France
Normandy Beach: Honoring the 70th Anniversary of D-Day
This June, the beaches at Normandy will be swarming with visitors gathering to revere those who fought in the epic World War II battle, D-Day.
For most of us who weren't born, or who are too young to remember the events of June 6, 1944, the film Saving Private Ryan provided us with a frightening, jarring depiction of what it must have been like for a soldier to storm those beaches — weighed down with equipment, some swimming, then running into hail of enemy machine-gun bullets. Touring this sacred ground is a chance to appreciate the sacrifice and sheer heroism demonstrated that day by the Allied troops who fought and died for our freedom.
Your personal, English-speaking chauffeur and guide, a veteran of the armed services, will have you transfixed with the stories from Omaha Beach (where the American forces sustained 2,400 casualties), to Pointe du Hoc, an outcropping fortified with German guns that rained fire upon the troops invading Normandy’s beaches. See where the U.S. Rangers took this strategic overlook after scaling the sea cliffs under enemy fire, using ropes, ladders and grapples. Today, the terrain remains pockmarked by Allied bombing strikes.
But because this is France, in addition to the historic battle sites, you will revel in the region’s cuisine and beauty (Monet was inspired by the landscape in Giverny to paint his water lilies), and its castles and manors. You definitely won't want to miss the famous tapestries of nearby Bayeux and the island-abbey of Mont-St-Michel. No matter if you're a history buff, or if you simply want to relish the northern coast of France, going with AutoVenture is the finest, most flexible route.
For those unfamiliar with France, an AutoVenture guided tour is the surest way of getting closest to the culture, and of capturing an unforgettable land.
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