So if you read my last blog post about getting the dogs to France then you are going to be reassured you can do it! Next you want to make the most of what to do once you’re in France.
We generally tend to stick to dog friendly places. A favourite for us is to go to the D-day landing beaches with them. Utah beach (1) is just over an hour from the gîte. Forces landed on this beach to cut off Cherbourg port. It is beautiful and poignant all at once, low tide exposes concrete remains and the odd shell. Dogs are allowed to roam freely here. Omaha beach (2) is possibly the most dog friendly D-day landing beach. There is a cove to explore but be careful of tides! The gold beach (3) landed 25000 British soldiers. Nowadays it is popular with lovely views. There is a walk down to a large bunker which was once part of the Atlantic Wall. Juno beach (4) saw 15000 Canadian men land with the plan to take Caen and it’s airfield. If you are exploring here, dogs need to be on the lead in the summer months. Sword beach (5) is only about an hour and a half from the des Violettes and is of great interest to visit. Dogs are allowed on parts of the beach.
If you are interested in these historic beaches in all their beauty there are plenty of activities to enhance your visit. Try the Airborne museum, 50480, and the Arromanches 360 degree circular cinema, 14117, and D-day experience, 50500 and the Jeep Tour, 50480.
Most beaches in Normandy have lead restrictions and/or timing restrictions in the summer months.
Other places: Mont Saint Michel is simply stunning. We love going there with the pooches. It is good half hour walk from the car parking to the island. There are regular shuttle busses for all but dogs, so we just walked it and enjoyed the view as we got closer. It was a lovely day, with plenty of others walking, and the dogs were off the lead. It is well fenced, with a path some distance from the road which is not particularly busy with traffic.
Once on the island, the dogs were on the lead and wondered into shops and a creperie with us, however they were not allowed in the abbey. We decided to leave that for another day. Outside the walls, there are beaches if the tide is right which the dogs can have a mooch around on.
It took us about an hour to drive to Mont Saint Michel, the drive feels like a straight line and our first peek at the abbey from several miles away was very exciting. You will notice when you leave our beautiful rural Normandy and step into this more touristy area. Prepare for it to be quite busy!
Also, I had to stop at the caramel factory and buy lots of sweets and use a really pleasant toilet!! Don’t underestimate a decent toilet..
We have noticed that quite a few of the restaurants want you to sit outside with the dogs. Not an issue for us, as we love being outdoors, usually choose restaurants with stunning views and when the weather is beautiful it is perfect. They usually bring water out for the dogs. We genuinely take the dogs everywhere we go, if we want to go into somewhere which does not want the dogs, one of us waits outside with them and then we swap. We are quite easy and the dogs enjoy sniffing the other dogs. To be honest, that doesn’t overly happen often.
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