Normandie Family  Holidays

HISTORIC NORMANDY BEACHES

Travel east from Dieppe to follow in the footsteps of the Impressionist painters around Fécamp and Etretat, or chill out at family resorts such as Trouville and Cabourg on the Côte Fleurie.   West of Caen, the wide open sands of the D-Day landing beaches are gloriously unspoilt and perfect for families to relax and play on plus the museums and heritage sites that commemorate 1944 are a great way to put older children in touch with the heroic exploits of Allied soldiers, perhaps members of their own family. Head round the tip of the Cotentin Peninsula to find quiet coves beneath the high cliffs of La Hague, west of Cherbourg, and explore the sand dunes and estuaries around Barneville-Carteret and Agon-Coutainville on the west coast.

Read more about beaches in Normandy

FAMILY FRIENDLY ACTIVITIES

If you love cycling but worry about exposing your family to British traffic, Normandy will be a revelation, with its network of safe, marked trails for walking, cycling and horse-riding.  For a different – and unexpected – landscape, head to the Suisse Normande in the south of the region, an area of deep gorges and white water.   Hire a canoe, go rock climbing, or try the quintessentially French pastime of Vélorail that involves pedalling a lightweight cart along a disused railway track – a novel and family-friendly way to see the countryside.  Or get close to nature and book a guided walk across the sands around Mont Saint Michel at low tide for a unique perspective on Normandy’s most famous monument.

Read more about our favourite bike rides in Normandy

NORMANDY FAMILY ATTRACTIONS

Everyone loves a good animal park and Normandy offers a wide choice including the Zoo de Champrépus near Villedieu-les-Poêles, the Cerza Zoological Park near Lisieux, and the Zoo de Jurques near the Suisse Normande, not to mention Alligator Bay at Beauvoir.  Famous for its horse-breeding, the region is home to two of the most important branches of the French National Stud network, the Haras de St Lô and the spectacular Haras du Pin near Argentan, both open to visitors.  If birds are more your thing, follow the discovery trial to the ornithological reserve on the Cotentin and Bessin marshes near Carentan.