Doug's desire to go to France came from wanting to visit the Normandy beaches, which we did. It was about a 2 hr drive to get to Caen. Caen was recommended on the website as the start of the Normandy war experience which includes several museums, the beaches, lots of memorials and statues, and the cemeteries. There is a large museum in Caen that covers the whole 20th century. We were time limited so we went through the part leading up to WWII and during the war. You could spend days in the area doing it all justice, but we only spent one afternoon. So we concentrated on the Caen museum, Omaha beach, and the American cemetery.
The museum is very well done and really brings home the cost of the whole war in devastation and lives. There were displays and movies and memorabilia. Very well worth the time.
France really promotes the Normandy area as what it is, a very pretty part of France. The beaches are beautiful and the scenery picturesque. We were told that the only ones that come to visit for the war perspective are the Canadians, Americans, and Japanese. I found that very generalized and incorrect as we heard many languages there, including French. It is like Berlin and the wall period. Berliners, for the most part, are past it and just "Berliners", not east or west. But it is so much a part of their history that you can't, and shouldn't, ignore it. I think Normandy is the same way.
By the time we got to the American Cemetery it was getting late in the afternoon. They have a very nice museum there as well, but we pretty much breezed through it so we could get to the cemetery. It is just as moving as pictures you've seen. I could have spent more time there but we were shooed out after about 30-45 minutes so they could close for the day. Like I said, you could spend days viewing all of the memorials and such. They even do tours that are just the war area.
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