traveldk.com

The first UK specialist tour operator for the region has been in business for more than 20 years. Their brochure features 120 or so self-catering country houses and cottages, many near the sea and many half-timbered in typical rustic Norman style.

With its rambling timber-framed façade, the Normandy has the air of a quaint Norman cottage built for a giant. Inside, there are chandeliers and columns, an indoor swimming pool around which breakfast is served, and a handy underground passage leading to the Casino – which happens to belong to the same hotel and leisure group (it also owns Bar de la Mer and Bar du Soleil on the seafront promenade).

From the 13th century, the town was an important centre of cloth-making. The lavishly decorated church, with its stunning south porch, reflects its wealth.

Built of a reddish stone called grison , this attractive church is noted for its plethora of saintly statues, mostly 16th-century.

With its elegant High Gothic west front, complete with graceful rose window, this collegiate church has the feel of a cathedral.

Annette Poulard (1861–1931) was the patronne of a hotel on Mont-St-Michel (see La Mère Poulard, Mont-St-Michel). The exact recipe for her famously perfect omelettes, available at any time of the day to hungry visitors who had crossed the bay on foot or by horse and cart, is not known. We do know, however, that she never let the butter brown, beat the eggs vigorously in a copper bowl, possibly separating the yolks and whites first, and stirred continuously as she cooked them in her long-handled pan.

The pretty churchyard here contains the natural, uncarved headstone of poet Jacques Prévert, as well as those of his wife and daughter. Nearby is his house, open to the public in summer.

Goes beyond D-Day to cover the ensuing battles, viewing the conflict from both sides.

This delightful country town seems unconcerned about the tourist potential of its many fine old buildings, including the Vieux Manoir of 1563 in rue Grande.