Customer Reviews

Top 10 Normandy (EYEWITNESS TOP 10 TRAVEL GUIDE)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I agree fully with the previous reviewer -- this book is not enough to be a stand alone guide to your trip to Normandy, but it is a spectacular compilation of things to do across the region.

There are numerous lists of everything from little villages specializing in crafts, food, and whatnot such as pottery, cheese, copper cookware, and more, to the top 10 D-Day sights and top 10 D-Day museums, to the most picturesque villages in the countryside and coast.

If you're interested mainly in D-Day sights, I found this book useful, because it had a few pages dedicated to the best museums, and key sights. Most people have a limited amount of time, and especially if you're driving yourself around, it's extremely helpful to have this reference of the "must-sees" along with the "nice to sees" time permitting.

We used this book lots during our 5 days in Normandy this May to plan what we wanted to do and see, and used a more detailed book (Lonely Planet Normandy was great) to round out the practical details. (Oh, yeah -- if you're driving, better bring a GPS! I think we'd still be lost in the bocage somewhere if I hadn't had that life-saving device with me!!)

This book lacks details like contact info and opening hours for museums, but makes up for it with a wealth of suggestions, useful facts, and great pictures (a strong suit of all the DK Eyewitness books).

Bottom line, get this, plus Lonely Planet or a guidebook of your choice, and you will have a great trip!

Concise, time-saving and fits in your carryon nicely. Certainly follows the porfessional and reliable series well. We used this guide the most (out of several)during a January trip to Normandy. Highly recommended.

On our first visit to Normandy we were going to spend a week and wanted to be sure we saw the most worthwhile sights. This book fit the bill very well for us. It doesn't go into a lot of detail on explanations, there are other books that are better for that, but this one gives the top 10 of just about everything imaginable. There's an awful lot to see in Normandy and this book helped us narrow down our choices. We were able to plan to be sure we saw the major sights, but it also helped us identify things that, although not major sights, were things we found interesting. For example, in each area of Normandy it provides the top 10 things to see in that area, so if we happened to be visiting Mont St. Michel we could identify other things that might interest us while we were in that specific area. Likewise, if a person is interested in abbeys, this book provides a list of the top 10 abbeys to see in Normandy. Again, don't expect a lot of detailed explanation and history; this book covers too much territory to do that. Instead, there is a short paragraph about each sight, but it's enough to help the reader decide which attractions should be visited and which should be left for another trip.

Going to Normandy, primarily to visit the D-Day sites, but also to see some of the towns and countryside. This little book is great to help decide where to go in the limited time available to vistors. I am much better able to pick the key places of interest to my wife and I using this book. Plenty of pictures and maps and printed in heavy paper to withstand the rough treatment used by a book during the travel. Very recommended if going to Normandy.

Not that anyone can use everything in this book, but there are certainly lists to help anyone with their trip to Normandy. Good additional book, not to be your only reference.

This is my third Eyewitness Travel guide, but only my first Top 10 guide. I found this guide a great help in planning my trip to Normandy. The guide highlights the best sights all over Normandy with top 10 descriptions of Mont-St-Michel, D-Day sights and museums, the Abbey of Jumieges, Notre-Dame Cathedral in Rouen, the Bayeux Tapestry, sights in Bayeux, Honfleur, Rouen, Caen, Deauville and La Cote Fleurie, Pays D'Auge region, and Giverny (Monet's residence). The guide also has top 10 descriptions of specific subjects including Norman abbeys, museums, areas of natural beauty, parks and gardens, forests, culinary highlights, gourmet restaurants, markets, spas and resorts, unspoiled villages, artist and writers in Normandy, arts and crafts, activities for children, outdoor activities, and festivals and events. Then the guide provides top 10 descriptions by regions with several grouping in each region. For instance in Northeastern Normandy, they have top 10 areas in the region followed by top 10 sections on best of the rest, chateaux, places to shop, and places to eat. The subjects for the top 10 sections for each region vary. There is also a Streetsmart section that covers top 10 subjects including getting to Normandy, getting around Normandy, sources of information, things to avoid, eating and drinking tips, shopping tips, Normandy on a budget, banking and communications, security and health, and several sections on different types of hotels and camping accommodations. As with all the other Eyewitness Travel guides, there are helpful maps on the cover folds with gridlines for locating sights. In addition the pictures are excellent and definitely helpful in making planning decisions.

I actually got an older version of the guide used for cheap through Amazon. My purpose for the book was more to determine which cities I would visit during a two week vacation. Since I didn't expect the main sights to change and was not as concerned about hotel and restaurant recommendations this worked for me, but if you want more up to date info on this stuff you should obviously get the latest guide. As this is a top 10 guide, it is not sufficient to complete all your plans. You'll want to check other resources to fill in the gaps. This is probably not for you if you are going to only a specific city as there is limited content for any one area. My only complaint is there is limited coverage of Norman castles. Castles are regulated to a few small references in best of the rest sections. There are other sources for this. One that will also give you some history on the Normans and Norman castles is The Normans: Warrior Knights and Their Castles (General Military). Happy vacationing.

The information is clear and to the point.
We are traveling with an elderly couple and wanted to
know how to best use both time and energy.
A good size to take along.

This little book was helpful on a recent trip to Normandy. Easy to pack and a quick reference for the places I visited. With a limit of 4 days it gave me an idea of what the priorities were and the best way to see as much as possible in and around the main sites. Of course just finding a open air market in a small village by accident is part of the charm of the area.

I read several reviews on guides to Normandy and decided to go with DK since I have purchased these guide books in the past. I was not disappointed with this guide. It is an organized guide with information regarding sites and activities. There are also recommendations for dining and lodging. I am sure the enclosed map will be helpful. The guide is compact and will fit into a backpack or hand bag easily.

I always get a Top 10 Book before I travel. This one covers everything I need.