Le Havre (Paris), France

This port was very emotional. We did the Normandy tour. We hired a company named Band of Brothers. We were put on a list and two others couples from cruise went with us. We didn’t know them until then. If you go private it’s pretty expensive but if other couples go it will save you money. This company took us all around the history of Normandy and all the other beaches of WWII. We stopped at the American memorial. This place touched my heart and it was emotional. Bring tissues. The band of brothers also took us to a quaint French Village and had the best French pastries. If you really want to know about D-Day you need to hire this company. They had a tour guide and show old pictures and went into great details. FYI......it was worth every penny for this private tour.

LeHavre is really meant as a departure point for other places around the region: Normandy beaches, Rouen, Giverny, and of course Paris. It’s at least a 2-hour bus ride to go to any of them. But don’t sell LeHavre short! It’s a lovely town to wander around on your own. Like most French cities, it has a full complement of cafés, pastry shops, and cheese shops. It’s a great city to sit with a latte and croissant, or a good Brie and baguette, and relax. For art enthusiasts, I recommend the André Malraux Museum of Modern Art. It’s in walking distance from the port dock, and contains some of the well known Impressionists. Granted, it doesn’t hold a candle to the Louvre or Musee d’Orsay, but you can tour it in less than 2 hours for €5 a person.

A lot of people say to skip the long drive to Paris, but I disagree if you have never been to Paris. Yes, it was frustrating to have so little time, but we were able to see the beautiful city, and we had a really good tour guide who provided interesting information on the history and local landmarks along the way, so it wasn't a boring ride at all. Our afternoon there let us get a sense of the city and helped us to decide whether we want to try to go back (a definite yes!) So if you have never been to Paris, definitely do the excursion.

Visited: Jul 07, 2016

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I'm a Vietnam veteran, and wanted to visit where so many of my older "brothers" lost their lives for their country

Visited: Aug 05, 2018

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We took the ship excursion to Paris, and even though we had to put up with a 3 hour ride each way, and traffic, the visit was worthwhile.

Visited: May 16, 2018

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