Normandy Walking Tour : Northern Cotentin coast & Mont Saint Michel Bay

Arrival on your own in Bayeux. Depending on your arrival time, take time to stroll through the charming medieval historic centre with its half-timbered houses which contrast with the white stone of Caen that most of the town is built from. You can visit the majestic Gothic Notre Dame Cathedral, the English Military Cemetery and the Battle of Normandy Museum.

This morning's short transfer takes you to Ryes, a small village inland. Our walk begins in the footsteps of William the Conqueror through the countryside, through fields and farms, before reaching the coast and its tragic and more recent history. Passing through Arromanches, you can choose to visit the 360° cinema and the D-Day Museum, or you can enjoy a swim (lifeguard station only during the summer school holidays in the afternoon). The route then continues along the cliffs to Longues sur Mer and the old German batteries.

A taxi will be waiting to take you back to Bayeux.

Distance : 13 Km (8 mi)

Elevation : 180m

Walking Time : 3h00

Transfer to the American cemetery. We recommend that you first visit the visitor centre, where a 30-minute film is shown. Then there is a small museum about American soldiers and their equipment. Then it is with emotion that you stroll between the white tombs overlooking the sea in this place that today is so peaceful and that was once a terrible battlefield. After this moving visit, we start the walk down to Omaha Beach (with the possibility of a swim) and continue along the coast through the countryside before reaching Port en Bessin, a charming fishing port specialising in scallop fishing.

Return transfer to Bayeux.

You then take the train (not included) to Cherbourg (1h).

Distance : 12 Km (8 mi)

Elevation : 160m

Walking Time : 3h00

Taxi transfer to your next accommodation in Omnonville-la-Petite, where you settle in for 2 nights in a typical regionalinn located in the rural Normandy countryside, close to a pebble beach. Depart from your hotel on foot, you walk along a pebble beach to Port Racine one of the smallest harbours in France, famous for its transparent water and small colourful boats. It was also a favourite haunt of a famous French poet, Jacques Prévert. On route, you can visit the poet's garden. You continue your walk through the pastures and countryside of Normandy. After a small climb on the Mont Clin to reach the viewpoint, you can enjoy a magnificent view of the sea, before returning to your accommodation.

Distance : 10 Km (7 mi)

Elevation : 210m

Walking Time : 3h00

This morning, taxi transfer to the start of the most impressive hike of the trip, and also the most challenging! Among the highest cliffs in Europe, the Nez de Jobourg is a cliff that rises to 128 metres and juts out into the sea. You follow part of the coastal path across the moor and enjoy the magnificent panorama over the sea: from the Goury lighthouse to the tip of Flamanville. Inland, the landscape suggests Ireland, with pastures lined with low granite stone walls that shape the hills. In spring and summer, it is a festival of flowers that colour the landscape of the hamlets and fields: gorse, hydrangeas, and wildflowers. You descend to Ecalgrain Bay where you can enjoy a refreshing swim and a moment of relaxation on the sandy and pebbled beach, before returning to the car park where your taxi is waiting for you.Transfer back to your hotel.

Distance : 12 Km (8 mi)

Elevation : 400m

Walking Time : 4h00

Today you will have a private transfer from Bayeux to Mont St Michel.

You can take your time getting started in the morning to have breakfast and catch a bus that will bring you back to Rennes, from where you can catch a TGV to Paris. (Depart on your own).

Note : We can help with extra nights, transfer with train to Paris, or other extensions to your tour, please contact us.