DK Travel : Normandy

Normandy brings a dozen different images to mind: William the Conqueror, the D-Day landings, Mont-St-Michel; the bleak landscape of the Cotentin coast, the sparkling summertime playground of the Côte Fleurie; sumptuous châteaux, historic abbeys, famous gardens; the orchards of the Auge, the picture-postcard scenery of the Suisse Normande; Monet’s home at Giverny, the Cabourg immortalized by Proust – or perhaps it’s cider, calvados and camembert. Whatever your list, it will barely scratch the surface of this rich and rewarding region.

Mini-trains

Two mini-trains operate in the region: one along the coast from Carteret to Portbail, the other through marshland from St-Lô to Periers.
Monique de St-Romaine, Rouen

Going to a wedding or the races at Deauville? Get a one-off hat at this charming, old-fashioned modiste (milliner), the city’s sole survivor.
Mont Saint Michel

mont saint michel is an old monastery off the coast of normandy. it is unique as the place have the fastests moving tide in europe, which can be seen, and is amazing, daily. the monastery itself s built on a small island and nowadays houses private residences as well as shops and restaurants. if in the area it is well worth a visit, if nothing else for the stunning views you get from the many view points all around the place.
Mont-St-Michel

Despite being the most photographed sight in France, the ethereal beauty of this vast abbey can still take your breath away.
Mont-St-Michel

Now iconic in its fame, this solitary rock dominated by its monumental abbey became a place of pilgrimage when St Aubert built an oratory here over 1,000 years ago.
Mont-St-Michel

Dramatically sited on a lone rock in the Bay of Mont-St-Michel, this famous abbey exerts a huge draw on the thousands who visit every year.
Mont-St-Michel and Chartres (Henry Brooks Adams)

Meditation on the medieval world as seen through its most famous cathedrals.
Montville

At the confluence of two rivers – Clérette and Cailly – Montville is distinctive for flowers and fire engines. A village fleurie , it has an attractive lake, a park with a superb 300-year-old purple beech, and the Musée des Sapeurs-Pompiers (museum of the fire brigade), full of old hand pumps and gleaming red fire engines. It traces the history of the French fire brigade from the early 18th century onwards.
Mortagne-au-Perche

Sometime regional capital, and an excellent historic base for exploring, this bustling hill-top town is famous for its black pudding.
Mortain

Mortain is surrounded by woods, waterfalls and granite. Two remarkable falls (Grande and Petite Cascade) are within walking distance of the town centre.