Eiffel Tower lifts carry everyone; there are security checks at the entrance, so bring as little as possible.
Monet's garden, Honfleur, on to Bayeux
Paris to Giverny, then Honfleur and Bayeux
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Bayeux
- Drive about 4 h
This is the trip's longest road day, about 3 hours 50 in all, so we split it into three legs of no more than an hour and a half, each ending somewhere worth getting out. We leave Paris at about 8:15 am and drive an hour and a quarter west along the Seine to Giverny for the 9:30 first entry. Monet lived here from 1883 until his death in 1926, and children recognise the green Japanese bridge and the lily pond from his paintings before the day's crowds arrive.
Afternoon
After an early lunch in the village we drive about an hour and a half to Honfleur, the harbour town at the mouth of the Seine. Walk around the Vieux Bassin, lined with tall slate-hung houses, have an ice cream on the quay and look into Sainte-Catherine, a church built of timber by the town's shipwrights. Samuel de Champlain sailed from here in 1608 on the voyage that founded Quebec. About an hour more brings us to Bayeux, our base for three nights, by about 5 pm.
Included
- Monet's house and gardens at Giverny, first timed entry
- Sit-down lunch in Giverny
- Honfleur with your guide: the Vieux Bassin and the wooden church of Sainte-Catherine
Easier option: Stay on the garden paths at Giverny and skip the house's narrow stairs, then wait for the group at a café on the Vieux Bassin in Honfleur.
More active option: Walk the Honfleur quays out to the jetty at the river mouth while the group has an ice cream, about 2 km there and back.
Free time: Evening free in Bayeux
Activity: About 4 to 5 km on foot, on gravel at Giverny and cobbles in Honfleur. Giverny is open from about 1 April to 1 November, which sets this trip's season.
Juno Beach and the sand at Arromanches
Bayeux to Juno Beach at Courseulles-sur-Mer, then Arromanches and back to Bayeux
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Bayeux
- Drive about 1.5 h
We drive twenty minutes to Courseulles-sur-Mer and the Juno Beach Centre at opening. It is the museum of the Canadians who came ashore here on 6 June 1944, about 14,000 on the first day, and it tells the story through the lives of young soldiers, which children follow easily. A centre guide takes us out to the beach and the German bunkers in front of it.
Afternoon
Lunch is at a sit-down restaurant by the harbour. In the early afternoon we drive fifteen minutes west to Arromanches. On the clifftop, Arromanches 360 shows a short film on screens all around you; then we walk down to the town, where the concrete caissons of the Mulberry harbour, towed across the Channel after D-Day, still sit in the bay. When the tide is out the sand is wide, and the children can dig while the grown-ups look out at the harbour. We are back in Bayeux by about 4 pm, with the rest of the day free.
Included
- The Juno Beach Centre at Courseulles-sur-Mer, with a guided walk to the beach and bunkers
- Sit-down lunch in Courseulles
- Arromanches 360, the circular cinema on the cliff
- Arromanches beach and the Mulberry harbour
Easier option: See the Juno Beach Centre without the beach walk, and watch the Mulberry harbour from a seafront café in Arromanches while the others are on the sand.
More active option: Walk the Juno beach front east to the Maison des Canadiens at Bernières-sur-Mer, about 3 km, and the van collects you.
Free time: Late afternoon and evening free in Bayeux
Activity: About 4 to 6 km on foot, on sand and paved promenades. Beach time follows the tide; bring swimwear and a towel in summer. The cinema has stairs or a ramp; ask us about access.
Pointe du Hoc, Omaha Beach and the American Cemetery
Bayeux to the Longues-sur-Mer battery and Pointe du Hoc, then Omaha Beach, the American Cemetery and back to Bayeux
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Bayeux
- Drive about 2 h
Afternoon
Today a specialist local D-Day guide who leads families joins your See Sight Tours guide for the American sector, and the day runs from about 9 am to mid-afternoon. We start at the Longues-sur-Mer battery, where four German guns still sit in their concrete casemates on the cliff; children can look into one and see how far it looked out to sea. At Pointe du Hoc you walk among the bomb craters on the clifftop that the US Rangers climbed on 6 June, on paths that stay back from the edge. After a sit-down lunch on the coast we go down onto Omaha Beach by the Les Braves sculpture, and then to the Normandy American Cemetery above it, where more than 9,000 Americans lie. Your guides prepare the children before the visit, and the visitor centre tells the story through letters and photographs.
Evening
We are back in Bayeux by about 4:30 pm, in time for a rest before a free early dinner.
Included
- A specialist local D-Day guide for the day
- 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 its visitor centre
Easier option: Stay on the paved paths at Pointe du Hoc and the cemetery and skip the sand at Omaha; the van is parked close by at every stop.
More active option: Walk a stretch of Omaha Beach from the Vierville exit towards the Les Braves sculpture, about 2 to 3 km on firm sand at low tide.
Free time: Late afternoon and evening free in Bayeux
Activity: About 5 to 7 km on foot, on grass, sand and the uneven ground at Pointe du Hoc. The clifftops are exposed, so bring a windproof layer for everyone. The flag-lowering at the cemetery is late in the afternoon and varies by season; we stay for it when the time on your date fits the day.
The Airborne Museum and an evening at the Mont
Bayeux to Sainte-Mère-Église, then Mont-Saint-Michel
- Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- Stay in Mont-Saint-Michel
- Drive about 2.5 h
Morning
A slow morning in Bayeux, a town that came through 1944 almost undamaged. Walk to the cathedral, consecrated in 1077, or have a long breakfast. At about 10:30 we drive forty minutes west to Sainte-Mère-Église, where American paratroopers came down in the dark before dawn on 6 June; a figure hangs from the church tower in memory of the one whose parachute caught there. At the Airborne Museum across the square you stand under a C-47 transport plane and a wooden glider, the kind children rarely see up close.
Afternoon
After a sit-down lunch in the village we drive about an hour and three quarters south to Mont-Saint-Michel, checking in at a hotel on the mainland by the shuttle stop by about 4 pm, with time to rest. At about 5:30 pm the free shuttle and a short walk take us across to the island as the day visitors leave.
Evening
Walk part of the ramparts, then sit down to an early dinner together and see the abbey floodlit on the way back.
Included
- Bayeux Cathedral
- Sainte-Mère-Église and its church
- The Airborne Museum
- Sit-down lunch in Sainte-Mère-Église
- The shuttle across to Mont-Saint-Michel
- Early 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: Rest at the mainland hotel and join the group for dinner, riding the shuttle both ways and staying in the lower village.
More active option: Walk the full circuit of the Mont's ramparts at dusk, and walk back across the bridge instead of taking the shuttle.
Free time: Early morning free in Bayeux; late afternoon to rest
Activity: About 3 to 5 km on foot. The Grande Rue on the island is steep and cobbled. Pack a small bag for the night; main bags stay in the vehicle.
The abbey at opening, Saint-Malo's beach and the TGV
Mont-Saint-Michel to Saint-Malo, then the TGV to Paris Montparnasse
- Breakfast and lunch
- Stay in Paris
- Drive about 1 h
We take the first shuttle across and climb to the abbey at opening (9 or 9:30 am depending on the month), ahead of the day visitors. Your guide takes you through the abbey church on the summit, the cloister that hangs over the bay, and the giant wooden wheel that prisoners walked, when the abbey was a jail, to haul supplies up the rock. Mont-Saint-Michel and its bay have been on the UNESCO World Heritage list since 1979.
Afternoon
At about 11 am we drive fifty minutes to Saint-Malo, the walled port on the Brittany coast, for a long farewell lunch together in the old town. In the afternoon, the beach: just below the walls, the Bon-Secours seawater pool fills with each tide, and there is sand for digging and a promenade for grandparents. Our vehicle drives the main bags back to Paris, so in the late afternoon you board the TGV with a day bag for the ride of about two and a half hours to Paris Montparnasse, where a van meets you.
Evening
The evening is free.
Included
- The abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel at opening with your guide
- Farewell lunch in Saint-Malo
- An afternoon on the beach and the ramparts at Saint-Malo
- TGV from Saint-Malo to Paris Montparnasse, standard class
- Your main bags carried to Paris by road in our vehicle
- Transfer from the station to your hotel
Easier option: Skip the climb to the abbey and spend the morning in the lower village and the garden below it, then sit on the promenade in Saint-Malo.
More active option: Walk the whole circuit of Saint-Malo's ramparts, about 2 km, with the sea on one side and the old town on the other.
Free time: Evening free in Paris
Activity: A few hundred steps up through the village and the abbey. The Bon-Secours pool and beach depend on the tide and the weather; outside summer we walk the ramparts and the beach instead of swimming.
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 your family 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. Your guide checks every party's transfer time on day 7, so there is nothing to arrange on the day.
Evening
If your flight leaves in the evening, the hotel can hold the bags while you spend a last few hours in the city: the Tuileries garden with its summer funfair, the Jardin des Plantes and its small zoo, or a last walk by the Seine. Many families add a night or two before or after the trip. Ask us when you book and we can add extra nights at the same hotel, or quote a day at Versailles or Disneyland Paris for the children.
Included
- Drop-off at Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) or Orly (ORY)
Easier option: With a late flight, keep the day gentle: a café breakfast and a garden near the hotel, 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
- Bayeux3 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 pack a rain layer even in July. June to early September brings the warmest sea and the best beach afternoons at Arromanches and Saint-Malo, along with the biggest crowds and the longest evenings. April, May, September and October are cooler and quieter; the beach afternoons become seafront walks and a café. The tides at Mont-Saint-Michel and Saint-Malo are among the largest in Europe, so beach time follows the tide table on your dates. The week around 6 June brings commemorations, closed roads and full hotels, and we plan departures around it.
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Before you book
Right for you?
Good for you if you want
- Grandparents, parents and children 6 and up who want one trip that works for all of them
- Families with a D-Day story to share across generations, Canadian and American alike
- A first family trip to Paris and Normandy with the big visits included and kept short
- Families who want early evenings, beach afternoons and no daily repacking
Not for you if you want
- Children under 6: the D-Day days and the long day 3 are hard work for them
- Step-free access: Mont-Saint-Michel is steep cobbles and steps, and Pointe du Hoc is cratered ground
- Travellers who want the Paris museums in depth; this trip gives Paris one family day
- Adults travelling without children who want a full D-Day day and a night on the island (see our Paris and Normandy small group trip)
- Winter travel: Giverny is closed from November to March
Minimum age: 6
Most guests are Children 6 and up travelling with parents and grandparents
Book flights after we confirm your seat.
7 nights
Where you'll stay
Your hotels are named in your trip confirmation.
- Paris2 nights
- Bayeux3 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), 3 in Bayeux within walking distance of the cathedral, 1 at the mainland hotels by the Mont-Saint-Michel shuttle
- Central hotels of at least a good 3-star standard with lifts, named when we confirm your dates
- Family rooms or connecting rooms requested for every party
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 Saint-Malo, with child seats on request
- Your main bags carried back to Paris by road on day 7
- A Batobus river boat day pass in Paris
- The shuttle across to Mont-Saint-Michel
- TGV from Saint-Malo 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 American sector on day 5
- Local guides where sites require them
Activities
- Paris: the Eiffel Tower by lift to the second floor, Notre-Dame and the Luxembourg Garden with sailboat hire
- Giverny: Monet's house and gardens
- Honfleur: the Vieux Bassin and Sainte-Catherine church
- Courseulles-sur-Mer: the Juno Beach Centre and its beach walk
- Arromanches: Arromanches 360 and the Mulberry harbour beach
- The Longues-sur-Mer battery, Pointe du Hoc and Omaha Beach
- Colleville-sur-Mer: the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial
- Bayeux: the cathedral
- Sainte-Mère-Église: the church and the Airborne Museum
- Mont-Saint-Michel: an evening on the island and the abbey with your guide
- Saint-Malo: the beach and the ramparts
Meals
- Breakfast daily (7)
- Sit-down lunches on days 2 to 7, the last one a farewell lunch in Saint-Malo (6)
- 2 dinners: an early welcome dinner in Paris and dinner at Mont-Saint-Michel
- Children's menus or smaller plates at every included meal
Not included
- International flights to and from Paris
- Travel insurance
- Visas or travel authorisations, such as ETIAS when it applies
- Dinners other than those listed
- Drinks, except one with the welcome dinner
- Tips
- Optional activities: the Eiffel Tower summit, the Luxembourg puppet theatre, Seine cruises and the guided bay walk at Mont-Saint-Michel
- Beach equipment hire
- 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 5,850 per person. Dec 2 to Dec 31: from CAD 6,330. From Jan 1, 2027: from CAD 6,880.
Will this trip work for a 70-year-old and a 9-year-old?
Yes, that is who it is planned for. Walking is about 4 to 7 km a day with the van close by, the Normandy days end by mid-afternoon, and every day has a written easy option. The only real climb is the abbey at Mont-Saint-Michel, and anyone can stay in the lower village instead.
Is D-Day suitable for children?
Yes, from about age 6 with the way we plan it. The landings are spread over two shorter days with guides who lead families, the Juno Beach Centre and the Airborne Museum tell the story through young soldiers and real aircraft, and there is time on the sand. Your guides prepare the children before the cemetery visit.
What is the youngest age, and is there a child price?
The minimum age is 6. Child prices depend on the room and the ages in your party, because many sites are free or reduced for children, so ask when you request to book and we quote your family's price before anything is confirmed.
Can we have family rooms or rooms next to the grandparents?
We request family rooms or connecting rooms for every party at every hotel. Old Paris and Bayeux buildings have few large rooms, so we tell you what each hotel can give your family before you pay anything. At the Mont we stay at the mainland hotels by the shuttle, away from the island's steep stairs, and confirm lifts and room sizes with your dates.
What does the price include?
Seven nights in central hotels, breakfast daily, six sit-down lunches, two dinners, airport transfers both ways, a private minivan and driver, the Batobus, the TGV from Saint-Malo, your See Sight Tours guide, a specialist D-Day guide, and every visit in the day plan, from the Eiffel Tower to Giverny, Juno Beach and the abbey.
How big is the group?
The small group runs with 7 to 12 guests including children, usually three or four families in one minivan. A family of six or more usually does better with the private trip, on a date you choose with your own guide and vehicle.
Who leads the trip?
A See Sight Tours guide travels with the group from the welcome dinner to the last day. On day 5 a specialist local D-Day guide who leads families joins for the American sector, and local guides join where a site requires them. We name your guide when we confirm your dates.
Is there a beach or a pool?
Yes, two beach afternoons: the sand at Arromanches by the Mulberry harbour on day 4 and Saint-Malo on day 7, where the Bon-Secours seawater pool fills with the tide. Both follow the tide and the weather and are best from June to early September. We ask for a Bayeux hotel with a pool or garden but cannot promise one.
Does a grandparent travelling alone pay a single supplement?
A room of your own is from CAD 1,195 more, shown before you book. If a grandparent or single parent shares with a child, there is no supplement. Solo travellers join the same group, eat at the same table and get the same room standard.
When is the best time to go?
April to October, when Monet's garden at Giverny is open. June to early September is warmest for the beach afternoons and fits school holidays but is busiest. May and September are quieter and cooler. We plan departures around the week of 6 June, when commemorations close roads and fill hotels.
How does booking work, and can we travel on our own dates?
The small group starts from CAD 6,880 per person sharing, with taxes, and the private trip from CAD 12,385. Send your preferred dates as an enquiry. We check availability and provide the final quote, itinerary and booking terms before you accept. No payment is taken when you send the request. For your own dates choose the private trip, or ask us for an independent quote with the same hotels and guides.
Do children need a visa or their own passport?
Every child needs their own passport. Canadian and US citizens of any age do not need a visa for up to 90 days in France. The EU records fingerprints and a photo at the border, with exemptions for young children. ETIAS is not yet in force; we tell you if it applies to your dates.
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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