France: Normandy & Brittany

Depart home for France. The particulars of your arrival overseas are detailed with your flight itinerary.

Upon arrival at Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) Airport, claim your luggage and clear customs. If your luggage is lost, fill in a PIR form before leaving the customs area; VBT representatives are not allowed into the customs area. Please make sure that your VBT luggage tags are attached to your bags. This helps the representative identify you.

After exiting customs, enter the arrival hall and look for your VBT representative or driver, who will be holding a VBT sign. Your representative will welcome you to France and arrange for your transfer via taxi or van to our Paris hotel (approximately 60 minutes, depending on traffic). At this time, please verify with your airport representative the time of your transfer tomorrow to Bayeux. If you are delayed in meeting your VBT representative at the CDG Airport, please call 06 72 07 59 24 or 06 15 15 15 25 from within France. Outside of France, call +33 672 07 59 24 or +33 615 15 15 25. Please note: Your hotel room may not be available until 3:00 p.m. If you arrive early, you may store your luggage with the reception desk. Please note for early morning arrivals in Paris, the hotel may charge an early check-in fee if your room is ready before their normal check-in time and this fee will be at your expense if you decide to check-in early.

VBT provides you with City Information that includes information and recommendations for what to see and do in Paris. Enjoy the rest of the day to relax or to begin exploring the City of Light on your own.

Accommodation: Hotel Pullman Paris Bercy, Paris

VBT-Bicycle-Vacation-only guests: Meet your fellow travelers in the lobby of the Hotel Pullman Paris Bercy at 8:00 a.m. for an 8:30 a.m. departure by private coach to Bayeux. If you use your own pedals and saddle, please put them in your carry-on luggage for easy access. Travel time is approximately 3 ½ hours, depending on traffic. If you prefer to make your own way to Bayeux at your own expense, hotel details are listed in your final documents. You will meet your VBT trip leaders in the hotel. Please contact this hotel to advise of any travel delays or changes that will cause you to miss our 12:30 p.m. lunch and safety and bike-fitting session, and the hotel staff will pass your message on to your VBT trip leaders.

VBT Air Package and Pre-trip Extension guests: After breakfast, meet in the hotel lobby at 8:00 a.m. to join a private coach transfer to Bayeux, departing at 8:30 a.m. If you use your own pedals and saddle, please put them in your carry-on luggage for easy access. Travel time is approximately 3 ½ hours, depending on traffic. Meet your VBT trip leaders in Bayeux. They immediately guide you on a short orientation walk through the medieval city to your hotel, where you have a light lunch before a safety and bike-fitting session.

Your bike adventure begins with a simple warm-up ride from your hotel out into the verdant Norman countryside to Longues-sur-Mer, where you view World War II coastal fortifications on a headland overlooking the English Channel.

This evening, gather with your fellow travelers for a welcome reception, followed by dinner at the hotel.

Cumulative Distance Range: 20 km (12 miles)
Today’s Ride Choice:

Afternoon
Warm-up: 20 km (12 miles)

What to Expect: Your warm-up ride is a loop out of the center of Bayeux and into the countryside along a combination of roads and bike lanes to the German batteries of Longues-sur-Mer on a bluff overlooking the English Channel.

Accommodation: Lion D’Or, Bayeux
Alternate Hotel: Château Saint Gilles
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast this morning, you’ll cycle through rolling farmlands and timeless country villages. Along the way, you might visit a family-run umbrella workshop. This morning’s destination is the coastal town of Arromanches, which played a vital role in the D-Day landings. Here, Allies built one of their famous Mulberry harbors—a portable, temporary structure that helped transfer troops and supplies. The remains can still be seen at low tide. Learn more about the harbor and the landings at the D-Day Museum, which you’ll have time to explore on your own. Another possible independent discovery in this town is Arromanches 360, a circular theater showing a fascinating film about D-Day and its aftermath using wartime footage and modern images. Enjoy lunch on your own in Arromanches—and perhaps even go for a swim in the Channel!

Afterward, you either cycle or shuttle back to the hotel. This afternoon, you may choose to visit Bayeux’s stunning cathedral, consecrated in 1077 in the presence of William the Conqueror. Tonight, you have the night free to enjoy dinner on your own in town.

Today’s Ride Choices:

Cumulative Distance Range: 11 – 45 km (7 – 28 miles)
Morning
Bayeux to Arromanches: 26 km (16 miles)
Afternoon
Arromanches to Bayeux: 11 km (7 miles)

Arromanches to Bayeux Plus: 19 km (12 miles)

What to Expect: This morning’s route takes you through rural countryside with typical Norman farms and villages to the coast and beach in the town of Arromanches, with views of the artificial harbor. If you choose to continue cycling in the afternoon, choose from shorter and longer routes back to the hotel.

Accommodation: Lion D’Or, Bayeux
Alternate Hotel: Château Saint Gilles
Included Meals: Breakfast

This morning, cycle through verdant countryside and fragrant orchards past old stone farmhouses. Arrive in Omaha Beach, perhaps the best-known D-Day landing site. There’ll be free time for lunch here before joining your passionate local guide, a World War II expert who leads you along the shore and sheds light on the D-Day landings. Operation Overlord that started in the early morning hours of June 6, 1944 and remain the largest military operation in history.

You’ll then cycle the short distance to the American Cemetery, a 170-acre, meticulously landscaped memorial overlooking Omaha Beach and the English Channel. Your local guide will again provide insight into this site, containing 9,387 perfectly aligned white crosses and Stars of David, marking the graves of the brave American servicemen and women who perished during World War II.

After time at these moving sites, you take a shuttle back to Bayeux. Later, you may choose to visit the museum housing the intricate 11th-century Bayeux tapestry, a treasured fabric over 220 feet long depicting the Battle of Hastings and the victory of William the Conqueror over the English. In pedestrian-friendly Bayeux, you might also wish to walk to the Battle of Normandy Memorial Museum. Later, join your trip leaders for dinner at an authentic creperie serving the specialty of the region.

Today’s Ride Choices:

Cumulative Distance Range: 9 – 39 km (6 – 24 miles)
Morning
Bayeux to Omaha Beach: 30 km (18 miles)
Afternoon
Omaha Beach: 9 km (6 miles)

What to Expect: Today’s ride takes you out of Bayeux on city streets and bike lanes and soon into the Normandy countryside of meadows and apple orchards on lightly traveled narrow roads to a short but steep descent to Omaha Beach. After lunch, you ride along the beach for about two miles then rise to the bluff above it to the American Cemetery.

Accommodation: Lion D’Or, Bayeux
Alternate Hotel: Château Saint Gilles
Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Pedal out of Bayeux into rural Normandy for a close-up look at its celebrated fertile pasturelands dotted with grazing cows and half-timbered country manors to an apple orchard and cider maker.

You may choose to briefly explore Bayeux’s small Wednesday outdoor market where your trip leaders will purchase a few local specialties for today’s picnic lunch.

Since the 1600s, Normandy has been known for its exceptional apples and the beverages they produce, notably cider and Calvados, the famous apple brandy named for the region. Your hosts will demonstrate how their organic apples are harvested, pressed and fermented to produce cider. Of course, samples are provided! A picnic lunch prepared by your trip leaders caps off your visit.

After lunch, you may continue cycling toward the Abbey of Saint-Martin-de-Mondaye, settled by the Norbertine order. Dating to the 13th century, the present abbey and church were entirely rebuilt in the 18th century. The long option continues to the town of Balleroy, ending just in front of the 17th-century Château de Balleroy.

From here, transfer by coach to Saint-Malo, a beautiful medieval fortified city along Brittany’s coast, the legendary home of French corsairs or privateers. Your hotel is located directly on the broad sand beach and the wide seaside promenade leading into the walled Old Town of Saint-Malo. During your stay, you can indulge in several spa and therapy rooms, including an indoor, seawater swimming pool. Stroll to a local restaurant for dinner tonight.

Today’s Ride Choices:

Cumulative Distance Range: 11 – 33 km (7 – 21 miles)
Morning
Bayeux to Les Vergers de Durcy: 11 km (7 miles)
Les Vergers de Durcy to Balleroy: 23 km (14 miles)

What to Expect: Your morning ride follows country roads to the cider-producing farm of the Domaine de la Flaguerie. The afternoon option contnues along quiet narrow roads to Saint-Martin-de-Mondaye Abbey and then on to the town of Balleroy, ending in front of the Château de Balleroy.

Accommodation: Grand Hotel des Thermes, Saint Malo
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast, shuttle approximately 40 minutes to Dinan, a fairytale walled city perched high atop a hill on the edge of Brittany. Here, you’ll walk with a local guide along the narrow cobblestone streets of its medieval center, where a splendid Gothic church greets you.

After free time for lunch, reunite with your bike at the town’s riverside port and enjoy a scenic ride along the River Rance. You’ll pause to explore Saint-Suliac, a charming village known for its quintessential granite homes draped with fishing nets. Later this afternoon you have time to enjoy your hotel’s amenities, swim in the ocean, weather permitting, or stroll along the promenade. Your trip leaders will provide suggestions for dinner on your own tonight.

Today’s Ride Choices:
Cumulative Distance Range: 19 – 45 km (12 – 28 miles)
Afternoon

Dinan to Saint-Suliac: 26 km (16 miles)
Saint-Suliac to Saint-Malo: 19 km (12 miles)

What to Expect: After a tour and exploration of Dinan’s market, ride from this beautifully preserved Breton town along an easy designated bike route along the Rance River with a few miles of hard-packed gravel and on to the charming fishing port of Saint-Suliac. On the longer option, you continue cycling from Saint-Suliac through country roads, then onto the slightly busier streets of Saint-Malo.

Accommodation: Grand Hotel des Thermes, Saint Malo
Included Meals: Breakfast

Today’s ride traces the beautifully rugged Brittany coast. Your first stop is the Jacques Cartier Manor House. In 1534, Cartier crossed the Atlantic and sailed up the St. Lawrence River as far as modern-day Montreal. After these explorations and naming the land Canada, he settled in this manor house situated between Saint-Malo and Cancale. Enjoy a visit and short film about this native Breton.

Later, you’ll cycle along the coast, admiring sweeping views from Pointe du Grouin before continuing to the picturesque fishing port of Cancale, known for its superior huîtres, or oysters. King Louis XIV was reportedly so enamored of these particular bivalves that he had fresh oysters brought daily from Cancale to Versailles. You’ll have the opportunity to taste them for yourself, elbow to elbow with locals, during a visit to an oyster market.

After free time for lunch, loop back to Saint-Malo on another scenic route.

Tonight, gather at your hotel for a special farewell dinner.

Today’s Ride Choices:

Cumulative Distance Range: 13 – 35 km (8 – 22 miles)
Morning

Saint-Malo to Cancale: 22 km (14 miles)
Afternoon

Cancale to Saint-Malo: 13 km (8 miles)

What to Expect: Admire sweeping views as you ride along the rugged Brittany coastline to Cancale this morning. Add an afternoon ride, turning inland through an agricultural area growing many vegetable varieties.

Accommodation: Grand Hotel des Thermes, Saint Malo
Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

After breakfast, say goodbye to your VBT trip leaders and depart for Paris via one of the most visited monuments in France: Mont Saint-Michel. Upon arrival, meet your local guide at the Tourist Information center. Then, accompany him or her across the causeway in the Gulf of Saint-Malo to the island-village of Mont Saint-Michel.

A UNESCO World Heritage site, the cone-shaped island is best known for the spectacular and well-preserved 13th-century Benedictine abbey that sits at its peak, roughly 240 feet above sea level. Your guide leads you along narrow medieval streets, spiraling up to the Gothic-period monastic buildings.

After free time for lunch and strolling the shops and atmospheric warrens on your own, rejoin the shuttle and transfer to your hotel, located near Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris (approximately 4 1/2
hours, depending on traffic). This evening is free for you to dine in the hotel’s restaurant and enjoy its amenities.

Accommodation: Hotel Pullman Paris Charles de Gaulle
Included Meals: Breakfast

After breakfast*, transfer by shuttle train to your departure terminal within Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris. The CDGVal Shuttle Train is a complimentary train connecting all terminals and train and bus stations at Charles de Gaulle Airport, running every four minutes (daily between 4:00 a.m. and 1:00 a.m.). The hotel reception can provide exact instructions to your terminal, but please plan to leave the hotel about three hours before your flight time for the short walk to the Terminal 3-Roissypole train shuttle station and the short shuttle ride to your correct terminal.

*Please note: For guests with early-morning departures, breakfast at the hotel may not be available. Please check with the front desk to verify the times when breakfast is served.

Included Meals: Breakfast

Meet your fellow travelers in the lobby of the Hotel Pullman Paris Bercy at 8:00 a.m. for an 8:30 a.m. departure by private coach to Bayeux. If you use your own pedals and saddle, please put them in your carry-on luggage for easy access. Travel time is approximately 3 ½ hours, depending on traffic. If you prefer to make your own way to Bayeux at your own expense, hotel details are listed in your final documents. You will meet your VBT trip leaders in the hotel. Please contact this hotel to advise of any travel delays or changes that will cause you to miss our 12:30 p.m. lunch and safety and bike-fitting session, and the hotel staff will pass your message on to your VBT trip leaders.

Your bike adventure begins with a simple warm-up ride from your hotel out into the verdant Norman countryside to Longues-sur-Mer, where you view World War II coastal fortifications on a headland overlooking the English Channel.

This evening, gather with your fellow travelers for a welcome reception, followed by dinner at the hotel.

Cumulative Distance Range: 20 km (12 miles)
Today’s Ride Choice:

Afternoon
Warm-up: 20 km (12 miles)

What to Expect: Your warm-up ride is a loop out of the center of Bayeux and into the countryside along a combination of roads and bike lanes to the German batteries of Longues-sur-Mer on a bluff overlooking the English Channel.

Accommodation: Lion D’Or, Bayeux
Alternate Hotel: Château Saint Gilles
Included Meals: Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast this morning, you’ll cycle through rolling farmlands and timeless country villages. Along the way, you might visit a family-run umbrella workshop. This morning’s destination is the coastal town of Arromanches, which played a vital role in the D-Day landings. Here, Allies built one of their famous Mulberry harbors—a portable, temporary structure that helped transfer troops and supplies. The remains can still be seen at low tide. Learn more about the harbor and the landings at the D-Day Museum, which you’ll have time to explore on your own. Another possible independent discovery in this town is Arromanches 360, a circular theater showing a fascinating film about D-Day and its aftermath using wartime footage and modern images. Enjoy lunch on your own in Arromanches—and perhaps even go for a swim in the Channel!

Afterward, you either cycle or shuttle back to the hotel. This afternoon, you may choose to visit Bayeux’s stunning cathedral, consecrated in 1077 in the presence of William the Conqueror. Tonight, you have the night free to enjoy dinner on your own in town.

Today’s Ride Choices:

Cumulative Distance Range: 11 – 45 km (7 – 28 miles)
Morning
Bayeux to Arromanches: 26 km (16 miles)
Afternoon
Arromanches to Bayeux: 11 km (7 miles)

Arromanches to Bayeux Plus: 19 km (12 miles)

What to Expect: This morning’s route takes you through rural countryside with typical Norman farms and villages to the coast and beach in the town of Arromanches, with views of the artificial harbor. If you choose to continue cycling in the afternoon, choose from shorter and longer routes back to the hotel.

Accommodation: Lion D’Or, Bayeux
Alternate Hotel: Château Saint Gilles
Included Meals: Breakfast

This morning, cycle through verdant countryside and fragrant orchards past old stone farmhouses. Arrive in Omaha Beach, perhaps the best-known D-Day landing site. There’ll be free time for lunch here before joining your passionate local guide, a World War II expert who leads you along the shore and sheds light on the D-Day landings. Operation Overlord that started in the early morning hours of June 6, 1944 and remain the largest military operation in history.

You’ll then cycle the short distance to the American Cemetery, a 170-acre, meticulously landscaped memorial overlooking Omaha Beach and the English Channel. Your local guide will again provide insight into this site, containing 9,387 perfectly aligned white crosses and Stars of David, marking the graves of the brave American servicemen and women who perished during World War II.

After time at these moving sites, you take a shuttle back to Bayeux. Later, you may choose to visit the museum housing the intricate 11th-century Bayeux tapestry, a treasured fabric over 220 feet long depicting the Battle of Hastings and the victory of William the Conqueror over the English. In pedestrian-friendly Bayeux, you might also wish to walk to the Battle of Normandy Memorial Museum. Later, join your trip leaders for dinner at an authentic creperie serving the specialty of the region.

Today’s Ride Choices:

Cumulative Distance Range: 9 – 39 km (6 – 24 miles)
Morning
Bayeux to Omaha Beach: 30 km (18 miles)
Afternoon
Omaha Beach: 9 km (6 miles)

What to Expect: Today’s ride takes you out of Bayeux on city streets and bike lanes and soon into the Normandy countryside of meadows and apple orchards on lightly traveled narrow roads to a short but steep descent to Omaha Beach. After lunch, you ride along the beach for about two miles then rise to the bluff above it to the American Cemetery.

Accommodation: Lion D’Or, Bayeux
Alternate Hotel: Château Saint Gilles
Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Pedal out of Bayeux into rural Normandy for a close-up look at its celebrated fertile pasturelands dotted with grazing cows and half-timbered country manors to an apple orchard and cider maker.

You may choose to briefly explore Bayeux’s small Wednesday outdoor market where your trip leaders will purchase a few local specialties for today’s picnic lunch.

Since the 1600s, Normandy has been known for its exceptional apples and the beverages they produce, notably cider and Calvados, the famous apple brandy named for the region. Your hosts will demonstrate how their organic apples are harvested, pressed and fermented to produce cider. Of course, samples are provided! A picnic lunch prepared by your trip leaders caps off your visit.

After lunch, you may continue cycling toward the Abbey of Saint-Martin-de-Mondaye, settled by the Norbertine order. Dating to the 13th century, the present abbey and church were entirely rebuilt in the 18th century. The long option continues to the town of Balleroy, ending just in front of the 17th-century Château de Balleroy.

From here, transfer by coach to Saint-Malo, a beautiful medieval fortified city along Brittany’s coast, the legendary home of French corsairs or privateers. Your hotel is located directly on the broad sand beach and the wide seaside promenade leading into the walled Old Town of Saint-Malo. During your stay, you can indulge in several spa and therapy rooms, including an indoor, seawater swimming pool. Stroll to a local restaurant for dinner tonight.

Today’s Ride Choices:

Cumulative Distance Range: 11 – 33 km (7 – 21 miles)
Morning
Bayeux to Les Vergers de Durcy: 11 km (7 miles)
Les Vergers de Durcy to Balleroy: 23 km (14 miles)

What to Expect: Your morning ride follows country roads to the cider-producing farm of the Domaine de la Flaguerie. The afternoon option contnues along quiet narrow roads to Saint-Martin-de-Mondaye Abbey and then on to the town of Balleroy, ending in front of the Château de Balleroy.

Accommodation: Grand Hotel des Thermes, Saint Malo
Included Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

After breakfast, shuttle approximately 40 minutes to Dinan, a fairytale walled city perched high atop a hill on the edge of Brittany. Here, you’ll walk with a local guide along the narrow cobblestone streets of its medieval center, where a splendid Gothic church greets you.

After free time for lunch, reunite with your bike at the town’s riverside port and enjoy a scenic ride along the River Rance. You’ll pause to explore Saint-Suliac, a charming village known for its quintessential granite homes draped with fishing nets. Later this afternoon you have time to enjoy your hotel’s amenities, swim in the ocean, weather permitting, or stroll along the promenade. Your trip leaders will provide suggestions for dinner on your own tonight.

Today’s Ride Choices:
Cumulative Distance Range: 19 – 45 km (12 – 28 miles)
Afternoon

Dinan to Saint-Suliac: 26 km (16 miles)
Saint-Suliac to Saint-Malo: 19 km (12 miles)

What to Expect: After a tour and exploration of Dinan’s market, ride from this beautifully preserved Breton town along an easy designated bike route along the Rance River with a few miles of hard-packed gravel and on to the charming fishing port of Saint-Suliac. On the longer option, you continue cycling from Saint-Suliac through country roads, then onto the slightly busier streets of Saint-Malo.

Accommodation: Grand Hotel des Thermes, Saint Malo
Included Meals: Breakfast

Today’s ride traces the beautifully rugged Brittany coast. Your first stop is the Jacques Cartier Manor House. In 1534, Cartier crossed the Atlantic and sailed up the St. Lawrence River as far as modern-day Montreal. After these explorations and naming the land Canada, he settled in this manor house situated between Saint-Malo and Cancale. Enjoy a visit and short film about this native Breton.

Later, you’ll cycle along the coast, admiring sweeping views from Pointe du Grouin before continuing to the picturesque fishing port of Cancale, known for its superior huîtres, or oysters. King Louis XIV was reportedly so enamored of these particular bivalves that he had fresh oysters brought daily from Cancale to Versailles. You’ll have the opportunity to taste them for yourself, elbow to elbow with locals, during a visit to an oyster market.

After free time for lunch, loop back to Saint-Malo on another scenic route.

Tonight, gather at your hotel for a special farewell dinner.

Today’s Ride Choices:

Cumulative Distance Range: 13 – 35 km (8 – 22 miles)
Morning

Saint-Malo to Cancale: 22 km (14 miles)
Afternoon

Cancale to Saint-Malo: 13 km (8 miles)

What to Expect: Admire sweeping views as you ride along the rugged Brittany coastline to Cancale this morning. Add an afternoon ride, turning inland through an agricultural area growing many vegetable varieties.

Accommodation: Grand Hotel des Thermes, Saint Malo
Included Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

You are welcome to join our full-day transfer to the Air Package hotel at Roissy, Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris. This transfer includes a visit to Mont Saint-Michel, the spectacular abbey-crowned island that is one of the most coveted destinations in France. You will arrive at the hotel at around 5:30 p.m. Or you may make your arrangements to leave the Grand Hotel des Thermes on your own; checkout time is 11:00 a.m. Trains depart from Saint-Malo to Paris Montparnasse or Paris CDG Airport via Rennes. You are responsible for all transfer arrangements. We recommend you ask your VBT trip leaders or the hotel for assistance in making any travel reservations at least one day in advance.

Included Meals: Breakfast