DIY trip report to Normandy beaches from Cherbourg

Hi all,

This is a very picture heavy report of our experiences during our self-driving excursion to the beaches of Normandy last September. Hopefully it will help some fellow cruisers who are planning on doing the same thing. Our ship, the Celebrity Constellation was in port from 8am until 4pm.

We rented a car from Hertz in Cherbourg to visit some of the beaches of the Allied invasion in Normandy. The rental car office was easy to find . After a 20 min walk into town we were on the road. We use our own GPS with a European map SD card. We are very familiar with our Nuvi, which saves us valuable time. Driving in this part of France is easy, the roads were well maintained and traffic was light.

After about 1 hour we arrived at our first stop, the Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial. Admission to the site and parking is free. The cemetery was dedicated in July of 1956 and covers almost 173 acres. It is beautifully landscaped and maintained.

It provides the final resting place for 9387 servicemen and women.

It is truly overwhelming.

The memorial is situated behind a reflection pool.

It features a 22-foot statue called "The American Youth Rising From the Waves"

The statue faces the headstones.

We spent about 2 hours walking the grounds and learning about the massive Allied assault on the Normandy coastline in the visitors center.

Our next destination was Omaha Beach itself.

The waters of the English Channel were very rough today and the weather quite windy with a few showers, which added to the somber ambience and experience.

We first visited a powerful soldier statue, depicting the rescue of a fellow serviceman by pulling him off the beach

And then moved on to the memorial itself.

The Les Braves sculpture is located directly below the memorial in the sand of the shore of Omaha Beach. It commemorates all the American soldiers who lost their lives on the Normandy beaches on June 6 1944.

It is made out of stainless steel columns and was intended only as a temporary art piece.

The sculpture has been described as a blend of art and nature. It had been able to withstand the forces of nature surprisingly well.

Amazingly enough this area has not been commercialized out of respect for the role it played in WW2. It is definitely not the typical seaside resort town. The local roads had only a few cottage style homes.

We continued on to Pointe Du Hoc. The Allies were very concerned about the German 155mm artillery positions on Pointe Du Hoc, which could wreak havoc on the beaches. Naval bombardment began and shortly after rangers landed on the beach, they started scaling the 92 foot high cliffs and seized the German canons.

Again, the whole area is beautifully maintained with a visitor's center and a circular walking path and informational panels. It is a picture of serenity, in despite of all the events that happened.

Bunkers

The Ranger Monument was erected atop another bunker

View of the cliffs on both sides

View towards the inside of the bunker

And from a soldier's perspective looking out

Craters created by heavy artillery have reshaped nature.

Our final destination for the day was the town of St.Mere d'Eglise. The town played a significant role in the invasion by paratroopers.

A mock paratrooper still hangs from the church spire to commemorate John Steele, who hung there for 2 hours pretending to be dead, before Germans took him prisoner. He later escaped and rejoined his division.

After driving for about 45 min through the peaceful French countryside, we arrived back in Cherbourg around 3pm and were back onboard by 3:30 with plenty of time before our departure to Vigo.

Very good trip report, thank you!

Your pictures are beautiful (I was really moved by some of them, particularly those of the cemetary).

Lovely set of photos. It looks like you can now walk up to the Rangers Monument at Pointe du Hoc - when I was there it was fenced off for safety so I couldn't get that close. Thanks again, Tony

Awesome report! Thanks for posting.

My first trip to Europe mainland was to Holland & Belgium. I had hoped to make it to Normandy beaches, but it was just too far with too little time.

My second trip to the area, the day we were in Paris and had a car rental to try and do Normandy, it was raining with low clouds/fog, so I was afraid to take on the task of driving in an unknown area and going to the beach might be worse weather conditions, so we cancelled our trip to Normandy beaches.

Now my health will prevent me from returning to Europe, so I especially enjoyed your great photos and report. It was almost as good as being there.

Happy Travels!

....for taking the time to look at the report and photos. Your comments are truly appreciated

Regards

Petra

Thank you for posting this Petra. We are planning to cruise into Cherbourg next year, and your descriptions and photos are exactly what I wanted to know about. My one concern is that we have child who will be a preschooler.

I do have one question. What did you do about lunch? I am gathering that there were not a lot of restaurants on your route.

I do have one question. What did you do about lunch? I am gathering that there were not a lot of restaurants on your route.

Hi there,

Thanks for your comments!

To be honest with you, we are not big lunchers. We kinda snack all day and usually eat a big breakfast on the ship, then pack fruit and croissants from the buffet in ziplock lock bags we bring from home. I really did not pay any attention to restaurants on the way. Sorry I am not much help concerning food!

Hopefully somebody else has more insight.

Regards

Petra

Awesome pictures, we will be there in October and will visit the places in your photos.

Dave

Thanks again for the fine and moving photos. They reminded me of my trip to the Normandy beaches and American Cemetery 2 years ago. Highly recommended for all--especially WWII buffs!