Exploring the region — Château du Bû

From the château

Everything radiates from here

Le Bû is not next door to one site: it sits in the middle of them all. The D-Day beaches, the Côte Fleurie, Mont-Saint-Michel, the cliffs and the orchards of the Pays d'Auge are each within a day's drive — and you come back here to sleep.

This house was itself in the battle: a 1947 inventory records its furniture as “sinistré” — war-damaged. Read →

All times are driving times, and approximate.

Château du Bû

30 – 45 min

Mémorial de Caen
Bayeux
Longues-sur-Mer
Arromanches

~ 1 hr

Château de Falaise
Pays d'Auge — Beuvron-en-Auge
Cimetière américain — Omaha
Cabourg
Suisse Normande — Roche d'Oëtre
Pointe du Hoc

~ 1 hr 15

Deauville
Trouville
Lisieux
Honfleur
Sainte-Mère-Église
Domfront

1 hr 35 – 2 hrs 20

Le Havre
Mont-Saint-Michel
Cherbourg — Cité de la Mer
Rouen
Étretat
Fécamp
Giverny

Caen, from the ramparts of the ducal castle

The cliffs of Étretat — the Needle and the Porte d'Aval

Five days out

Routes already mapped

The D-Day beaches

Bayeux → Arromanches → Cimetière américain → Omaha → Pointe du Hoc

The day most first stays set aside. Bayeux makes the base: the tapestry in the morning, the coast in the afternoon.

The Côte Fleurie

Honfleur → Deauville → Trouville

The old harbour, the promenade, the villas — three ports a few minutes apart, best taken slowly.

Mont-Saint-Michel

A full day, and one piece of advice: leave early. The Mont is at its best in the morning, before the coaches.

Étretat & Honfleur

Étretat → Honfleur

The cliffs are worth the drive, but the round trip alone is long: pair them with Honfleur on the way back.

The Pays d'Auge

Beuvron-en-Auge → Lisieux

Cider, calvados and half-timbered houses. The Normandy you taste rather than tour.

By mood

You are rather after…

History: The D-Day beaches, and Bayeux
First visit: Mont-Saint-Michel
For two: Honfleur and Deauville
Open air: Étretat, the Suisse Normande
Good food: The Pays d'Auge
Painting: Giverny and Rouen

The places

One by one

Everything this page names, in pictures — with the drive time from the château.

**Bayeux**Notre-Dame cathedral, with the tapestry a few steps away35 min

**Longues-sur-Mer**The German battery, its casemates and guns still in place45 min

Falaise Castle — **Château de Falaise**The keep where William the Conqueror was born55 min

**Roche d'Oëtre**The Suisse Normande viewpoint, high above the gorges1 h

Caen Memorial — **Mémorial de Caen**The flags of the nations on the museum's esplanade30 min

**Deauville**The half-timbered villas of the centre, under their pointed roofs1 h 10

**Trouville**The seafront villas, seen from the beach1 h 10

**Cabourg**The Grand Hôtel and its flowerbeds, facing the sea55 min

**Lisieux**Saint-Pierre cathedral, at the heart of the Pays d'Auge1 h 10

American Cemetery — **Cimetière américain**The crosses at Colleville-sur-Mer, above Omaha Beach55 min

**Pointe du Hoc**The cliff and the craters, left exactly as they were1 h

**Sainte-Mère-Église**The Sherman on the square, and the paratrooper's steeple1 h 15

**Domfront**The ruined keep, above the town and the bocage1 h 25

**Le Havre**The centre rebuilt by Perret, and the Saint-Joseph tower1 h 35

**Cherbourg**The marina and the quays of the town centre1 h 45

**Rouen**Rue du Gros-Horloge, between the timber-framed houses1 h 50

**Fécamp**The dome of the Trinité abbey church2 h

**Giverny**The water-lily pond, in Monet's garden2 h 20

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